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Wabaunsee County History
A brief history of Wabaunsee County
Once the home for the
Potawatomi and Kaw Indians, it became a county in 1855 known as
Richardson, later named Wabaunsee honoring a Potawatomi Chief. The
name, Wabaunsee, means "dawn of day". Thousands of cattle roam the
beautiful Flint Hills, where the prairie grasses and wild flowers grow
abundantly. Stone fences can be seen as you travel Highway 99, south of
Alma.
The town of Wabaunsee was the county seat until it was voted, by three different elections, to move it to Alma. The citizens of Alma raised the money and built a five room, two-story courthouse of native stone and turned it over to the county.
During the Civil War, Mr. Beecher, from Connecticut, sent people who wanted Kansas to remain a free state. They brought with them rifles to hunt and fight, if needed, and Bibles to teach others about Christianity. They built the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church at Wabaunsee and the colony settled there.
An underground railroad was organized to help slaves escape to Canada. The home of Captain Mitchell played a great part in this effort, keeping slaves until they could be taken into Iowa and on to Canada.
Wabaunsee County includes the communities of Alma, Alta Vista, Eskridge, Harveyville, Maple Hill, McFarland, Paxico and Wabaunsee. All of which are friendly small towns that call Wabaunsee County home!