Johnson County Kansas
Johnson County is located in the eastern part of the state of Kansas. It has as its county boundaries two other counties namely Leavenworth and Wyandotte's counties in the north. Towards the south it is bounded by city of Miami and on the eastern side by Missouri. On the west it is bounded by Douglas County. Its boundaries were established in the year 1859 which it holds to date.
The Shawnee Indians occupied the state till the year 1828. In these wilds all kinds of animals were found in the state. They ranged from bears, beavers, dears, mink, otter, wolves, elk and antelopes. The soil of Johnson County is very highly productive. The crops produced there are Winter wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, wild and tame grass. Timber is found all along the stream belts. The streams that are found there are not very broad, but they are numerous in number. The main varieties that grows there are ash, hackberry, hickory, oak, sycamore and walnut.
Into the Kansas river flows the following tributaries. The tributaries are Cedar, Clear, Captain's, Kill, Mill, and Turkey creeks. Two other creeks run eastward. They are the blue and Indian creeks.
There is a considerable availability of lime stone and some sand stone, in the county. The limestone is used extensively for building purposes. The limestone now a day is used for building window sills, and flagging stones. There is also excellent brick clay available in the county.
The first white hunter to cross over to the county is Jacob Pursely. He crossed the state in the year 1802 to the eastern part of the state which is the present Mexico.
In the year 1829, Reverend Thomas Johnson established a school there in Johnson county for the education of the Indians. This school was opened under the Methodist Episcopal missionary. The location of this school was about six miles west of the west port and between the Kansas river and the Turkey creek.
The Shawnee Indians lost most of its members to the small pox. Those who survived were removed to the new settlement. In the new settlement they survived on the same mode of living in which they existed earlier. They lived on game and lived in wigwams. When the game grew scarcer they were compelled to take up farming and this also led them to build more rigid houses.
The form of government followed by the Shawnee Indians was different. The young men of the tribe wanted to elect a president. But this was opposed by the older men. There were three tribes. All the three tribes had independent chiefs. But there was a single head for all these three tribes. The principle chief was John Perry. At the time of John Perry's death the young men of the tribe wanted to take over. But were soon overthrown by the older men. John Francis took over. A the time of Francis death, the young men made a second attempt to take over. This time they were successful in their attempt.