Duncan's Crossing

From Main in Hanston, 7½ miles north on Highway (becomes 228), 3 miles east on West. Markers near the Hodgeman and Ness county line note Duncan’s Crossing, a significant point on the Fort Hays-Fort Dodge Road, a military supply route in 1867-1868. John O’Loughlin established a toll bridge here in 1867, and in 1872 George Duncan bought the land and built a trading post on the site. Eventually the bridge washed out, and Duncan let people ford the Pawnee River here at no charge; thus the name Duncan’s Crossing. Near the crossing, an illustrated bronze bas-relief plaque is “Dedicated to the pioneers who faced the dangers of prairie trails and frontier life to establish homes in this community.” It was placed by the Hodgeman Community Ladies Aid Society in 1929.