Johnson County History

Researched by: Mac Cook and Miranda Pelletier ©2007

Early County History

     The Shawnee and the Kansas Indians were the first human inhabitants of Johnson County, KS. During that time the Indians could find shelter by the streams, and Kansas was home to bears, beavers, mink, otters, and wolves. In 1825, the Shawnee reservation was set aside for these Indians in accordance with a treaty. By May, 1844, the reservation contained more than 1,600,000 acres.
       The county was officially established in 1855. The first election in the Kansas Territory was held in 1853. In the first election whites and Indians voted, even though the Indians were not legal United States citizens. People from Johnson County were not represented at the first Free State Convention (citizens against slavery) because many citizens were pro-slavery. The legislature of Kansas was summoned to Topeka on July 4th, 1856, but was dismissed by Colonel Edwin V. Sumner on the orders of the President of the United States.

In August of that year, a party of border ruffians went to the Quaker Mission, threatened the superintendent, and stole six horses, a mule, and a wagon.  A few days prior to his trial, a young Missourian named Cantral, participated in the Battle of Blackjack under the command of John Brown.  He fought on the Free State side.  He was captured by a group of border ruffians and was later executed for treason against Missouri.  One of the most horrid murders committed during the border war was the murder of Major Gay, U.S., a government agent for the Indians.  He was shot because he said he agreed with the ideas of the free-staters.

A major battle of the border war, also known as "Bleeding Kansas," was what has come to be known as "The Battle of Bull Creek."  Gen. Lane met Gen. Reid, who was commanding the pro-slavery forces.  Lane's forces numbered about 400, while Reid's numbered about 1,500.  A few shots were exchanged by skirmishers on both sides and Reid ordered his men to fall back.  They went all the way to Westport, MO.  They stopped and burned the house of a free-stater along the way in retaliation. 

When the Civil War began, Johnson County gathered its full quota of soldiers.  The first battle of the Civil War to take place within the borders of the county was the battle of Blow-hard.  It took place in August, 1861.  C.R. Jenison made a raid on Olathe after the battle of Blow-hard.  Quantrill made a famous raid on Olathe where he and his men stole valuables and horses, as well as killed several civilians.  Later, this type of raid was tried again at Shawnee.  Nearly the entire city was burned down.  Quantrill was a famous raider from Missouri, he is best known for burning down Lawrence, Kansas.

After the Civil War, the population of Johnson County grew very rapidly. In 1870, the population was 13,000 and Johnson County’s first train station was built in Campbelltown, which is now Merriam. In 1880, the population was 16,853, and still growing.  This time in Kansas history was a time of exciting change. In 1881, the Kansas State Supreme Court ruled that only first class cities, the ones with populations of more than 15,000 people, could legally establish separate schools for African American students. This meant that most people in Johnson County had equal rights.

In the 1890’s, the population was still increasing at 17,385. In 1898, the first Old Settlers’ Day celebration was held in Olathe. It was originally called the Old Settlers’ Reunion. The idea for the Old Settlers Association started in the 1870’s, a little less than 20 years after permanent settlers were first allowed into the county.

The 1900’s brought even more progress to the area. In 1904, a man named W.B. Strang started constructing an inter-urban electric railroad between Kansas City and Olathe. It passed through Overland Park and Lenexa. A second one, called the Hocker Grove Line, was built south and west of Merriam and Shawnee.

In the early 1910's, the northeastern part of the county was beginning to be developed. More and more families came toward Johnson County, lured by the many community developments like Mission Hills and the Country Club District, designed by J.C. Nichols.

Between 1910 and 1940, the county's population went from 18,288 to 33,327. Most of this growth was due to the huge northeastern corner and the electric railroads. The population got even bigger after World War II. In 1950, it was 63,000. In the 60's, it almost doubled to 120,000. The biggest growth was still in the northeastern part of the county.

In the last half of the century, transportation corridors like Interstates 35 and 435 opened rural areas to new kinds of development. In the process, huge new employment patterns started to emerge. Between 1970 and 1984, the number of people employed by businesses in the county increased by over 200%.

By 2000, the population was 451,086; and now, it is about 560,000.

Citations:

William, Cutler. History of Johnson County . 1883. 30 Jan 2007 http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/johnson/jhonson-co-p1.html.

 “Shawnee Indian.” Online image. Ohiohistorycentral.org. 30 January 2007. <http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/images/208.jpg>.

 “Raid on Lawrence.” Online image. Answers.com. 30 January 2007. <http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/4/45/333px-Battle_of_Lawrence.png>.

"Johnson County, Kansas." wikipedia. 20 Jan 2007. 30 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_County,_Kansas>.

"A Brief History of Johnson County." Johnson County Museums. 30 Jan 2007 <http://www.jocomuseum.org/jocohistory.htm>.

"Timeline." JoCo History. 13 Oct 2006. 30 Jan 2007 <http://www.jocohistory.net/timeline/index.asp>.

“History of Johnson County”. Online image. Kansas Collection Books. 30 Jan 2007 <http://www.kancoll.org/books/blair/blchapter01.htm>

“Map of Johnson County”. Online image. Skyways. 30 Jan 2007. <http://skyways.lib.ks.us/counties/JO/>

Related Links:

Brief History of Johnson County
History of Johnson County 1915
Skyways
Johnson County Kansas --Wikipedia