The area had been inhabited by several different Indian
Tribes for thousands of years-until the "white man"
discovered it. And through the years Osawkee has seen
many changes; not only by the people who have lived
here, but in the land itself. Once just a river named
"Grasshopper", then renamed "Delaware River",
it flowed
through until a dam was built to create a lake. Even the
spelling of the town has changed, and more than once:
from Osawkee to Osawkie in 1883, when the railroad
depot was built, and then 17 years later to Ozawkie.
The current City of Ozawkie is known as the "Oldest and
Newest Town in Jefferson County". Founded by William F.
Dyer who, in fact, illegally settled on the land prior
to the Treaty of 1854. Though nothing came of his
"illegal" settlement, Mr. Dyer went on to build the
first business in the area, a trading post, alongside
the military freight road that ran between Fort
Leavenworth and Fort Riley.
During the Delaware Trust Land sales, people immigrated
from both the northern and southern states to Osawkee
seeking trade along the Military Freight Road and
fertile land to raise abundant crops. The
southerner's who had slaves brought them, hence
"Pro-Slavery". The northerner's were anti-slave and
fought to keep Kansas a free state, hence "Free-State".
The pro-slave men took up residence in Osawkee, east of
the Grasshopper river, where the free-state men made
their homes west of the river, which is where the new
City of Ozawkie is located, calling it "Pleasant Hill".
In 1964, Ozawkie was rebuilt on higher land one mile
west of the original town in order for Perry Dam Project
to be constructed.
1819 - U.S. Government Exploring Expedition under
Major Long was said to be first white men to have
visited the area.
1825 - After the Indian Treaty of June, 3 1825,
Major Daniel Morgan Boone, son and 7th of 10
children of famed "Kentucky Pioneer"
Daniel Boone, arrived to this area after being
appointed "Kansa Indian Agent" where he was to
advise the area Indians on agriculture matters.
1828 - On August 22nd the first white child born in
Kansas Territory,
Napoleon Boone, was the 12 child of Maj. Daniel
Morgan Boone.
1831 - Delaware Indians, originally from the Lenape
People from the Delaware Region, complete their move
to Kansas from Missouri.
1854 - Kansas becomes a Territory. The Delaware
Nation lands were surveyed and each tribe member
received compensation for all but a small portion of
their land by the United States, which was dispersed
in the "Delaware Trust Land" sale. Both Pro-Slavery
and Free-State Settlers came to Kansas to set claim
on land. The first election was held in the district
and a rivalry broke out between the two groups.
1855 - Osawkee boundaries were surveyed and town
becomes county seat, the first post office, and
first school house were also built. A bill was
introduced in Legislature to change the town's name
to Wabash, which failed to pass.
1856 - Under the order of Colonel Whipple, many
pro-slavery homes of Osawkee were raided with the
aid of Captain Ephrain Bainter, a free-state man who
was later elected free-state sheriff of Jefferson
County.
1857 - Federal Lands sales take place and the area
population rises to 3,500 due to an influx of
immigrants. Unmarried men were said to be obliged to
pay 25¢ per acre more
than a married man.
1858 - An election was held after the Legislature of
1857-58, which gave the people of Jefferson County
the ability to vote for the county seat. With 177
votes, Oskaloosa became the new county seat of
Jefferson County. In the middle of the night a short
time after the election, the court records were
seized and transported to Oskaloosa via an oxen
drawn wagon.
1860 - The remaining "Delaware Trust Land" was given
to the Leavenworth and Pawnee Railroad to make way
for the railroad, of which had never been built. A
great drought plagued the area.
1865 - A water powered flower and grist mill was
constructed by William Dail and J. M. Funk just
south of Osawkee. It was used by the government to
grind grain where they supplied flower to the
remaining Delaware Indians occupying a small area of
land south of Osawkee.
1867 - Due to their tiring of the "white man's
antics", the remaining Delaware Indians moved out of
the Osawkee area where they eventually settled in
Oklahoma.
1870 - Drought and depression hit hard for the area
forcing some to move; decreasing the population to
1,600.
1872 - Flooding of Osawkee.
1874 - Massive invasion of the grasshopper wiped out
entire crops and anything else in their way.
1875 - Due to the frequent invasions by grasshopper,
the town's folk changed the river's name from
Grasshopper to Delaware.
1862 - The German Baptist Brethren Church was
organized.
1863 - The first church was built by the Catholics.
1882 - Leavenworth and Topeka Railroad was built.
Osawkee was now spelled "Osawkie" on the train
depot.
