F 685 
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 Copy 1 
 
 The FIRST CAPITAL 0/ KANSAS 
 
 Written by Henry Shindler for the Leavenworth Times and 
 
 reprodiieed in Volume XII of Collections of the 
 
 Kansas Historical Society, 1911-12, with notes 
 
 added by the Secretary. 
 
 RESPONDING to a request of the Kansas legislature, 
 the Secretary of War in 1910, issued to the 
 Historical Society of the State a revocable hcense "to 
 take possession of the old station building which was 
 the first capitol, at Pawnee," on the Fort Riley mili- 
 tary reservation. 
 
 Since taking such possession, the Society has 
 caused to be placed upon the walls of the ruins, that 
 those who pass on the "Overland Flyer" may read 
 this legend: "The First Capitol of Kansas." ' 
 
 Upon what foundation is based this claim for old 
 Pawnee, which the sign imphes, has long been a mys- 
 tery to those who have been studying Kansas history, 
 as furnished in interesting doses by the Society. 
 How, by any stretch of imagination, such a conclu- 
 sion can be reached, is beyond the ken of the writer. 
 As a matter of fact an assembling of all the evidence 
 shows that Pawnee has no right to a standing in the 
 column of "territorial capitals." It is here asserted 
 that if any distinction attaches to having been the 
 first territorial seat of government, it belongs to Fort 
 
 1 The legislature of 1901 petitioned Congress to donate 
 to the state of Kansas an acre of ground fz-om the Fort Riley 
 reserve, on which was located the building in which the first 
 legislature met, July, 1855. This failed but resulted in a revo- 
 cable license from the Secretary of War, giving the State 
 Historical Society of Kansas authority to take possession of 
 the ruins of the old capitol. The interest at that time was 
 caused by Col. Samuel F. Woolard, of Wichita, and other mil- 
 
Leavenworth. The writer has no desire to shatter any 
 Kansas idols, but if what follows so results those 
 who have been setting up false gods to worship should 
 be held responsible. 
 
 Now, as to facts. By the organic act (May 30, 
 1854) under which the territory of Kansas was orga- 
 nized, Congress made the express direction that 
 
 "the seat of government shall be temporari- 
 ly located at Fort Leavenworth, and the ex- 
 ecutive and legislative assembly are autho- 
 rized to use the public buildings there which 
 can be spared by the military authorities." 
 
 In the absence of any legislative or executive 
 power within this new territory, Congress was the 
 only authority which could fix "a temporary seat of 
 government" therein, and Fort Leavenworth was so 
 designated. 
 
 In August of the same year Congress appropria- 
 ted $25,000 for public buildings in Kansas, to be paid 
 in event that the Secretary of War should decide it to 
 be inconsistent with the interests of the military ser- 
 
 itia officers, who were holding annual encampments on the 
 old town site of Pawnee immediately facing the building. In 
 October, 1907, Colonel Woolard raised .$500 to restore the 
 walls of the buildmg. A bill passed Congress about this time 
 donating to the state the acre referred to, but in the mean- 
 time the question of policing the ceded territory caused the 
 State Historical Society to lose interest in the movement. 
 And so, after consultation with the then commanding officer 
 it was concluded that if the bill was not mandatory no action 
 would be taken. Therefore, the title still remains with the 
 federal government. The state legislature never would fur- 
 nish a policeman to guard the place, and the military having 
 no authority, it would become a great nuisance. However, 
 the money having been raised, the walls of the building were 
 reinforced by a bountiful supply of cement, a few stones re- 
 stored, and some iron rods put in, making it sound for years 
 to come. The first attempt at a Kansas legislature was held 
 in the building July 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1855, hence its claim as a 
 capitol. 
 
 
— 3— 
 
 vice to permit the use of the public buildings at the 
 post. Hon, Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, 
 was opposed to making a military post a political 
 mecca. He told Congress that 
 
 "all of the buildings at the post were needed 
 for military purposes, but that the location 
 of a seat of government, even temporarily, 
 within the lines of a military reservation, 
 where military law must prevail, would be 
 inconvenient, if not injurious to the public 
 service." 
 
