The first sign that you’re approaching Council Grove is a narrow stone tower, made all the more striking by the prevailing flatness of the scenery around it. That tower is the Kaw Indian Memorial, or the Allegawaho Park (depending on who you ask), and it is dedicated to the remains of the unknown Indian. The Kaw or Kanza people, from which Kansas gets its name, had lived in the area around contemporary Manhattan, Kansas for decades when the Louisiana Purchase set in motion a catastrophic series of events. The Kaw agreed to sell a chunk of land to the Americans, but were stiffed on the agreed-upon payment. Smallpox ravaged the people and then was followed by a crushing flood. Weakened, reduced, and with few options on the table, the Kaw accepted a new deal with the US government to relocate to a 256,000-acre reservation around Council Grove.
However, Council Grove wasn’t an isolated pocket wherein the Kaw could settle in peace. Rather, it was a critical stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Last Chance Store, founded in 1857 and still standing today, marketed itself as the “last chance for beans, bacon, and whiskey” with the sprawling prairie unfolding in the miles beyond. The Hays House, also built in 1857, was launched by Seth Hays, Daniel Boone’s great-grandson, and remains in operation–the oldest continuously used restaurant west of the Mississippi. (While the waitress warned me about the size of their pancakes, they don’t hold a candle to the Leeton Cafe’s.) The town had a “post office” (a tree with a nook near its base where travelers would deposit notes), lodging, and other mercantile operations–many of which survive today.
Before any of those businesses were established, though, another structure was built–a missionary school to educate indigenous youth. The Kaw Mission School opened in 1851 and was a residential institution, housing 30 Kaw youth. This was imposed, an attempt to assimilate the young people into white culture. Three years later, though, the school was scrapped, viewed as not being sufficiently cost effective. Today, the old mission building contains a museum and its portrayal of the region’s treatment of its indigenous population is even-handed, highlighting the many harms inflicted and refraining from pro-settler mythmaking. That said, it is occasionally understated in its judgments, like when it observes that, “The Kaw did not respond well to the missionaries.”
A few years later, Chief Allegawaho made a prescient declaration to the US Commissioner of Indian Affairs: “You treat my people like a flock of turkeys. You come into our dwelling place and scare us out. We fly over and alight on another stream but…you come along and drive us farther and farther. In time we shall find ourselves across the great mountains and landing in the bottomless ocean.” And indeed, the Kaw were not long for Council Grove. In 1873, they were relocated to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
When I arrived in Council Grove, I expected to encounter a glorious story of the settlers who risked everything to come through here. And certainly, the settler story is told. But it’s clear that a significant effort has been made to tell the story of the Kaw as well, and to have their presence stand proudly on par with the Europeans. Two figures are permanently displayed in the center of Council Grove, just east of the Neosho River. To the east stands the “Madonna of the Trail”, dedicated to the pioneer mothers who passed through town. To the west is the “Guardian of the Grove,” intended to preserve many historical elements of the Kaw people. And while the Kaw headquarters remain in Oklahoma today, work has been done to reconnect them with the land here.
My knowledge of the specific history of this area is far too lacking to effectively gauge the accuracy and thoroughness of the stories told here, but I walk away feeling impressed by the efforts made to paint the broad brushstrokes in an objective and even-handed manner.
Technical Notes:
- There’s nothing between Osage City and Council Grove, so make sure you’re well stocked!
- ADT waymark in the Kaw Mission!
- For those interested in history, it’s possible to stay in a historic hotel in Council Grove (the Cottage House) and to eat in two interesting places (the aforementioned Hays House and the Trail Days Cafe)
