Kaw Mission and Last Chance Store Museums

Kaw Mission and Last Chance Store Museums 500 N. Mission Street, Council Grove, KS 66846-1433
620-307-2754
kshs.org/kaw_mission government removed the Kaw to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).

Kaw Mission is more than just a museum that tells the story of the building that was home and school to 30 Kaw boys from 1851-1854; it is a tribute to the Kaw (or Kansa), who gave our state its name. The Kaw lived in the Neosho Valley along the Santa Fe Trail for less than 30 years when, despite an impassioned plea by Chief Allegawaho, the U.S. Learn more about Chief Allegawaho, the Kaw, the Santa Fe Trail, and their stories when you visit Kaw Mission.

This rendezvous routine remained much the same over the years. When Matt Field arrived in 1839, he and others in his par...
06/05/2026

This rendezvous routine remained much the same over the years. When Matt Field arrived in 1839, he and others in his party which had no wagons to worry about had an easier time of it than those with vehicles to care for : " In Council Grove (a most beautiful and fairy like place, an Oasis in reality) we had rested two days, fishing, fowling, and hunting, while the traders were securing strong sticks of timber to repair their wagons in case of accident. Here also council was held, a commander appointed, the plan and all necessary arrangements of the travel adopted, ball were cast, rifles and pistols cleaned, and every preparation made for the long journey that lay before us." To be continued.... Source-Bound for Santa Fe by Stephen G. Hyslop

06/03/2026

We are updating our volunteer list for staffing the Last Chance Store and the Kaw Mission. If you are interested or have volunteered before, please contact 620-307-2754

Great Osage 1822 Part-2[August P. Chouteau took over the trading house (where Salina, Oklahoma, is today) previously ru...
06/02/2026

Great Osage 1822 Part-2
[August P. Chouteau took over the trading house (where Salina, Oklahoma, is today) previously run by his associate-the half-Indian Joseph Revoir (killed by Cherokee in June, 1821.] And in the Union Missouri journal of October 17, 1822, was the comment: "Last evening arrived a company of White Hair's Indians. This is the first visit from that part of the nation. It appears that they are in an unsettled state and have not selected a place to their new home." (On August 20, 1823, when the Osages were assembled in present Bates, County, Missouri, to receive their annuities, The Harmony Mission Journal stated: "....In his talk, the agent [Richard Graham] requested them to decide whether they would live t Neosho [in present Kansas], or at the Osage River [in Missouri], that he might know where to build houses for his interpreter and blacksmith. They finally determined to remain at Neosho." After August, 1823,there were still some Osages left in Missouri, particularly in a Little Osage village about 14 miles from Harmony Mission.) Drawing of White Hair- Source- The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry

Early in September 1822, when most of the Great Osages of Missouri left to go on their fall hunt, the missionaries at Ha...
05/29/2026

Early in September 1822, when most of the Great Osages of Missouri left to go on their fall hunt, the missionaries at Harmony [in present Bates county, Missouri] reported: 'It is understood...they do not intend to return to their late residence but to establish themselves sixty or seventy miles from this station." On September 26, the journal of the Union Mission [in Mayes county, Oklahoma of today], it was recorded: "Mr. August P. Cheauteau with a party of Indians from White Hair's village called here. A boat of his had arrived at the mouth of the Grand [or Neosho] River with goods to trade with the Indians. He intends to form an establishment on this river [about 15 miles] above this place and states that White Hair's people have left their town with the intention of moving to this [Grand or Neosho] river. To be continued... Source- The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry- Painting of August P. Chouteau

Last Chance Store Part- 4The building's use changed may times. It was the polling place for residents in 1858 to vote on...
05/26/2026

Last Chance Store Part- 4

The building's use changed may times. It was the polling place for residents in 1858 to vote on the Lecompton Constitution, the second of four documents in the process to gain statehood. It held a grocery store, corn crib, [ beauty shop, ] and various businesses. The building briefly served as refuge for an African American family, the Harnesses, who escaped slavery in West Virginia and moved to the area during the Civil War. The railroad replaced the need for the Santa Fe Trail, which finally ended in 1880. The former Last Chance Store was used as a residence, financial institution, and antique store in the 1900's. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Owners Connie and Don Essington donates the site in 2015 to the state of Kansas. Source- Reflection 2016- photo of Last Chance Store

