Shawnee Indian Mission Cemetery,
Est. 1839
Researched by: Camen Sauerbrei and Andy Herrmann
© 2007
Thirteen
acres is all that remains. Three lone red brick buildings stand where there once
was so much more. For this spot, right in the middle of suburban Kansas City,
lay the remnants of the once great Shawnee Indian Mission. The Shawnee Mission
was constructed in 1839 and was a school for children of mainly the Shawnee and
Delaware Indian tribes from 1839 to 1862. When the mission was established, the
Shawnee were moved from their native Ohio area to an Indian reservation. The
children were taught in this school. The main reason for it was to convert
Indians to Christianity, however, many believe that it was to protect the
Indians, for they were dying and the saying, "The only good Indian is a dead
Indian." still applied.
 The
mission was located at its initial site from 1830 to 1839. In 1839 the mission
was moved to its present-day Johnson County location site, and there, an Indian
Boarding School was opened. By 1862, enrollment at the mission had greatly
declined due to increases in white settlement and the onset of the Civil War,
and the Shawnee Mission ceased operations for good that year.
As well
as
being a school and a church, it also served as a camp for union soldiers during
the American Civil War and serving as a second capital for territorial Kansas,
with the legislature meeting on the second floor. The capital was moved to the
Mission on July 16, 1855.
 Today,
it is a museum located in the town of Fairway, Kansas
as well as a cemetery. The Shawnee Indian Mission cemetery is owned and
maintained by the Kansas Historical Society. It has been so since 1927, and was
designated a National
Historical Site in 1968. Reverend Thomas Johnson founded and ran the cemetery,
as well. The cemetery contains the remains of Rev. Thomas Johnson, for whom our
county is named, his wife, his brother, Rev. William Johnson, and several other
family members are buried there. It also is a Historical site that you can
tour.
Citations:
"Shawnee Indian Mission."
Shawnee Indian Mission. 2007.
Kansas State Historical
Society. 30 Jan 2007 <http:/
/www.kshs.org/places/shawnee/>.
Schuster, Harland. "Shawnee
Indian Mission State Historical Site.
" Shawnee Indian Mission
State Historical Site. 2003. Historical Site. 30
Jan 2007
<http://www.kansasphototour.com/shawnee.htm>.
"Shawnee Methodist Mission."
Shawnee Methodist Mission.
2007. Answers.com. 30 Jan 2007
<http://www.answers.com/
topic/shawnee-methodist-mission>.
Lewis, Linda. "Shawnee Methodist
Mission Cemetery." internment.net.
2007. 23 Jan 2007
<http://www.interment.net/data/us/ks/johnson/shawnee_meth/index.htm>.
"Mission Plaque". Online Image.
Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery January 30, 2007.
<http://www.interment.net/data/us/ks/johnson/shawnee_meth/index.htm>
"Shawnee Mission Cemetery". Online Image.
Shawnee Methodist Mission
Cemetery January 30, 2007.
<http://www.interment.net/data/us/ks/johnson/shawnee_meth/index.htm>
Related Links:
Shawnee Indian Mission
Shawnee Indian Mission
State Historical Site
Answers.com
Internment.net
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