Shawnee Town

History

• Highlights of the History of the Shawnee, Kansas Community

Shawnee is named for the Shawnee Indians that were relocated here in the late 1820s. The westward push of white settlement had weakened and geographically divided the Shawnees by 1825 when the first of three treaties forced them to relocate to Kansas. Here they found an abundance of timber and free-flowing springs. Because the Shawnee wisely lined the springs with gum tree logs to keep them free of contaminating silt, the settlement was called Gum Springs.

In an 1825 treaty with the Indians, the U.S. government gave the Shawnee Indians 1,600,000 acres of land in eastern Kansas, including all of Johnson County, in exchange for their lands in Missouri. By 1854, a new treaty was negotiated, with the Indians selling back to the United States all of the land with the exception of 200,000 acres reserved for their homes, amounting to 200 acres for each member of the tribe. In 1854 the Kansas Territory was opened for settlement. The newly repossessed territory was sold by the government to the incoming home-seekers. Shawneetown (later shortened to Shawnee) was platted soon after in 1856.

One of the State's earliest towns, Shawnee was also the site of the first territorial legislature, and home to the first territorial governor. Located at the intersection of early military and territorial roads leading to the Santa Fe Trail, Shawnee also became the first county seat of Johnson County. In 1862, Shawnee found itself in the middle of Civil War border struggles.  The town was virtually destroyed, when it was burned and looted by southern guerillas led by William Quantrill just months before his infamous raid on Lawrence.  After the County offices moved to Olathe in 1866, Shawnee became a small farm market center. During the 1950's, the population began to grow as people began moving away from congested urban areas to the smaller outlying towns.   People quickly discovered the merits of the City and the population has continued to grow ever since, more than tripling in the last three decades.

1541 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, a Spanish explorer, sets out from Mexico to find the 7 Golden Cities of Cibola. While in New Mexico, he learns of the Land of Quivira and heads north and east in search of this place. He explores southern Kansas and comes to the Kansa River area (near Bonner Springs). Finding no gold, he returns to New Mexico.

Highlights of the History of the Shawnee, Kansas Community

The following is a brief chronology of historical events in Shawnee. Please feel free to contribute additional additional information and/or web links.

1724 Captain M. Etienne Venyard DeBourqemont, a French explorer, discovers a Kansa Indian Village near present day Shawnee.

1762 France loses the territory of Kansas to Spain.

1802 The 1st white hunter known to enter Indian Territory (Jacob "Joe" Pursely).

1803 The Shawnee area and hundreds of thousands of acres to the east, north and west are acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.

1804 - 1806 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explore the Louisiana Purchase by order of President Thomas Jefferson.

1815 Francis Chouteau establishes a trading post near the current site of Kansas City, Kansas.

1820's The Chouteau brothers establish trading posts along the Kaw River.

1823-24 The house which later served as the Wells Fargo station on the government trail from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Scott and Ft. Gibson, Arkansas is built by Chris Fangro. Part of the building remains today as the front of the Calkins Electric building, 5707 Nieman Rd., in Shawnee.

1825 The Shawnee Indian treaties are signed removing the Shawnee from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Missouri to Kansas. Johnson County becomes their headquarters although the Shawnee Reservation extends to Topeka. Over the next 10 years, Shawnee from different parts of the country come to the reservation. The treaties give 1,600,000 acres of land in the Johnson, Wyandotte and Douglas county area to the Shawnee Indians. 1,600 Shawnee Indians eventually relocate to Kansas from Missouri, eastern Ohio, Indiana and Western Pennsylvania, having originally occupied Georgia and later Tennessee.

1825 The United States government signs a treaty with the Osage Indians, giving them right-of-way for a public highway to be known as the Santa Fe Trail.

1827 Ft. Leavenworth is established by Col. Henry Leavenworth on May 8, 1827, to keep peace in the Indian territory and to protect the travelers on the Santa Fe Trail.

