The West Building (1839) at left was used for classrooms and living quarters for superintendents & teachers The Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway, Kansas served as a manual training school for children from the Shawnee, Delaware and other Indian nations from 1839-1854 and continued as a school without manual training until 1862. In 1839, the first wheat crop in Kansas was grown at the Shawnee Indian Mission. The territorial governor, Andrew Reeder, established his offices at the mission in 1854. The first territorial legislature met at the mission in 1855 after adjourning from the first territorial capital at present day Fort Riley. During the legislative session the "bogus laws" were passed in an attempt to further slavery in Kansas. The mission was also a supply point on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails and an Union camp during the Civil War. Thomas Johnson, the Methodist missionary who founded Shawnee Indian Mission, is buried in the nearby Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery. He was killed in 1865 for his antislavery sentiments. My favorite part of Shawnee Indian Museum is the attractive grounds nestled in a busy suburb, with three of the oldest buildings in Kansas. In June 2025, I revisited the museum for the first time in 19 years and was surprised to see that the buildings and historic markers have deteriorated in that time. The Shawnee Tribe says the Mission will take millions of dollars to repair and has asked to have its ownership transferred to them, but the City of Fairway and Kansas legislature refused.
Shawnee
Indian Mission web site
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