GREAT BEND, a city of central Kansas, U.S.A., on the Arkansas river and Federal highway 5oN, at an altitude of 1,843 ft.; the county seat of Barton county. It is served by the Missouri Pacific and the Santa Fe railways. The population in 93o Federal census was 5,548. It has grain elevators and flour mills, and is a shipping point for wheat, live stock and other agricultural products. The city was founded about 187o and in corporated in 1871. It was on the old Santa Fe trail, which passed through the courthouse square. East of the city are the ruins of Fort Zarah (established 1864), from which soldiers es corted wagon trains through the dangerous stretch beyond. The region west of Great Bend was the home of vast herds of buffalo, antelope and deer, and was a famous hunting ground for the Indians of the plains, and the scene of innumerable conflicts among the tribes. Near Great Bend was the alleged site of the mythical city of Quivira, sought by Coronado.