Kaw Mission and Last Chance Store Museums

Kaw Mission and Last Chance Store Museums 500 N. Mission Street, Council Grove, KS 66846-1433
620-307-2754
kshs.org/kaw_mission government removed the Kaw to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Kaw Mission is more than just a museum that tells the story of the building that was home and school to 30 Kaw boys from 1851-1854; it is a tribute to the Kaw (or Kansa), who gave our state its name. The Kaw lived in the Neosho Valley along the Santa Fe Trail for less than 30 years when, despite an impassioned plea by Chief Allegawaho, the U.S. Learn more about Chief Allegawaho, the Kaw, the Santa Fe Trail, and their stories when you visit Kaw Mission.

Council Grove mail Stop Part - 4"The road from Fort Leavenworth to New Mexico ran through what is now Easton, at the cro...
05/08/2026

Council Grove mail Stop Part - 4
"The road from Fort Leavenworth to New Mexico ran through what is now Easton, at the crossing of Stranger Creek [which was known as "Dawson's crossing" in the early 1850's]; then through what is now Wi******er, [and on to ] Ozakee [Ozawkie] at the crossing of Grasshopper, now [called] Delaware River and [thence to] Soldier Creek, four miles north of where now stands Topeka. There [at Topeka] it crossed the Kaw on Papan's {Papin's] Ferry, about sixty miles from Fort Leavenworth, thence to Council Grove, sixty miles farther, intersecting the main Santa Fe Trail from Independence, Missouri [at what became Wilmington, Wabaunsee County], east of the Grove [and west of present Burlingame]."A Santa Fe-bound army officer, traveling this route in May, 1852,referred to it as "the new road...which had been established and used for three years only." He (2nd Lt. William D. Whipple?) also stated that it was 54 miles from the fort to the Kansas river; and that crossing it was 17 miles to "Wah-ka-russi Creek"; and at "86 miles from Fort Leavenworth" the new road struck the "broad trace from Independence to Santa Fe ." Source- The beginning of the West by Louis Barry - Photo of William D. Whipple

Happy 174th Wedding Anniversary to Thomas and Eliza Baker.On May 6th, 1852, Thomas Sears Huffaker (teacher at Kansa Meth...
05/06/2026

Happy 174th Wedding Anniversary to Thomas and Eliza Baker.
On May 6th, 1852, Thomas Sears Huffaker (teacher at Kansa Methodist Mission), and Eliza A. Baker (daughter of [Joshua W.?] [and Agnes] Baker, [Joshua was a] one-time government blacksmith for the "Mississippi" Sac & Fox Indians), on May 6, at Council Grove, by the Rev. E. G. Nicholson (a "northern" Methodist missionary en route East from New Mexico. Photos of Thomas and Eliza in later years. Source-The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry

Council Grove Mail Stop Part-3Lowes's account also stated that there was "not a house between Fort Leavenworth and Papan...
05/01/2026

Council Grove Mail Stop Part-3
Lowes's account also stated that there was "not a house between Fort Leavenworth and Papan's Ferry across the Kaw [Kansas], sixty miles, and none between the ferry and Council Grove..." He was referring to the new (in 1850) military road which linked Fort Leavenworth with the Santa Fe Trail by a nearly direct route from the army post to a junction east of Council grove. (This was a refinement of the Fort Leavenworth-Union Town-Council Grove road which Capt. L. C. Easton had suggested in 1849, shortening it by utilizing the Kansas river "lower crossing" 15 miles below Union Town [the "Papin's ferry" crossing] at present Topeka.) In his book Lowe outlines the route as follows: To be continued..... Source- The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry
Drawing of Pappan's Ferry

Council Grove Mail Stage- Part- 2Percival G. Lowe (a corporal in Company B, First dragoons, in 1851) wrote in his 1906-p...
04/28/2026

Council Grove Mail Stage- Part- 2
Percival G. Lowe (a corporal in Company B, First dragoons, in 1851) wrote in his 1906-published Five Tears a Dragoon, that "The Kaw [Kanza] Indians near Council Grove had been committing some depredations-stealing horses...[etc.]," and that in "January [?] of 1851 Bvt. Maj. Tobert H. Chilton, with about 50 dragoons, marched the 120 miles to Council grove, had a "big talk," and brought back "four of the principal chiefs of the Kaw Nation" to Fort Leavenworth as prisoners. (Lowe described the troopers' hardship-for lack of winter clothing-on this trip; and recollected that about half of the men were frostbitten to some extent, several severely.) To be continued...
Source- The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry- Photo of Percival G. Lowe

The May 3rd Kaw Mission Councils Westward Expansion Lecture Series will be the 175th Commemoration of the Kaw Mission. T...
04/24/2026

The May 3rd Kaw Mission Councils Westward Expansion Lecture Series will be the 175th Commemoration of the Kaw Mission. The program will be held at The Territory Ball Room, located at 117-119 West Main Street at 2 p.m. The program will be presented by Mark Brooks, Kaw Mission and Last Chance Store State Historic Site Administrator and Kansas Historical Society Executive Director Patrick Zollner. The program will be on the 175th commemoration of the Kaw Mission that was originally constructed in the fall of 1850 as a manual labor and boarding school for the Kanza. The building was also used as a meeting place, church services, hotel and as a home. Today the Kaw Mission is a Kansas State Historic Site and Museum. The program will cover the vast history of Council Grove's oldest building. Horsd'oeuvres will be served along with a cash bar. The program is sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society, the Friends of Kaw Heritage, City of Council Grove, Young, Nystrom, Hylton, Trembly, Area foundations and Trusts. A $3 suggested donation will be collected.

