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  The Orphan Train story is most fascinating! We especially enjoyed the oversized photos printed on the transparent window s...
Kathy Kajinami
McPherson, KS
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Concordia Explorations
Learn more about Concordia by following the links below:
Boston Corbett DugoutAddress:
About this Exploration:  Thomas H. ("Boston") Corbett was born in London, England, in 1832. His family moved to New York in 1839. He married and became a hatter in Troy, but his wife died in childbirth. Later he moved to Boston and continued working as a hatter there. (Some have speculated that the use of mercury in the hatters' trade was a causative factor in Corbett's later mental problems.) He became a reborn evangelical Christian while in Boston from which he took a new name. Trying to imitate Jesus, he wore his hair very long. Acquaintances considered Corbett to be "different." At the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Union army. On April 24,1865, he was selected as one of the 26 cavalrymen from New York's 16th to pursue John Wilkes Booth with instructions to bring Booth back alive. On April 26 Corbett and the others cornered Booth in a tobacco barn on the Virginia farm of Richard Garrett. The barn was set on fire, and David Herold gave up. Booth remained inside. As Booth moved about inside the burning barn, Corbett shot him with a Colt revolver from a distance of no more than 12 feet. Corbet was arrested but the charges were eventually dropped. Corbett had problems after the shooting and in 1878 Corbett moved to Concordia, Kansas. There Corbett lived in a dugout a few miles outside town. His home was nothing more than a hole in a steep hill with a brown stone front and a roof made of brush, clay, and clapboards. He slept on a homemade bed and kept a variety of firearms. He raised sheep and was well known for his ability to bring down crows and hawks. Sometimes he gave religious lectures which often turned into wild incoherencies. The stone front of the dugout has fallen down, but the hole is still there. A visit to the site is very interesting. From Concordia, go south on U.S. 81 three miles, then turn off and go east 2 1/2 miles. Turn south for three miles, then turn east and go 1/2 mile. The monument is on the south side of road. The last half-mile is a dry weather road only. |
 Cloud County Tourism
130 E 6th
Concordia, KS 66901 Phone: 785.243.4303 Fax: 785.243.4305
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