Deuteronomy 32:7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
It's appalling to see that young people can get a good education in the "how to" courses today, without being instructed in the "how come" and "why and what for" courses. Most have a terrible sense of history and geography and how much hard work and discipline it took to provide them with the opportunities they have.
It's appalling to see that young people can get a good education in the "how to" courses today, without being instructed in the "how come" and "why and what for" courses. Most have a terrible sense of history and geography and how much hard work and discipline it took to provide them with the opportunities they have.
So a good history lesson in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century activities in this country is right close to where we live Mission, Kansas. It is the Shawnee Indian Methodist Mission School.
Shawnee and Delaware Indians moved west to this area settling in on a government gift of 1.6 million acres in what was called at that time, about 1820-1862, the Great American Desert. The chief of the Shawnees requested a missionary through their Indian Agent.
Shawnee and Delaware Indians moved west to this area settling in on a government gift of 1.6 million acres in what was called at that time, about 1820-1862, the Great American Desert. The chief of the Shawnees requested a missionary through their Indian Agent.
A missionary society formed and Reverend Thomas Johnson, a Methodist pastor from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, was its founder. Johnson came west to Clarksville, Missouri, where he married his wie, Sarah Davis.
They moved to Wyandotte County, where Kansas City, Kansas, is located, across the Kaw River and State line from the Town of Kansas, later Kansas City, Missouri. He developed the first Shawnee Methodist Mission.
They moved to Wyandotte County, where Kansas City, Kansas, is located, across the Kaw River and State line from the Town of Kansas, later Kansas City, Missouri. He developed the first Shawnee Methodist Mission.
But Johnson was dissatisfied with the mission operation and proposed a more central location and open to all tribes at the present site. The mission school grew to include 2,000 acres with 200 boys and girls from the ages of five to 23 and with 16 buildings, of which three brick structures are still standing. Tours are given regularly.
The mission was also a boarding school for the indian boy and girl students to be trained in manual arts, agriculture, and basic academics. Besides the Shawnee tribe, the school opened to serve the Kaw (Kansa), Munsee, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Otoe, Osage, Cherokee, Peoria, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Wea, Gros Ventres, Omaha, and Wyandot tribes.
Reverend Johnson turned the school over to his son, Alexander, who managed it until it closed in 1862. Johnson retired to his home in Missouri and was murdered by southern sympathizers for turning from his long-held pro-slavery belief, to swear allegiance to the Union. He and his family are all buried in the Shawnee Indian Methodist cemetery in Fairway, Kansas, close to Mission Road and on Shawnee Mission Parkway.
The Mission served in many ways besides being an Indian school. Kansas became a territory in 1854 and the office moved from what is now Fort Riley, to the Shawnee Indian Mission where the first territorial legislature met and passed the "bogus laws," an attempt to make kansas a pro-slavery state.
The mission was also a Union camp and a supply stop for Union troops during the Civil War. The Battle of Westport, now a trendy upscale part of Kansas City, Missouri, was fought not too far away. And southern troops made a retreat across into Kansas and down along the border barely ahead of Kansas Union troops in hot pursuit.
Wagon trains to Santa Fe, California, and Oregon, formed and set out from Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, and they at the Mission for rest and supplies.
It is in a beautiful park-like setting in a lovely neighborhood, close to Bishop Ohara High School. The mission was deeded to the Johnson family and others until it was acquired by the State of Kansas in 1927. Since that time it has been administered by the Kansas Historical Society.
The mission was also a boarding school for the indian boy and girl students to be trained in manual arts, agriculture, and basic academics. Besides the Shawnee tribe, the school opened to serve the Kaw (Kansa), Munsee, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Otoe, Osage, Cherokee, Peoria, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Wea, Gros Ventres, Omaha, and Wyandot tribes.
Reverend Johnson turned the school over to his son, Alexander, who managed it until it closed in 1862. Johnson retired to his home in Missouri and was murdered by southern sympathizers for turning from his long-held pro-slavery belief, to swear allegiance to the Union. He and his family are all buried in the Shawnee Indian Methodist cemetery in Fairway, Kansas, close to Mission Road and on Shawnee Mission Parkway.
The Mission served in many ways besides being an Indian school. Kansas became a territory in 1854 and the office moved from what is now Fort Riley, to the Shawnee Indian Mission where the first territorial legislature met and passed the "bogus laws," an attempt to make kansas a pro-slavery state.
The mission was also a Union camp and a supply stop for Union troops during the Civil War. The Battle of Westport, now a trendy upscale part of Kansas City, Missouri, was fought not too far away. And southern troops made a retreat across into Kansas and down along the border barely ahead of Kansas Union troops in hot pursuit.
Wagon trains to Santa Fe, California, and Oregon, formed and set out from Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, and they at the Mission for rest and supplies.
It is in a beautiful park-like setting in a lovely neighborhood, close to Bishop Ohara High School. The mission was deeded to the Johnson family and others until it was acquired by the State of Kansas in 1927. Since that time it has been administered by the Kansas Historical Society.
2 comments:
Hi! You didn't mention that Johnson County, Kansas is named for Rev. Johnson. I knew you'd want me to remind you.
Actually, I think his story is very sad, from the viewpoint of how his life ended after all his wonderful accomplishments. There is a nice website that shows the gravestones.
http://www.kansastravel.org/shawneemethodistmissioncemetery.htm
Tina
Sorry to be so long in snswering, Tina. You are right. I just overlooked it and Johnson County is certainly prominent in our lives. Thanks - you actually took care of it for me.
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