Dodge City 1800'sDodge City was founded in 1872. It was originally a town for buffalo hunters but it became a cattle town when the railroad reached it in 1875. It became more important than Wichita and was soon shipping more than 200,000 head of cattle a year.
In 1875 Bill Tilghman, although a life long teetotaler, opened a saloon in Dodge City. Three years later he accepted the offer of his friend, Bat Masterson, to become his deputy sheriff. Masterson's first success was the capture of Dave Rudabaugh and Edgar West after they attempted to rob a train. Masterson was also part of a posse that including Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman and Charlie Bassett that captured James Kennedy. In January 1879 he successfully arrested Henry Borne.
