Coronado Cross, just outside Fort Dodge KS
"On June 29, 1541, after much hardship, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and his group crossed the Arkansas River (called the St. Peter & St. Paul River) near present day Fort Dodge, Kansas. Father Juan de Padilla held a mass of thanksgiving on the nearby hills, the first Christian service held in the interior of the continent, predating the landing of the Pilgrims almost 100 years."
[
