Osawatomie, Kansas

History

Osawatomie's name is a compound of two primary Native American tribes from the area, the Osage and Pottawatomie. The name was said to have been thought up by Ely Moore, an Indian agent and former Congressman, in order to settle a dispute on what to call the new settlement. The Pottawatomi had occupied large parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, but in 1838 they marched the Potawatomi Trail of Death and eventually arrived at Pottawattomie Creek, one edge of the modern-day location of Osawatomie, which had been provided to them by treaty. The small tribe did not stay long in Osawatomie and was eventually broken up. The other edge of the town is the Marais des Cygnes River, part of the Osage River system.

The Emigrant Aid Society's transport of settlers to the Kansas Territory as a base for Free State settlers was key in the establishment of the community of Osawatomie in October 1854. Settled by abolitionists in hope of aiding Kansas's entry to the United States as a free state, the community of Osawatomie and other abolitionist communities nearby were quickly the targets of violence by pro-enslavement forces such as Border Ruffians.

From the History section of Osawatomie, Kansas on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.