Station 15

The Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express Stage Line began operating in the spring of 1859. William H. Russell and John S. Jones established the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express to carry passengers and freight from the Missouri River to the Colorado gold fields. It followed the military road to Fort Riley, Kansas, and then angled Northwest and West to the Republican.  The Line had twenty-seven stations, located about twenty-five miles apart (half a day's travel), with six men and extra livestock at each station. The line was short lived and only existed 8 months before being re-organized and called the Central Overland California and Pies Peak.  The COC & PP was purchased by Ben Holladay in 1862 and was renamed the Overland Trail Stage Line.

Stop by the Water Tower Park along Highway 36 in Norton.  Sign our guest book. The original Station 15 was located a few miles southwest on the banks of the Prairie Dog River on private property.

Gaze through the windows to view the papier mache figures created and painted by Ruby Meyer and Melissa Nelson.  The original characters were mannequins.  After  40 years of deterioration, Ruby and Melissa replaced those mannequins with their papier mache art in 1999.

In 2025, Melissa refurbished the characters.  

Norton banker, William W. Rouse, came up with the concept of using the perfectly preserved cabin and launching the tourist attraction in the early 1960's.  Little did he know that many years later, he would become nationally known for creating The They Also Ran Gallery located inside First State Bank on Main Street in Norton, Kansas.

The original structure of the stagecoach stop had disappeared long ago.  There was a farm house set for razing south of Norton, by Edmond, and this cabin was discovered, disassembled, and reconstructed in Norton.

The scene depicted inside the Cabin is set for May 31st, 1859.

Horace Greeley, owner and editor of the New York Tribune, is just off the stage coach.  Greeley documented his travels and recorded life on the prairie.  He is on his way to the Gold Region on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.  "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country" is a phrase that Greeley is noted for.

Catherine McCarty dances for the passengers as she was formerly a performer for the Bowery in New York City.  You will find her husband, Patrick Henry McCarty, bringing in the evening meal for the weary travelers.  Mr. McCarty will die soon and Mrs. McCarty will leave the area with an infant.  Her son, speculated to be "Billy the Kid", becomes a killer at 12 and is killed at 21.

Feather Head, young Arapahoe wife and mother, is mourning her brave husband killed in a raid. She has remained with the McCarty's who befriended her.  Her people are encamped to the west near Station 16, having departed leaving a teepee for her and her child.  Tents are the sleeping quarters for other quests in this spring of 1859.

Around the table, you will see the likes of James Butler Hickok or Wild Bill Hickok as we know him.  He is joined by Albert Richardson, journalist for a variety of newspapers.  Seated next to Richardson is the skillful stagecoach driver and an unknown buffalo hunter.  These four gentlemen are engrossed in a very cut-throat poker game.

Eastbound on the stage is a female runaway, who has been working as a man in the gold mines.  She is in the custody of Detective Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Chicago, Illinois.  She is being returned to her parents.

Standing behind Richardson, you will find Alexander Majors, who has hired Bill Hickok to assist him in mapping out the fastest route for young horseback riders to transport mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.  The Pony Express will begin in a few short years.

Bill Rouse designed the 'See Station 15" signs long ago to attract travelers to stay a while in Norton.  His family contributed to the renovations recently and the Norton Travel & Tourism group assists in helping finance the upkeep. The City of Norton keeps the park on Highway 36 maintained.