1825-1829 (Migration)
1825: removal of Eastern tribes into territory west of Missouri
November: Treaty with Shawnee in Missouri to receive 50 square miles west of Missouri
1828: Fish Band of the Shawnee moved to the new reservation
1830-1838 (First Mission school)
1830: George Vashion, agent for the Shawnee, at request of Chief Fish, asked for a Missionary of the Missouri District of the Methodist Church
September: Missouri Conference organized the Missionary Society and projected 4 Missions. Thomas Johnson was appointed to the Shawnee Tribe.
November: Fish Band/Shawnee accepted proposal from Methodists for established school, the first Shawnee Methodist Mission in Turner, Kansas Territory (Wyandotte Co)
1831: Treaty with Shawnee at Wapaghkonnettta and Hog Creek. Tribe ceded their lands to the U.S. and were removed to land west of Missouri, granted to Shawnees of Missouri
1832: Methodist Society formed with 40 members, under Chief Fish
September: Charles Bluejackets arrived in Kansas territory from Ohio
1833: Hog Creek Band left Ohio for Kansas territory
1835: Report of the Methodist school included: Shawnee, three teachers, 44 pupils; Delaware, two teachers, nineteen pupils; Peoria, two teachers, sixteen pupils; Kickapoo, two teachers, six pupils; Wyandot, two teachers, forty pupils
1837: In Accordance with treaty stipulations, the government erected a saw and grist mill at a cost of $8,000 for the Shawnees
1838-1862 (Establishing and operation of the Indian Manual Labor School)
1838: The Missouri Conference provided for the establishment of an enlarged Indian Manual Labor School, aided by government and the Shawnee consented to the establishment of the school on their lands, they resolved to establish it near the boundary of Missouri. (current location)
1839: Johnson reported work on the buildings for the new labor school was commencing. David Locke of Carrollton, Illinois was employed for the brickwork and arrived with a company of hands. The Shawnee were at work making rails for the farm, to fence 400-500 acres of prairie into crops. The Shawnee made about 40,000 rails in 1839 while mechanics were preparing brick, lumber, floors, quarried stone, etc. 40 hands were employed.
October: Missionary Society reported membership of Shawnee Mission Church as “22 white, 3 colored and 93 Indians, with 20 promising children to the school.”
1840: Delaware Chiefs informed the government they visited the labor school and wished the interest from their school funds to the applied for educating their children at the labor school.
February: 60 children enrolled in the school and had to stop enrollment until more scholars and rooms were available. 20 pupils were on the waiting list.
March: Missionary Society give $15, 922 to the Manual Labor school for expenses and buildings
April: $6250 received from government for erection of school building and education expenses
July: Johnson stopped additional pupils from attending until fall, and promised Jotham Meeker that he would be willing to take some Ottawa children, but “he wished all tribes a fair chance and that eighty was all they could take care of at that time.”
July: Pottawatomie Chief Guaquater inquired to Johnson as to the number of Pottawatomie children the school would take in the fall, as they had a number to enroll.
*Enrollment in 1840: 27 Shawnee, 16 Delaware, 2 Chippewa, 1 Gros Ventres, 8 Peoria, 7 Pottawatomie, 6 Kansa, 3 Kickapoo, 1 Munsee, 1 Osage.
1841: Kansa tribe informed Government that they wished to apply the interest from their school fund to the education of their children at the labor school.
*A number of pupils had been rejected on account of the crowded condition of the school, but they hoped to have buildings enough to accommodate 150 by fall.
1845: Third large brick building was in process. (North)
*Cost of buildings (3) at this school was no less than $30,000, of which the government paid $5,000 and the Missionary Society paid the remainder.
1847: School name changed to the Ft. Leavenworth Indian Manual Labor School, which it was named until March 1855.
1854-1865 (Border Wars)
1854: April, 100 Shawnees were called in council at their meeting house by the U.S. Agent, to hear a proposition from the Government to purchase their land. They selected 8 delegates to travel to Washington to make a treaty.