Last Chance Store Part-3The community became an international crossing where Americans, Mexicans and the Kaw [Kanza] tra...
05/22/2026

Last Chance Store Part-3

The community became an international crossing where Americans, Mexicans and the Kaw [Kanza] traded. Caravans with up to 145 wagons found a place to rest for the night;trade for fresh horse, mules, and oxen; make wagon repairs and purchase essential goods. Also the first stop for eastbound traders, the store offered a variety of items such as foods, medicine, ammunition, and horse shoes. Stock was shipped from St. Louis by boat to Westport Landing and then by mule [oxen] teams to Council Grove. In the cellar goods could be stored and kept more secure and cool. A blacksmith shop set up shop nearby. To be continued.... Source-Reflection 2016
Photo- Last Chance Store

Last Chance Store Part-2For the beams, flooring, and trim they used local sourced walnut, oak, ash, and cottonwood. In 1...
05/19/2026

Last Chance Store Part-2
For the beams, flooring, and trim they used local sourced walnut, oak, ash, and cottonwood. In 1859 Northrup and Chick sold the store to local merchants Seth Hays, Thomas Huffaker, G.M. Simcock and Christopher Columbia. The Santa Fe Trail, an international trade route, was 750 miles from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, Mexico;two-thirds of that route passed through Kansas. Manufactured items from the eastern United States were traded for furs, wool, woven goods, silver, and livestock from Mexico. Traffic through Council Grove also included thousands of fortune hunters headed west toward Colorado during the Gold Rush. To be continued....Source-Reflections 2016- photo-Last Chance Store

Council Grove was a small settlement on the Santa Fe Trail when Hiram M. Northrup and Joseph S. Chick of Westport made a...
05/15/2026

Council Grove was a small settlement on the Santa Fe Trail when Hiram M. Northrup and Joseph S. Chick of Westport made an entrepreneurial decision. As the westernmost American town on the trail, Council Grove, then on the Kaw Reservation, was the last stop for traders heading west toward Santa Fe. Northrup and Chick decided the town was the ideal location to establish a supply store. Construction on the Last Chance Store began in spring 1857 with contractors Phil Roberts and Ben Toole. Working alongside the local stone mason, A.S. Pollard, they laid the stone foundation and walls from native stone. To be continued..... Source- Reflection 2016

In January 1845, to provide "bread stuff" for the Indians of "Kansas" whose crops had been ruined or destroyed by the pr...
05/12/2026

In January 1845, to provide "bread stuff" for the Indians of "Kansas" whose crops had been ruined or destroyed by the previous year's rains and floodwaters, Sup't Thomas H. Harvey, St. Louis, arranged for purchase, and distribution of 13,840 bushels of corn: For the Osages, 5,000 bushels; Kansa, 3,000; for the Pottawatomies, Peorias, Weas, and Kaskaskias, 4,000;Delawares, 342; Shawnees, 480; Munsees, 178; Ottawas, 760; and Chipewas, 80.
Source-The Beginning of the West by Louise Barry

Council Grove mail Stop Part - 4"The road from Fort Leavenworth to New Mexico ran through what is now Easton, at the cro...
05/08/2026

Council Grove mail Stop Part - 4
"The road from Fort Leavenworth to New Mexico ran through what is now Easton, at the crossing of Stranger Creek [which was known as "Dawson's crossing" in the early 1850's]; then through what is now Wi******er, [and on to ] Ozakee [Ozawkie] at the crossing of Grasshopper, now [called] Delaware River and [thence to] Soldier Creek, four miles north of where now stands Topeka. There [at Topeka] it crossed the Kaw on Papan's {Papin's] Ferry, about sixty miles from Fort Leavenworth, thence to Council Grove, sixty miles farther, intersecting the main Santa Fe Trail from Independence, Missouri [at what became Wilmington, Wabaunsee County], east of the Grove [and west of present Burlingame]."A Santa Fe-bound army officer, traveling this route in May, 1852,referred to it as "the new road...which had been established and used for three years only." He (2nd Lt. William D. Whipple?) also stated that it was 54 miles from the fort to the Kansas river; and that crossing it was 17 miles to "Wah-ka-russi Creek"; and at "86 miles from Fort Leavenworth" the new road struck the "broad trace from Independence to Santa Fe ." Source- The beginning of the West by Louis Barry - Photo of William D. Whipple

Address

500 N Mission Street
Council Grove, KS
66846

Opening Hours

Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16203072754

Website

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