1828 The first band of Shawnee arrive in Kansas, after wintering at Cape Girardeau. They decide on the area of present day Shawnee as their headquarters, although their territory includes all lands from the Missouri border to present day Topeka.

1830's Farming begins in the area; the first wheat is grown in Kansas. 3 missions are established. The Shawnee Methodist Mission and Manual Labor School is established in Turner, Wyandotte County, in 1830 by Reverend Thomas Johnson and moves to its current location, at 6125 W. 61st Street, in 1839. The Methodist Mission contains 2,000 acres and 16 buildings, including mills, shops and factories where several thousand Indians are taught agriculture, manual trades and domestic arts until 1862. A mill is established at Mill Creek in 1837. Churches are built and Rev. Charles Bluejacket becomes tribal leader.

1830 A log council house is constructed on a farm which is now part of McAnany Estates, near 53rd and Nieman Rd.

1830 A smallpox epidemic kills most of the Shawnee Tribe as well as members of other tribes. Other tribes which have arrived are the Kickapoo, Delaware, Munsee, and Wyandotte.

1832 The remainder of the Shawnee tribes arrive from Ohio. The population of the Shawnee is about 1,000 persons.

1832 On July 11, 1832, Alexander S. Johnson is born at the Methodist Mission, the first white child born in Kansas Territory. He is later to be one of Shawnee's city founders.

1833 Jotham Meeker arrives in Westport from Michigan, bringing the first printing press to Kansas.

1835 Jotham Meeker starts the first newspaper in the state of Kansas, the Shawnee Sun, also the first newspaper in the Shawnee language.

1838 A Military Road is built from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas to Ft. Gibson, Arkansas.

1840 The Santa Fe Trail is established between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico passing through Overland Park, Lenexa, and Olathe. 600 wagon trains per week pass through Johnson County on their way to Mexico.

1843 The first territorial jail is built by Chris Fangro, which remains on the square in Shawnee until 1966, when it is torn down, rock by rock and rebuilt as the 1st building in Old Shawnee Town.

1844 Devastating flooding of the Kaw River destroys mill and farm lands of the Shawnee Indians.

1853 First Kansas Territorial election held, with 1/2 the votes cast in Gum Springs.

1854 In May, a new treaty with the Shawnee Indians is signed. The Shawnees surrender 1,600,000 acres in exchange for $829,000 (less than $1.00/acre) and 200,000 acres to be distributed in individual allotments. The Shawnee may stay in Kansas, taking 200 acres, or take land allotments in Oklahoma. Some stay while many leave to be uprooted again.

1854 On May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act is passed and signed by President Franklin Pierce. Kansas becomes a territory which extends into eastern Colorado. The Kansas Territory opens up for white settlement.

1854-56 From November 24, 1854 - June 27, 1855 and from July 1855 - Spring 1856, the Shawnee Methodist Mission serves as the capital of the Kansas Territory. In July 1855, a territorial capitol built of natural stone is completed. Andrew H. Reeder is appointed the first territorial governor of Kansas and the 1st territorial legislature meets in 1855. Counties are organized and a census is taken later in the year. Pioneers flock to Kansas to establish homes and farms. Towns spring up overnight. A territorial road is established. Border wars heat up.

1856 Shawneetown is incorporated on August 10, 1856.

1857 Gum Springs (later Shawnee) is designated the first county seat of Johnson County and the 1st District Court is held here in the fall. Mr. J. D. Allen becomes the first white settler in the Shawnee area.

1858 Deed to Shawneetown dated October 23, 1858. Territory begins to attract multitude of settlers. Among them James Butler ("Wild Bill Hickok") who is elected constable of Monticello Township at the age of 18.

1858 In July, the first post office is established in Shawnee, with M. P. Randall as postmaster.

1859 The 4th and last constitutional convention meets at Wyandotte; they draft a document banning slavery and fixing the present boundaries of the state. The document is accepted by a vote of the people in October and in December, a provisional state government is elected.