May: Treaty formally established with the Shawnee Tribe. They ceded to the U.S. their land set apart for them by the treaty of 1825, except 200,000 acres to be selected as homes for their people. The treaty granted to the missionary society of the Methodist Church (South), 3 sections of land including the improvements of the Indian Manual Labor School to be patented to the society, or to such persons, upon allowance of $10,000 by the Society to the Shawnees for education of their children. Five acres including the meeting house and cemetery was also set apart to the Shawnee Methodist Church.
May: The Kansas-Nebraska bill was signed by President Pierce.
July: Andrew Reeder took oath of office as Governor of the Kansas Territory.
July: Johnson wanted a clear title securing the school “so that when it was not needed for an Indian School it could be used as a boarding school for the whites.”
November: Executive Offices for the Territory and Governor moved to the Thomas Johnson house at the Labor School.
1855: Agreement formed between the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Missionary Society. Society agreed to board and educate Shawnee children, not exceeding 80, at the Fort Leavenworth School, which thenceforth would be known at the Shawnee Manual Labor School.
July: Territorial Legislature assembles at the Shawnee Manual Labor School
August: Johnson County established
October: Correspondent from the New York Tribune visited the Shawnee Mission and reported: Three sections of land here were originally donated by the Shawnee Indians to the Methodist Church [South] for this mission. One section of it is still in the hands of the church; the other two have been sold to a man who now farms the place, and a splendid farm it is.
1856: Agreement between The Missionary Society of the Methodist Church and Thomas Johnson, the society gave to Johnson one of the three sections of land for his services in securing the land to the society, and granted him a second section including the north building, for which he was to assume the society’s obligation to the government for $10,000.
1858: August; Shawnee Council convened to consider withdrawing their funds from the Shawnee Manual Labor School and establishing a system of education on some other basis. Thomas Johnson and Alexander (son) form partnership to continue school and farm. Thomas Johnson moves from the Mission to Kansas City, Missouri.
1860: Shawnees submitted a report to the Indian Affairs of poor conditions at the Manual Labor School and their funds be withdrawn so their children could attend school somewhere else. Also asked that the “patents” to the orphans to Thomas Johnson be withdrawn and returned to the tribe.
1861: Annual meeting of the Methodist Conference, and all interest and title of the school and land were formally transferred to Thomas Johnson, including the last section of land and East building for $10,000.
1862-1927 (Post-Trade School)
1862: September; contract between government and Missionary society suspended for the school.
1863: July; Gen. Ewing established a military post at Shawnee Mission to protect Kansas from MO guerilla raiders.
1864: January; The Shawnee Tribe requested the possible sale of the Shawnee Mission land be strike out of the Treaty of 1864, as it would violate vested rights acquired under contract between the Tribe and Church. “It was their wish at the time of making the treaty of 1854 to give Mr. Johnson the three sections of land.”
1865: March; The Methodist Church presented a claim to the Shawnee Mission, stating that the lands were possessed originally by the society. Alexander made affidavit regarding his father’s property and declared the land had been fully paid for by his father.
April: Secretary of Interior wrote that the patents should be issued to Thomas Johnson for the three sections of land despite verbal instructions from the President of the United States to withhold issuing of the patent.
April 25; President of the United States directed the Secretary of the Interior to pause the case of the Manual Labor School and Lands (between Methodist Church and the Johnson heirs) until May 10.
The Northern Methodist Church claimed the heirs of Johnson were not entitled to the property, “not having been designated by the society (Methodist) to receive the same, and there was no evidence that the society desired the patent to be so issued…..it’s execution would defeat the original intent of founding the school and would transfer a large institution created for charitable purposes to the sole benefit of a private individual.”
May: state of heirs presented to the President and it was declared that the treaty of 1854 had been performed and to deliver the patent to Johnson. The patent for t he three sections of land was filed, and the heirs of T. Johnson become the official owners of the school property.