Born in 1947 and raised in Baldwin City, Kansas, Dr. Roger Lee Boyd began his lifelong relationship with the Santa Fe Trail as a child. From a young age, he assisted his father in caring for the Trail ruts and tall grass prairie located at Black Jack Crossing, a few miles east of Baldwin City in Douglas County. In high school, he began participating in the annual burning of the prairie around these ruts, done to preserve the integrity of the prairie habitat. He has been the leader of the burning as well as the main caretaker of this Trail landmark for decades. Roger joined the Baldwin Santa Fe Trail Historical Society, which is the Douglas County Chapter of SFTA, in the late 1980s, became a Board member in 1998 and has been the president since 2011.
Roger has worked tirelessly to preserve, protect, and promote the Trail in and around Douglas County. Most recently, he coordinated county, state, NPS, SFTA groups as well as local chapter members and Baldwin City volunteers in creating and building an ADA-accessible walking trail around and through the most prominent ruts at the Black Jack Crossing. Interpretive signs and an audio tour enhance the learning environment for visitors.
Roger also worked with Freedom’s Frontier to create the SFT Landmark Tour – a narrated driving tour through Douglas County that utilizes a phone app. He coordinates and leads programs and tours about the Trail for the local community, chapter, and visitors. Always the ambassador, Roger even shared SFT information with his biology students at Baker University as they passed Trail sites on their way to conduct field research! Because of his great knowledge, local community members – and leaders of Douglas County – call on him for information about the Trail.
Douglas County has 20+ informational signs along its Trail route, along with many other Trail markers. Roger is instrumental in maintaining and replacing these signs as well as creating new ones on a regular basis. He assists with his chapter’s website and provides much of the educational material. Through his membership and leadership in multiple Douglas County organizations, he works for the preservation and promotion of the Trail. He promotes SFTA events and membership within his local chapter. He is currently leading his chapter in strategic planning for the future.
Dr. Roger Boyd has been supporting and promoting the Santa Fe Trail for over 60 years. His knowledge, enthusiasm for, and support of the Trail show always. He is a true ambassador of the Trail!
