In the fall of 1867, the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road was developed to transport merchandise, mail, and passengers from the newly founded railhead at Hays City to Fort Dodge and on to Santa Fe by way of the established route of the Santa Fe Trail. For a brief period of eight months, the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road became the far eastern leg of the Santa Fe Trail until the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, pushed westward from Hays City to Sheridan City in June 1868. Fort Dodge stood at the junction of the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road and the Santa Fe Trail.