This month marks the 160th anniversary of a historic event that impacted the future of Southeast Kansas.
On Sept. 29, 1865, on the east bank of the Neosho River, less than one quarter mile south of the town of Shaw, representatives of the United States government and the Osage Nation met at a small frontier trading post operated by A.B. Canville and signed a treaty that paved the way for the eventual relocation of the Osage people from Southeast Kansas to a new reservation in Indian Territory (present-day northern Oklahoma).
It was this treaty that placed in motion the post-Civil War movement of homesteading settlers to eastern Kansas and the establishment of the railroad industry throughout the region.
Unfortunately, the outcome of the Canville Treaty was disruptive for the Osage people and their traditional way of life. It resulted in their removal from their ancestral homeland in the Neosho River valley and forced their relocation to south central Kansas and ultimately Indian Territory. Were it not for the Canville Treaty, the population centers of Southeast Kansas would look much different than they do today. In the absence of the Canville Treaty, there may never have been the founding of a Parsons, Erie, Chanute, Independence, or many other Southeast Kansas communities, at least not by the names that we know them today.
This fall presents a wonderful opportunity to travel back in time and learn more about the history of Southeast Kansas that resulted from the signing of the Canville Treaty. This history is informatively displayed in the numerous historical museums located throughout the region. A list of all these museums and information about their hours and locations can be found at sekmuseums.org. Here’s just a sampling.
— On Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Oak Grove School Historical Society will sponsor an open house of the restored 1877 Oak Grove Schoolhouse. Activities will include a scavenger hunt, drawings for free copies of the “Little House on the Prairie” book, stories about the unique history of Oak Grove and its location on the historic Osage Trail and activities for children to learn what it was like to attend a oneroom school in the 1870s. And yes, a one-room school teacher will be there!
(Note: You can reach Oak Grove by following Queens Road to the intersection with 20th Road in Neosho County, turn east onto 20th Road and travel for 3 ½ miles. You can also find the Oak Grove school on Google Maps by searching for “Historic Oak Grove Schoolhouse.”) Historical marker located in Shaw on the south side of 160th Road (at the southwest corner of the intersection of 160th Road and Marshall Road).
Historical marker located two miles north of Erie (and 3 1/2 miles east of Shaw) on the southeast corner of the intersection of U.S. 59 and K-146.
— The Osage Mission - Neosho County Museum in St. Paul – visit here and learn more about the Osage people and the mission that was established to serve them. And while there, see a fully restored frontier log cabin from the period of the 1860s.
— Visit Galesburg on Sept. 20 and enjoy “Galesburg Days” and tour the Galesburg Historical Museum and see an original pioneer wagon from the days of travel along the Osage Trail.
— Visit the MemErie Historical Museum in Erie, tour old farm implements and learn why Erie is known as “Beantown USA.”
— Visit the Parsons Historical Museum, see the first grand piano brought to Southeast Kansas, and learn about the connection between the Katy Railroad and the Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The list of museums goes on – Chanute, Independence, Oswego, McCune, Pittsburg and dozens more. In commemoration of the anniversary of the signing of the Canville Treaty, the Southeast Kansas Museum Alliance invites you to learn more about the history of Southeast Kansas by visiting all of these museums and while there, pick up a free SEK Museum Alliance “Passport” booklet for your family and get it stamped at each museum that you visit.
