The Top Dog

James H. Kelley was a force in Dodge City.

James H. “Dog” Kelley was a key player in Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s. The English-native came to Fort Dodge in 1872 while still a soldier in the 7^th Cavalry. He soon opened a successful restaurant. In 1877, he began a four-year stint as mayor. That was the heyday of Dodge’s cowtown period, and Kelley associated with Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and others.

But by the 1890s, bad business decisions cost him everything. Kelley supervised the “Angel Barracks,” a home for old widowers. When he died in 1912 at age 79, he was buried at Fort Dodge.