 Congress permitted its direction to stand. The 
 President appointed Andrew J. Reeder, of Pennsylva- 
 nia, governor of the territory. Reeder arrived at Fort 
 Leavenworth on October 4, 1854. He established the 
 executive offices of the territory in a building the 
 military authorities provided. This building stood at 
 the northeast corner of the garrison, a one-story build- 
 ing, L shape, built entirely of stone.' It was torn 
 down in 1893, to make place for the magnificent edifice 
 
 * Captain Henry Kuhn, a surveyor, came to Fort Leaven- 
 worth in 1854. He resided there for sixteen years, and knew 
 every inch of ground in the post and on the reservation. In 
 responding to a request of the secretary of the Kansas His- 
 torical Society for information on this subject, he wrote under 
 date of May 2, 1886: "The old one-story building, L-shaped, 
 where Reeder had his office, is on the north-east corner of 
 the plaza (Sumner place) immediately south of the prison 
 building, a street 100 feet wide intervening. In the triangle 
 formed by two wings, was a stone monument, about three 
 feet high, on which was an old fashioned sun-dial. The sun- 
 dial was placed there by Lieutenant Sims, of the Ordnance 
 Department, and was distinguished from present day sun- 
 dials in that it would only give the shadow for the noon hour. 
 In a letter from Gen. J. A. Halderman, dated April 8, 
 1896, the following description of the governor's office at 
 Fort Leavenworth is given: "The furniture consisted of a 
 few chairs, writing table, boxes of books covered with news- 
 papers for seating visitors, a letter press, stove and other 
 crude contrivances of comfort." 
 
-4— 
 
 now adorning the spot, known as "Pope Hall." For 
 his residence the governor had assigned him some 
 rooms in a stone building near the executive depart- 
 ments, known in the post as the "Rookery," the old- 
 est building now standing on the reservation. The 
 interior was recently remodeled at considerable ex- 
 pense. 
 
 The above, while it establishes the claim that Fort 
 Leavenworth was the "first capital of the territory," 
 it is not all the evidence on the subject. 
 
 Finding the accommodations for the executive de- 
 partments of the territory too limited, the governor 
 decided to remove them from Fort Leavenworth to 
 the Shawnee Mission Manual Labor School, and this 
 he did on November 21, 1854, on which day the post 
 ceased to be the capital of the territory, so far as the 
 governor was concerned. Whether this removal was 
 by authority is not known. At any rate, it was not 
 done by any act of Congress and under the law Fort 
 Leavenworth continued to be the legally designated 
 capital, until the territorial legislature convened and 
 designated some other locality. 
 
 At the next session, Congress, heeding the re- 
 commendation of Secretary Davis, made an additional 
 appropriation of $25,000, coupled with the following 
 proviso: 
 
 "That said money, or any part thereof, or 
 any portion of the money heretofore appro- 
 priated for this purpose, shall not be expen- 
 ded until the legislature of said territory shall 
 have fixed by law the permanent seat of gov- 
 ernment." 
 
 The governor, long in advance of his arrival in 
 the territory, was preceded by an army of would-be 
 office holders and land speculators from his native 
 state. These at once set to work to obtain a "view" 
 of the promised land and select a site for a new town 
 
— 5— 
 
 for a commercial center and the capital of the terri- 
 tory The Kaw river having been found navigable to 
 its source, formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill 
 and Republican rivers that point, being consi- 
 dered the geographical center of the United States 
 as well as the territory, was deemed suitable and a 
 decision reached to locate the town there, to be called 
 Pawnee. However, as the lands desired were within 
 the Fort Riley military reservation, nothing could be 
 done unless the Fort Riley mihtary authorities con- 
 sented to exclude the land wanted. That they so con- 
 sented is shown by the following extract from a 
 communication to the town promoters written by 
 Major W. R. Montgomery, Second Infantry, the com- 
 manding officer of Fort Riley, who said it 
 
 "gave him pleasure of assuring them as to 
 the propriety and necessity for such a mart 
 to supply the present and prospective com- 
 mercial wants of the citizen community, now 
 rapidly locating in* this vicinity, and in view 
 of the fact that the point designated below 
 One Mile creek is unessential to the require- 
 ments of this command, and decidedly the 
 most eligible for the purpose specified, I 
 cheerfully consent to exclude it from the re- 
 serve about being surveyed and definitely 
 fixed for the use of this post." 
 
