New Location
The troops at Fort Hays continued to aid the railroad crews, but the post's location proved to be unsatisfactory for two reasons: the railroad was following a route to the north of the old trail and the post was located in a floodplain that could be destructive. General Winfield Scott Hancock, made the decision to move the post nearer the railroad while visiting there in early 1867. He determined that the post could better serve the railroad if it were moved to a site near where the railroad crossed Big Creek. The new and final location of Fort Hays would be located just south of present day Hays, Kansas. The new Fort Hays site was officially occupied on June 23, 1867.
The new fort, like other Plains forts, was not a true fortification but appeared to be more like a frontier settlement. There was no wall around the post, and the only defensive structure was a blockhouse. The post was designed as a base for supplies and troops who could be dispatched into the field to protect vulnerable people and places when Indian resistance appeared.
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