1860-62 The Pony Express operates in Kansas, with 11 stations along the Kansas section of the route.

1861 The eastern portion of the Kansas territory becomes the 34th state on January 29, 1861, joining as a free state after many years of turmoil. Upsets balance of free-state, slave-state balance and ignites spark to start the Civil War. Kansas women are given the right to vote in school elections.

1862 Shawneetown is affected by the Civil War. On October 17, 1862, Shawnee is raided by William Clarke Quantrill, a frustrated school teacher in his twenties, and his band of guerillas. Many of the town's homes and businesses are burned and 2 are killed. Civil War continues until 1864. Many settlers leave the area to find tranquility elsewhere.

1860's-70's Horse thieves are hung by rope from a tall hickory tree in a little pioneer cemetery at 55th and Goddard, which comes to be known as "Horse Thief Cemetery".

1864 Charles Bluejacket is elected Shawnee chief. Bluejacket was the grandson of Marmaduke Van Swerangen, a white man born in Virginia who had been captured by the Shawnee Indians and given the new name Bluejacket because he was wearing a blue hunting shirt at the time of his capture. Van Swerangen had been out hunting with a younger brother when he was captured by the Shawnee Indians, and had agreed to go willingly to live with the Shawnee provided they release his brother.

1868 Shawnee's St. Joseph's Catholic Church organized.

1875 Most of the Shawnee Indians again pushed West, this time to the Shawnee Reservation in Oklahoma. Some Shawnee Indians remain in Shawnee.

1912 Women gain the right to vote in Kansas.

1922 Re-incorporated as Shawnee, a city of the 3rd class, on June 10, 1922.

1940's Post war era, Johnson County begins to develop with houses and highways.

1957 Incorporated as a city of the 2nd class on January 29, 1957.

1960 On April 5, 1960, Shawnee passes a $65,000 bond issue (418 - 208) to build its first City Hall in the city square, bounded by Johnson Drive, 58th St., Nieman Rd., and Barton Avenue. Prior to this, offices had been at fire headquarters.

1960 Shawnee's 1st City Hall built

1966 The Shawnee Historical society begins development of Old Shawnee Town to preserve local 19th century buildings.

1968 Shawnee annexes to Woodland Drive south of Johnson Drive. City now covers 20 square miles.

1971 Incorporated as a city of the 1st class on October 22, 1971. Shawnee annexes area to K-7, south of 55th.

1971 City Hall remodeled, increasing in size from 6,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet.

1974 Shawnee adopts City Manager form of government with Charter Ordinance 12. Dennis Kallsen is appointed the City's 1st City Manager in August 1974, when Shawnee has a population of approximately 25,000. Kallsen resigns in January, 1976, after 16 months as City Manager, to become City Manager of Tinley Park, Illinois.

1979 Shawnee Public Safety Center built at 65th and Quivira.

1984 Shawnee annexes land north of 55th, west of K-7.

1987 Shawnee annexes land south of 55th to 83rd/79th west to Kansas River. City size increases to 42 square miles and ultimate boundaries are defined.

1990 City Hall remodeled, in a $2.8 million expansion, tripling in size, from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet. Dedication and open house held January 13, 1990. Kansas Governor Mike Hayden participates in ribbon cutting ceremony. Time capsule is buried, including letters from local families to their children, Royals baseball cards, a bottle of homemade wine, a McDonald's Happy Meal (minus the food) and many other items brought by local residents. Also buried in the vault is a 2-hour documentary, "Shawnee, 1990," which no one will be allowed to view for 25 years, until the vault is opened on January 13, 2015.

1990 Civic Centre built.

1998 Public Works Service Center, 18690 Johnson Drive, completed. Dedication held March 28, 1998.

2001 Charles Stump Memorial Park was dedicated March 24, 2001.

2002 An antique-looking clock tower was added to the streetscape in front of City Hall.

2003 Charles Bluejacket statue dedication.