1885 - The "Osawkie Times" newspaper was first
published. There were several businesses including a
meat market, dry goods, lumber yard, restaurant,
drug store, general merchandise, two doctors, a 200
room hotel (which burned shortly after), furniture
store, flour mill, "Harness and Saddle" supplier,
blacksmith, post office, lawyer, and "Express"
station, "Steam Saw Mill", auctioneer, stock dealer,
Veterinarian, and a Justice of the Peace.
1908 - The first automobile, a Model T Ford, was
purchased by resident A. O. Kendall.
1914 - Due to several floods, a drainage ditch was
constructed causing the Delaware river to change its
course due west one-half mile from the town of
Ozawkie.
1915 - The Ozawkie High School was built and 26
students were enrolled. The school later burned in
1942 and rebuilt in 1943.
1930 - Rumors that the Army Corps of Engineers were
talking about building a Dam, which would require
the town to be relocated.
1948 - A few of the local citizens, headed by Claude
Brey, represented the town's opposition at a hearing
set by the Engineering Department of Rivers and
Harbors in Washington, D.C., but to no avail.
1954 - Perry Dam Project was approved and because
the town of Ozawkie was an "unincorporated farming
village", the government would not relocate the
town.
1964 - A non-profit organization was formed by the
town's folk in order to purchase land in the Green
Hills area west of the old town. The arrangement
was, "...if they could purchase the land before the
Corps did, they could keep it." The new town was
plotted and lots were sold first to the people who
would be affected by the reservoir. Home owner's
were being offered far less than the appraisal value
for their homes, which prompted another trip to
Washington.
1965 - The Kansas State Historical Society came into
the area's Indian dwelling site to try and find
artifacts before the area was to be flooded. An
earth lodge dating 700 to 800 years old was
discovered, but the excavations were halted when
graves of five white settlers were found.
1966 - The Ozawkie Water Tower, the school, and 26
new homes were built. The first home, belonging to
Mr. and Mrs. Mell Metzger, was moved out of old
Ozawkie.
1967 - The streets of new Ozawkie were named by the
Pleasant Hill Unit: Two streets kept the same names
as Old Ozawkie, "Delaware Drive" and Kansa, which
were originally named in honor of the those Indian
tribes who had inhabited the area over time. Some
streets were named for Kansas symbols, such as
"Buffalo Avenue", "Sunflower", and "Meadowlark".
Other streets were given names that represented
landmarks, such as "Cottonwood Court" and
"Pleasant Hill" nearby where the old Pleasant Hill
School House was located. The next time you drive
through town, the street names just take on a new
meaning than they had before. The new City of
Ozawkie became incorporated and the first Mayor, W.
A. Kramer, was elected.
Links to Information on the
History of Ozawkie/Osawkee/Osawkie.
1825 Indian Treaty
Death Notices from Kansas Territorial Newspapers,
1854-1861. by Alberta Pantle
Ferries in Kansas, Part X -- Grasshopper River,
by George A. Root
The First Day's Battle at Hickory Point From the
Diary and Reminiscenses [sic] of
Samuel James Reader, Edited by George A. Root
Geary and Kansas
by John H.
Gihon, M.D.
Kansas Archeology, Kansas State Historical
Society
The Old Plum Grove Colony, In Jefferson County,
1854-1855, by William John Meredith
Santa Fe Historical and Modeling Society from
Meade's Manual for Leavenworth and Topeka Railway
Company.
The Third Book on Kansas. An Interpretation of J.
Butler Chapman's "History of Kansas and
Emigrant's Guide".
William G. Cutler's History of the State of
Kansas, Part 1, Location and General Features
William G. Cutler's History of the State of
Kansas, Part 2, Early History
William G. Cutler's History of the State of
Kansas, Jefferson County, Part 3, Political Troubles
William G. Cutler's History of the State of
Kansas, Jefferson County, Part 4, Progress of the
County
William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas,
Jefferson County, Part 19, Osawkie Township
Links to Images of Ozawkie:
Wichita State University Libraries - Department
of Special Collections
Kansas State Historical Society photos of 1867:
View on road to Grasshopper Creek near
Perryville, 336 Miles west of St. Louis, Mo.
View on Grasshopper Creek, Kansas. 336 miles
west of St. Louis Mo
Railroad bridge across Grasshopper Creek,
Kansas. 336 miles west of St. Louis Mo.
Links to Maps of Ozawkie and County:
Map of Original Town of Ozawkie
Maps of Jefferson County
If you have information about Ozawkie's history, we
would be happy to review it, and if appropriate, add
it to this page. Please email your information to:
webmaster@ozawkie.org with your resources and/or
references.
