Council Grove Historic District

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Council Grove Historic District
Last Chance Store.jpg
Last Chance Store, a part of the district
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Location U.S. 56 and other areas, Council Grove, Kansas
Coordinates 38°39′32″N96°28′44″W / 38.65889°N 96.47889°W / 38.65889; -96.47889 Coordinates: 38°39′32″N96°28′44″W / 38.65889°N 96.47889°W / 38.65889; -96.47889
Built1825 (1825)
NRHP reference # 66000347
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966 [1]
Designated NHLDMay 23, 1963 [2]

The Council Grove Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District located in Council Grove, Kansas, United States. It consists of six discontiguous areas in the city important in the history of the Santa Fe Trail and American migration to the west in the 19th century. Council Grove was named for the occasion of an 1825 treaty negotiation between the Osage Indians and the US Federal government which guaranteed the Santa Fe caravans safe passage through Osage territory. The landmark was designated in 1963. [2]

Council Grove, Kansas City and County seat in Kansas, United States

Council Grove is a city and county seat in Morris County, Kansas, United States. This city is fifty-five miles southwest of Topeka. It was named after an agreement between European Americans and the Osage Nation about allowing settlers' wagon trains to pass through the area and proceed to the West. Pioneers gathered at a grove of trees so that wagons could band together for their trip west. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,182.

Kansas U.S. state in the United States

Kansas is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, with its most populated county being Johnson County. Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison.

Santa Fe Trail Transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which carried trade from Mexico City.

Contents

Trees

The area that is now Council Grove was a natural stopping point for westward migrants on the Santa Fe Trail, since it had plentiful water, and was the last adequate source of lumber (needed for maintenance of wagons). It was, however, in territory controlled by the Osage people. Delegates of the United States government met with Osage leaders, and signed an agreement guaranteeing safe passage through Osage territory to migrants. The site of this meeting was in what is now a small park at the center of Council Grove, under a large oak tree. That tree was felled by a storm in 1958, but its stump has been preserved and had a shelter built over it, and is one of the principal features of the district. A second tree, located on the north side of East Main Street just east of the Madonna of the Grove, was believed to be over 300 years old at the time of the landmark designation; [3] it has also succumbed to the elements, with a sheltered tree section set in front of an old stone house.

Trail section

The exact route of the Santa Fe Trail between Council Grove and points east varied over time, and was channeled onto Main Street when the city was platted. A relatively undisturbed section of wagon ruts dating to the period of migration were found about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Council Grove. [3]

Historic buildings

Three buildings dating to the historic period of migration by wagon are also included in the district. The Seth Hays House, located at the southwest corner of Hall and Wood Streets, is a single-story brick house, built about 1855 by Seth Hays, the first white settler in Morris County. Hays's first home was a log cabin on Main Street, which he replaced with the Hays Tavern in 1857, in order to better serve the caravans passing through. The Last Chance Store, located at Main and Chautauqua Streets, is a stone commercial establishment built in 1857. At that time it was on the western outskirts of the community, and was the last retail establishment serving caravans. [4] It was designated an NHL in 1963. [2] [3]

Last Chance Store United States historic place

The Last Chance Store was built in 1857 along the Santa Fe Trail at Council Grove, Kansas. Located where the trail crossed the Neosho River, it was the last store in the settlement before the river. It was operated by Tom Hill as a trading post, as well as a post office and a polling place. The structure is constructed of local limestone, irregularly course, with a gable room and some quoining at the corners. The building marks a transition from the Frontier style of construction to the Prairie Vernacular style.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Morris County, Kansas Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Morris County, Kansas.

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Cherokee Trail

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Kaw Mission United States historic place

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References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
  2. 1 2 3 "Council Grove Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  3. 1 2 3 HCRS Boundary Review Task Force, S. Pearce, and N. Witherell (August 6, 1984), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Council Grove National Historic Landmark (pdf), National Park ServiceCS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) and Accompanying 16 photos, from 1983 and undated  (32 KB)
  4. Historic Council Grove Today Archived 2010-02-09 at the Wayback Machine , Kansas State Historical Society website, accessed January 11, 2010