The Beeson Name Lives On In Dodge City

​Dodge City has a Beeson Avenue and a Beeson school. This name stems from one of Dodge City's early citizens.
 
Chalkley “Chalk” Beeson was born in Salem, Ohio on April 24, 1848. Around 1870 he first came out west to Colorado. In 1875, he moved to a Dodge City. In 1876, he returned briefly to Ohio where he married Ida M. Gauze. They settled southwest of town near what is now West Beeson Road and 14th Avenue.
 
He was one of the early owners of the famous Long Branch Saloon, as well as of the Saratoga Saloon. He served as Ford County Sheriff from1892 to 1896, was a state legislator and ranched near Dodge City. But, he is best remembered as the founder of Dodge City’s beloved Cowboy Band which performed at the inauguration of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, in Washington, D.C. on March 4, 1889.

​In 1890, the Band disbanded and was sold to a group who moved them to Silverton, Colorado. They performed in several towns in Colorado, playing under various names. During Spanish-American War band members enlisted to perform as the 2nd Volunteer Calvary Band. They settled in Pueblo where the Pueblo Municipal Band can trace its beginnings to the Cowboy Band.
 
Dodge City's current cowboy band stems from 1911 when a reorganized group was formed.

​As sheriff, Chalkley Beeson had a part in the demise of the Bill Doohan gang. After they robbed a bank in Spearville, Beeson's party chased the gang to Oklahoma where they killed Oliver Yantes, a key member of the gang.

Chalk and several partners formed the C.O.D. ranch with its well-known brand.

Until the very end Mr. Beeson led a full and active life. He was returning from voting in a local election when he suffered a fatal injury. He was bucked by his horse into the saddle horn and died on Friday August 9, 1912. The following Monday Dodge City virtually shut down for the funeral of this much-loved plainsman. He was 64 years old and left behind his mother, his wife and two sons, Merritt and Otero.

Both Chalkley and Merritt were avid collectors. Merritt opened Beeson Museum in the basement of his home in South Dodge. Later it expanded in moved into the "Corral" near where Lewis Toyota is today. Beeson Museum closed in 1964, but the Beeson name still lives on at Boot Hill Museum which houses much of its collection in the "Beeson Gallery" and elsewhere throughout the complex.

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