It’s going to be a big weekend at the Fort Larned National Historic Site about 130 miles northwest of Wichita.

The fort is celebrating the 50th anniversary of becoming the Fort Larned National Historic Site – making it the first national historic site in Kansas.

The Wichita Eagle reports President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law that made the fort an historic site on Aug. 31, 1964. The fort itself stretches back to 1859, when it served several thousand soldiers for 19 years.

Chief Ranger George Elmore says the fort was chosen as a national historic site because it was one of the best preserved forts from the Indian Wars era. Nine of the original buildings still stood in 1964, and the parade ground was intact.
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