Local
story by Bob Luder photos by Molly Kuplen
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History Abounds in Shawnee Various statues, plaques, and memorials attest to the city’s heritage.
A
s longtime Shawnee Parks and Recreation director Neil Holman sees it, a city knows it has a rich and storied history when it’s a “history worth talking about.” That explains why visitors to Shawnee, as well as residents, can gaze upon an abundance of statues and historical markers throughout the city, in particular when they head in from the east on Shawnee Mission Parkway and travel north on Nieman Road between the parkway and Johnson Drive. “Shawnee’s the oldest city in Johnson County and the first capital of the Kansas Territory,” Holman says. “ The city’s history is something to be proud of.”
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Indeed, while the history of Shawnee began in the early 18th century, it was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the town grew to importance as a stop-over and popular restocking location for pioneers headed west. More than 600 wagons a week rolled through the area, many headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the Santa Fe Trail, one of four major trails that intersected in the area (including the Oregon Trail, California Road, and the Leavenworth Military Road). The natural springs in Shawnee made it a good stop for travelers to water horses and led to the original naming of the town as Gum Springs in 1856. Soon after, the town’s name was changed
to Shawneetown and later shortened to Shawnee, in reference to the Shawnee American Indian tribe. By the 1920s, Shawnee became known as a center for truck farmers, who distributed goods from Kansas throughout the country. “That enabled Shawnee to weather the Great Depression,” says Charles Pautler, museum director at Shawnee Town 1929. Much of the town’s history is recorded on plaques, landmarks, tombstones, buildings, and statues. Many of these displays can be observed with just a couple of turns—entering Shawnee from Merriam, heading west on Shawnee Mission Parkway, turning right onto
