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Historical Council Grove |
"During
our delay at the Council Grove, the laborers were employed in
procuring timber for axle-trees and other wagon repairs, of
which a supply is always laid in before leaving this region of
substantial growths; for henceforward there is no wood on the
route fit for these purposes. . ."
from Commerce of the Prairies
by Josiah Gregg
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Council Grove is
one of the most historic communities in Kansas. It was named by
U.S. Commission George C. Sibley in August 1825. Sibley met with
the chiefs of the Big and Little Bands of the Osage Indians in
the large grove of hardwood timber on the east bank of the
Neosho River about three hundred yards from where the Santa Fe
Trail crossed this stream. Here the Osage leaders signed a
treaty granting free and safe passage to Euro-Americans on the
Santa Fe Trail. Sibley stated in his diary: "I suggested
the propriety of naming the place ‘Council Grove’ which was
agreed to."
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Artist Charles Goslin |
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The
site of Council Grove was a camping and meeting place for Native
Americans, explorers, soldiers, and Santa Fe Trail traders. Here
they found ample water, grass, and abundant wood due to the
extensive groves of hardwood timber. As a rendezvous point for
caravans moving west on the Santa Fe Trail, Council Grove
provided both Hispanic and American travelers an opportunity to
repair wagons and secure provisions in preparation for the long
overland trip to Santa Fe.
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During the Mexican
War the U.S. Army built a wagon repair depot here. Soon
afterwards, when stagecoach service began on the Santa Fe Trail,
the firm of Waldo, Hall & Company operated a station, shops
and corrals. Seth Hays, a great grandson of Daniel Boone and a
cousin of Kit Carson, came to Council Grove in 1847 to establish
a trading post for the neighboring Kaw Indians. Then in the
late 1850s Hays built a mercantile building to trade with the
Kanzas and Santa Fe Trail travelers. This building became known
later as the "Hays House," which today is a fine
eatery.
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When
Kansas became a territory in 1854 Council Grove was located
within the boundaries of the Kaw Reservation. The only white
people that were legally sanctioned to live here were
government-licensed traders, the Kaw Mission staff, and their
families. However, territorial status brought a flood of
American immigrants to Council Grove and its environs. By 1859
an estimated one thousand white people were living illegally of
the Kaw Reservation. The Treaty of 1859 diminished the Kaw Reservation, placing Council Grove outside its boundaries,
thereby freeing the town to function as a legal entity.
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Most prominent citizens of pre-Civil War Council Grove originally
came from the "Border States" and were strongly
influenced by the southern culture. The wealthiest man in town,
Malcolm Conn, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Two prominent
Council Grove slave-owners were Kentuckian Seth Hays and
Missourian Thomas Huffaker. The town's southern roots was
probably a major factor in Council Grove escaping an attack by
the infamous "Border Ruffian" Dick Yeager when he and
his men rode through during the Civil War.
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Because
of prolonged legal wrangling in the wake of the Kaw Treaty of
1859, the Council Grove Town Company did not receive a town
patent from the U.S. government until January 1864. Despite the
Civil War, the town held its own during the war due mainly to
the trade with the Kaw Indians and Santa Fe Trail merchants.
However, in 1866 the Union Pacific Railroad, Eastern Division,
was constructed to Junction City, and that town became the
eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail, which thereafter
circumvented Council Grove.
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When the Kaw Indians were relocated to Indian Territory in 1873, Council
Grove merchants no longer benefited from the tribe’s annual
expenditure here of twelve thousand dollars in government
annuities. However, by this time Council Grove had been
transformed into a fairly prosperous regional trade center
serving area farmers and ranchers, and the town’s period of
historical significance had receded into the past.
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