 The field was now clear for action. On Septem- 
 ber 27, one week following the receipt of Major 
 Montgomery's communication, the Pawnee Townsite 
 Association was organized. It consisted of fourteen 
 army officers and several territorial officials, including 
 Governor Reeder. Among the army officers were 
 Major Montgomery, Dr. W. A. Hammond, later Sur- 
 
 ^ Major Montgomery was president of the Pawnee 
 Town Site Association and Doctor Hammond, secretary. This 
 Society has among its manuscripts certificates of shares in 
 the association signed by them. 
 
geon General of the Army, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, 
 Second Infantry, the hero of Wilson's Creek, and 
 Major E. A. Ogden, quartermaster. The shares of 
 stock, or rather the number of acres those named 
 members of the association were to receive, follows. 
 Governor Reeder, eighty acres. Dr. Hammond, forty 
 and one, Robert Wilson, a territory official, eighty, 
 while Montgomery was to share with Hammond and 
 Wilson jointly. 
 
 The purpose of making the town of Pawnee the 
 capital of the territory was kept a profound secret 
 among the Pawnee boomers. They believed that 
 their scheme could not be carried out if others 
 were taken in, thus concluding that a secret policy 
 would win. That these Pennsylvanians were not up 
 in the game of securing political plunder will be 
 shown further on. In a note to Secretary Martin of 
 the Historical Society in 1903, General John A. Hal- 
 derman, Reeder's private secretary, concerning the 
 Pawnee town site said: 
 
 "Governor Reeder, shortly after his arrival 
 at Fort Leavenworth, in 1854, made a trip in- 
 to the interior, and was reported to have 
 spoken words of commendation at sundry 
 places and times to the effect, 'this would be 
 a magnificent site for the capitol building,' 
 etc. I remember that old Squire Dyer, at the 
 'crossing of the Blue' had hopes for this place. 
 So they did at Tecumseh, Lawrence Leaven- 
 worth, and other places. Council Grove was 
 a beautiful site, and there was no reason why 
 it should be without hope. My frequent 
 questionings, 'Where will go the capital?' 
 were answered in pleasant evasion. Later 
 in confidence, the governor advised me to 
 buy in Pawnee. This I did, purchasing from 
 him 100 shares. I know he intended to be- 
 friend me, though the purchase ended in a 
 total loss. From that day I felt sure that 
 Pawnee would be selected, though the public 
 was not advised until a later date." 
 
— 7- 
 
 Following the completion of the census in Febru- 
 ary, 1885, the governor convoked the legislature to 
 meet at Pawnee on July 2, following, and with this 
 proclamation came the first official announcement that 
 the governor had selected the Pawnee townsite for 
 the capital, subject, of course, to the action of the new 
 legislature. That the governor was "interested" in 
 Pawnee and determined to force the legislature to do 
 his bidding, is evident. 
 
 Preparations for the holding of the legislative 
 session at Pawnee were rushed along, the prin- 
 cipal need being a hall in which to meet, and hotel 
 accommodations. For the first named object the 
 building now designated as "the First Capitol of 
 Kansas" was erected. On this subject Secretary 
 Martin of the Kansas Historical Society, in his very 
 excellent paper on "The Territorial and Military Com- 
 bine at Fort Riley" says: 
 
 "It was two stories, and the council met on 
 one floor and the house on the other. The 
 officers sat at the end of the building next to 
 the fort and the large hole, still there, left 
 open through which to handle material, and 
 not caused by a cannon ball, was closed dur- 
 ing the session by a canvas." 
 
 The legislature met on the day designated by the 
 governor in his proclamation. Once organized it 
 promptly enacted into law a measure providing for 
 the transfer of the "temporary seat of government" 
 to the Mission, and, though vetoed by the governor, 
 was passed over his head. It then adjourned to meet 
 at the Mission, July 16, and thus ended the effort to 
 make Pawnee the capital of the territory and rent 
 asunder "the Territorial and Military Combine at 
 
 Fort Riley." 
 
