[1] Founded in 1868 at the western terminus of an important railroad line under construction, it served as a regional center of trade and departure point to the Santa Fe Trail to the south.

[1] An end-of-tracks town was founded in the summer of 1868 ahead of the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad Eastern Division at a site 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Monument, Kansas.

Once rail construction reached the new town, it became a railhead for westbound freight to the Santa Fe Trail via a 120-mile (190 km) wagon road to Fort Lyon, Colorado.

[3] Merchandising firms and outfitters maintained warehouses along the tracks, and freight companies supplied wagon trains bound for New Mexico Territory.

[4] A new wagon road opened from Kit Carson to the Santa Fe Trail, leaving the site of Sheridan abandoned.