About 30 miles north of Dodge City sits the little town of Jetmore, county seat of Hodgeman County. Arriving from the south, you go down Cemetery Hill, which is pretty sizable as hills go in this part of the plains. Then you cross Buckner Creek and go up another sizable hill.
Like many towns in the area, the highway becomes Main Street, anchored by the courthouse square in the center of town.
Although facing the challenges of many small towns across the country, economic development seems to be working in Hodgeman County. A long list of accomplishments includes senior housing, low-income housing, improvements at the hospital and long-term care facility, municipal wind turbine power and a downtown streetscape project.
Sustaining a little town on the prairie in the 21st century requires the same kind of pioneer spirit that built the towns in the 19th century, and there's a building on Main Street that demonstrates that.
Reach Don Steele at (620) 408-9910 or e-mail him at
don.steele@dodgeglobe.com.
