First Territorial Capitol
State Hist Site
First Territorial Capitol
State Hist Site
Location: The First Territorial Capitol State Historic Site is located on Ft. Riley Military Base. Exit #301 from I-70, and take Henry Drive, then Dickman Ave. North for a total of 3 miles to Huebner Road. Turn right and follow the signs.
Contact: ph. 785/784-5535
Nearest Towns: Junction City, Ogden, Manhattan
It
was in this second-story room of a simple stone
structure that the first legislative session of the Kansas Legislature was held
in July of 1855.
Located on the Ft. Riley Military Base, the first territorial capitol was once surrounded by the town of Pawnee. The stone building is all that remains of the town, which was absorbed into Ft. Riley with the rest of the buildings being demolished in the fall of 1855.
To
understand this chapter of Kansas History, you must first realize
times in which it was set. The territory of Kansas had been opened to
settlement by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 which held that the people of the
territory would decide if the future states would be free or slave states.
In the territory of Kansas, Proslavery men swarmed across the border in order to
vote. In the elections of March 1855, this resulted what became known as
the "Bogus Legislature" because of the fraudulent elections.
The territorial governor, Andrew Reeder, a
Free-state man, was required by law to choose the location of the territorial
capitol. He choose Pawnee, then little more than a tent city near Ft.
Riley, for several reasons. For one, it was one
of
the few outposts of civilization near the center of the territory. Perhaps
more importantly, Reeder had received, as a gift, 160 acres of land adjoining
Pawnee which would become quite valuable if the town became the capitol city.
When the first lawmakers arrived on July 2,
1855, the roof was not even completed on the building which was to serve as
their meeting place. With new urgency, the work was completed, and the
"Bogus Legislature" set to work. Among there first order of business was
to move the territorial capitol and to expel two Free-state members. Both
were accomplished over the Governor's protest, and the first legislative session
adjourned July 6, four days after it started. They moved the capitol to
the Shawnee Methodist Mission, near present-day Kansas City.
The town of Pawnee quickly dwindled away. The old capitol was spared from demolition since it could be used by the army as a warehouse. Over time, it was allowed to deteriorate. In the early 1900's, concerned citizens began work to preserve this part of Kansas history, which by this time no longer had a roof. In 1907, funds were made available and the Union Pacific Railroad became involved as well in the effort. The building was restored to what it would have looked like when the legislature meet here for that brief period in 1855. The restoration efforts were completed in 1928, and under an agreement reached with the Army, the Kansas State Historical Society was allowed to operate the site.
A
nature trail leads from the old capitol to the restless Kansas
River. The walk leads through the timber which surrounds the north bank of
the river and is quite peaceful and beautiful.
