Sagging saloon would break Miss Kitty's heart

KANAB — In 1951, a Hollywood director named William E. Wellman made a film for MGM called "Westward the Women," a movie about 140 mail-order Eastern brides making their way to lonely ranchers in California.

For the sake of realism, and because MGM had the budget for it, Wellman had an entire Main Street built in a place called Johnson Canyon some 10 miles outside of Kanab. The set had a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a doctor's office, a general store and, of course, a hanging gallows at the far end.

It was the quintessential Western town. So quintessential that when other movie companies saw it, they said, hey, don't tear that down.

The set was used in several more movies and then, in 1955, a TV series called "Gunsmoke" moved in.

And stayed.

As "Gunsmoke" became the longest-running series in television history, airing for 20 consecutive seasons (a feat since tied by "Law and Order"), Dodge City became the most recognized cowboy town in movie history.

Not all of the 635 episodes of "Gunsmoke" were filmed in Johnson Canyon, but a lot of them were.

I bring this up because Dodge City is still standing. Sort of.

But if you want to pay your respects, you better hurry.

Time, the elements, and what the rest of the world calls progress have all taken their toll on the 60-year-old set.

The blacksmith shop is turning in on itself, Doc Adams' office is in complete disrepair, and the Long Branch Saloon is sagging so much it would break Miss Kitty's heart.

If Marshal Dillon were to gallop down Main Street, he'd have to negotiate about a hundred pot holes.

And if he wanted to string up some outlaw at the end of town, somebody cut off the rope.

Alas, when it comes to moviemaking, the decline of Dodge City is emblematic of the decline of Kane County's movie industry.

Time was when Kanab and surrounding area was a bona fide star, earning for itself the nickname "Little Hollywood."

From the 1920s through the 1970s, upwards of 200 movies, the majority of them Westerns, were shot in part or in total in the area.

It began when a silent movie called "Deadwood Coach," starring Tom Mix and Tony The Wonder Horse, was filmed in Johnson Canyon in 1924.