Faye Anderson Award to the Warner Family (February 18, 2007)

"Warner Family"
Wet/Dry Routes Chapter
of the
Santa Fe Trail

"Faye Anderson Award"
February 18, 2007

Willis - Ann - Myrinda - Marcella
The Warner Family

The Wet/Dry Route Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail is pleased to announce that the Warner Family was selected to receive the Faye Anderson Award presented annually to some individual or group who has made a significant contribution to the propagation and preservation of the Santa Fe Trail. The award is named in honor of Faye Anderson, a charter member of the chapter.
The Warners are descendents of Willis B. Warner who immigrated to Ford County in 1884 from the Hudson River valley in New York. He purchased 160 acres of a relinquished homestead near the Hodgeman-Ford County line along the Sawlog Creek. In time, that first quarter section grew to include a considerable number of acres, a portion of which was traversed by the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road, the eastern end of the Santa Fe Trail for a brief period in 1867-1868. Ruts of the road can still be easily traced across more than two miles of Warner ranch land.
Succeeding Willis Warner was his son John who marked the road by a series of American flags which were proudly displayed on appropriate holidays. Members of John's family, following in their father's footsteps, continue to take pride in protecting the road and prove to be hospitable hosts to history buffs who often visit the ruts.
The award was presented at the winter meeting of the chapter on February 18, 2007 in Kinsley, Kansas