A Fascinating History
Shawnee has a fascinating history that includes Indians, pioneers,
foreigners, gunfights, fire fights and food fights. Its history dates
back to 1825 when the Osage Indians had utilized this land on the
Kansas River. In the 1840s and 1850s, travelers that were moving
across county would visit these parts by way of the Oregon Trail,
California Trail and Santa Fe Trail. Agriculture and fur-trading
made Shawnee into a growing town that became a city that was officially
incorporated in 1856. In 1858, the American Old West came to the
area when Wild Bill Hickok was elected constable for the township
of Monticello, which is now part of Shawnee. It was around that time
that the country was about to embark on the Civil War and Shawnee
was in the thick of it. William Quantrill and the Missouri Bushwackers
burned much of the town. Some Shawnee townsmen, including Hickok,
served the Union at the Battle of Westport. Later, early pioneers
came to Shawnee with the hopes of the American Dream by working the
land beginning in the 1920s. Then, settlers from Ireland, Germany
and Belgium fought to make Shawnee an agricultural leader in fruit
and produce. They gave Shawnee character and diversity that continues
to be celebrated today.
|
