The Goddard brothers—Cyrus F., George W., and Edwin F.—had operated a city restaurant in Leavenworth before coming to Hays City, where on this site they opened a provisioning store called the Cheap Store for freighters, plainsmen, railroaders, and others. In 1867 or 1868 they contracted to board construction workers on the westward-building Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, and hired William F. Cody to kill 12 buffalo a day for their meat, a job that won him the nickname "Buffalo Bill." Later, Edwin ran a saloon and dance hall here, and in 1870 Deputy U.S. Marshall Jack Bridges roomed with him.