Kaw Mission
Kaw Mission is a historic church mission at 500 N. Mission Street in Council Grove, Kansas that was home, school and church to 30 Kaw boys from 1851–1854. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The site is now administered by the Kansas Historical Society as Kaw Mission State Historic Site. Displays include Kaw items and mid-19th century frontier items and furnishings. The state of Kansas was named for the Kaw (or Kansa). These people lived in the area that is now Kansas for many generations. They were moved to the Neosho Valley where they lived for less than 30 years. Despite an impassioned plea by Chief Allegawaho, the U.S. government removed the Kaw to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) where they now have tribal lands. History The Santa Fe Trail operated as a commerce route between the Missouri and Mexico. The area that is now Kansas was the western limit of American settlement. Trail traffic headed for the Spanish town of Santa Fe, passed through what is now Council Grove. Situated on the Neosho River, the community was a natural stopping place, with water, grass, and timber. It was there in 1825 that the U.S.