A February 18 [1851] letter from Weston, Mo. (received at Boonville,Mo., or before the 22nd), contained the far-from-acc...
04/24/2026

A February 18 [1851] letter from Weston, Mo. (received at Boonville,Mo., or before the 22nd), contained the far-from-accurate information that "Pawnees" had attacked the "Government [mail] Station" at Council Grove and 'killed several persons"; and that a company of Fort Leavenworth's dragoons had set out for that place. In mid-March the St. Louis Republican learned that the :Indian outrage" of some weeks back consisted of the theft, by "Sac" Indians, of a number of horses and mules from the Council Grove mail station; and that the Fort Leavenworth troops had captured part of the stolen animals(the rest were believed in the hands of the Osages), and had brought back to the fort "some of the principal men of the nation" as hostages for delivery of the unrecovered animals. To be continued.... Source -The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry - Photo of Fort Leavenworth

The Kaw Mission Gift Shop will be participating in the HWY 56 Sales Scramble, a 200 mile Yard and gift shop sale Thursda...
04/22/2026

The Kaw Mission Gift Shop will be participating in the HWY 56 Sales Scramble, a 200 mile Yard and gift shop sale Thursday April 23 through Sunday April 26. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, all gift items except Jewelry will be 10% off regular prices. We have a large selection of History books, stuffed animals, poster, magnets, postcards, Stickers and Council Grove souvenirs. Hours are 9 - 5 Thursday- Saturday and 1- 5 on Sunday.

Pappan Ferry Part-2Five years later, the Pappans were charging two dollars for each wagon, twenty-five cents for a mule ...
04/21/2026

Pappan Ferry Part-2

Five years later, the Pappans were charging two dollars for each wagon, twenty-five cents for a mule or horse, and ten cents for each man. Later that month, a competing ferry at Uniontown, some fifteen miles above the Pappan location, forced the price down to one dollar per wagon, although, as a result of the "forty-niner" traffic, the volume was up dramatically, as each ferry took care of between sixty-five and seventy wagons a day. Other competition soon developed, including the operation of Charlie Fish, a Delaware who had married Julie Pappan's sister Rosalie and whose business was located on the Kansas River just below the Pappans'. Nevertheless, the Pappans enjoyed advantages that were not available to Fish, Uniontown, or the Weld ferry nearby. Until the opening of Kansas Territory i 1854, they could, on the basis of being married to the Gonville sisters, claim title to the north bank of the river and, from a legal position, try and fend off would-be competitors. Photo Julie Pappan and Bell.
Source- Mixed-Bloods and Tribal Dissolution by William Unau

Pappan FerryJoseph Pappan's reserve number 3 [ part of the 23 half-breed tracts] was the first location of the Pappan fe...
04/17/2026

Pappan Ferry
Joseph Pappan's reserve number 3 [ part of the 23 half-breed tracts] was the first location of the Pappan ferry. A writer in 186 noted that when crossing from the south side of the river, one could see "Papan house on the right, peeping cosily out from its environment of trees." Indications are that the enterprise was profitable from the start, although by no means as lucrative as similar operations father west, were ferrymen who had no competition could take in as much as $50,000 in one season. Prior to the great flood of 1844, which temporarily disrupted the Pappan ferry, the Indian agent Richard W. Cummins reported that he paid two dollars and fifty cents to have his horses and baggage ferried across the Kansas River. To be continued...
Drawing of Pappan Ferry

Excerpt from George Sibley's JournalWednesday 13th [1828]"It Rained this Morning, & was cloudy 'till Noon & threatening ...
04/14/2026

Excerpt from George Sibley's Journal
Wednesday 13th [1828]
"It Rained this Morning, & was cloudy 'till Noon & threatening a Storm. Set out however after late B[rea]kf [as]t. Coursed and chained the Cut off from C[ouncil] Grove to Gravel Creek [Big John Creek]--distance by the New M[ar]k[ed] Route, which is the best, 586 Poles, ot 1 Mile 3 quarters and 26 Poles. Here halted for the day to make Some further examinations. Found an excellent Spring near camp-which I had Marked "Big John Spring" as it was first discov[ere]d by John Walker. It Rained frequently today. Source-The Road to Santa Fe- Photo of George Sibley

Fool Chief 1845- Part - 2In June 1844, James Clyman had described the Kansa "head chief" as "a tall lean wrinkled faced ...
04/10/2026

Fool Chief 1845- Part - 2

In June 1844, James Clyman had described the Kansa "head chief" as "a tall lean wrinkled faced Filthy looking man with a forehead indicating deceed Dissimulation and Intriegue and more like a Beggarly scape gallows than a Chief." According to Chouteau Fool Chief was "fine-looking fellow, but addicted to drinking; James G. Hamilton (of Westport, Mo., [ part owner of Boone & Hamilton, where Seth Hays was employed in Council Grove.] referred to the Kansa leader as " a great scoundrel.
Source- The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry- Photo of Fredrick Choteau

Address

500 N Mission Street
Council Grove, KS
66846

Opening Hours

Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16203072754

Website

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