The Old Pawnee Capitol

Kansas State Historical Society

Publication: Kansas State Printing Plant, 1928, Topeka

First edition. 9" x 6" in protective boards. 38 pp., historic illustrations. An account of The First Capitol Building of Kansas, The Town of Pawnee, Initial Sessions of the First Territorial Legislature, Destruction of the Town of Pawnee, Ruins of the Capitol Building, Restoration of the Capitol Building [by the Union Pacific Railroad Company], and Dedication Ceremonies August 1, 1928. Pawnee is now a ghost town in Geary County, Kansas. It briefly served as the first official capital of the Kansas Territory in 1855. The contentious first session of the legislature met for only five days in the Pawnee capitol, July 2–6, 1855. At the time, the Territorial Legislature was mostly comprised of pro-slavery supporters from Missouri who felt that placing the capital 150 miles from the Missouri border gave an advantage to the Free-State advocates in Kansas Territory. The proclamation stood; however, as Governor Reeder had an economic interest in Pawnee, owning stock in the town company, land, and had recently built himself a grand log house there. The pro-slavery advocates took their complaints to Jefferson Davis, who was then the Secretary of War. Davis ordered a military survey of Fort Riley in hopes that the new town of Pawnee would be found to be within the limits of the military reservation and could be eliminated. However, the new survey again reported One Mile Creek as the eastern boundary of the reserve. A map of this survey was prepared and sent to the department, with red lines showing where the boundaries excluded the new settlement of Pawnee. He then issued orders for the removal of the inhabitants from that part of the reserve. After the rest of Pawnee was demolished, the former capitol building served a variety of uses, including housing, warehouse, and a carpenter shop. In the 1920's several civilian organizations, including the Kansas State Historical Society, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Kansas legislature took over responsibility for the building and repaired it. Ex-library copy with library stamp to title page. Front wrapper glued to front protective board along with call number to spine and Reference Stacks label.

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