 After the legislature re-convened at the Mission 
 it enacted several laws which Reeder also vetoed, on 
 
the ground that the legislature was "not doing busi- 
 ness at the seat of government." This body then 
 memorialized the President to remove the governor, 
 and in answer to the point raised by him in his veto 
 the memorial says: 
 
 "One point is, Fort Leavenworth is the seat 
 of government, made so by the organic act; 
 that a law passed anywhere else than at the 
 seat of government would be illegal. That 
 he had the right to call the legislature to 
 meet at a point not the seat of government, 
 (that is. Pawnee), and that laws enacted 
 there (though not the seat of government) 
 would be legal, thereby destroying the prece- 
 ding proposition. Thnt we could have passed 
 an act at Pawnee, though not the seat of 
 government, and by an illegal adjournment, 
 because passed at a pnint not the seat of. 
 government, have met such a permanent seat 
 of government, and there have made legal 
 and binding statutes; or by the same illegal 
 process, have adj )urned to Fott Leaven- 
 worth the S3at of government, and theie 
 have made legal and binding statutes. * * * 
 If he believes that Fort Leavenworth is the 
 seat of government, and that laws passed 
 anywhere else than at that point would be il- 
 legal and void, then t^ call us to Pawnee to 
 legislate is a willful, del berate ard base at- 
 tempt to render all our acts of whatever 
 character, wholly illegal and void; because, 
 by his own showing, Pawnee is not the seat 
 of government, and acts parsed anywhere 
 else than at +he seat of government are of 
 necessity void, and for which he should be 
 removed." 
 
 The supreme court of the territory sustained the 
 position of the legislature. It held, that after being 
 called into existence, through executive action, au- 
 thorized under the organic act, which gave life to 
 the territory of Kansas, it became the supreme au- 
 
.^^^j'fci " 
 
 4 
 
1 
 1 
 
— 9— 
 
 thority within the territory and not open to challenge 
 on the score stated. 
 
 At any rate Governor Reeder was removed from 
 office as a result of his speculations in Indian lands, 
 etc., Major Montgomery, as soon as his conduct was 
 disclosed, was tried at Fort Leavenworth, in July of 
 the same year, convicted and dismissed. Of this 
 court General Mansfield was president and Robert E. 
 Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston members. 
 
 In passing upon the case Secretary Davis said: 
 
 "The Department cannot pass without notice 
 the conduct of the other officers of the army 
 who engaged in the Pawnee Association to 
 establish a town upon the military reserve at 
 Fort Riley, If they had no official responsi- 
 bility in the case, they have much to re- 
 proach themselves for in influencing the 
 commanding officer to take the step which 
 has involved him in such difficulties." 
 
 In view of this showing the writer hopes the 
 Kansas Historical Society will disclaim any further 
 distinction for the Pawnee capitol ruins, ask to be re- 
 lieved from their further care, and request the Sec- 
 retary of War to recall the Hcense issued, so as to 
 permit the department to destroy the last vestige of 
 this pile of stone, that no more memory may be had 
 of a transaction so discreditable to all concerned. 
 
 The Society, if it wishes to mark the spots where 
 have stood historic buildings, just as it is aiding in 
 marking the old Santa Fe trail, should come to Fort 
 Leavenworth and there erect a tablet on the spot 
 where stood Kansas' First Capitol, and place one 
 upon the building occupied as the governor's first 
 mansion in the territory. Such work would be worth 
 while, because it would be real history. 
 
 On August 5, 1855, the Shawnee Mission legisla- 
 ture, in joint session, located the permanent capital 
 at Lecompton. Fixing the permanency of the capital 
 
—10— 
 
 enabled the territory to obtain the $50,000 Congress 
 had appropriated for a capitol building. This sum 
 should have been sufficient had it been properly ex- 
 pended. As it was, the walls of the building had on- 
 ly advanced a few feet above the foundation when 
 the appropriation was exhausted. To have completed 
 the building upon the scale planned would have cost 
 $200,000 to $300,000. 
 
 Governor Geary, who in the meantime had come 
 upon the field, was not long in discovering that the 
 money was being squandered for salaried inspectors 
 and superintendents, and so used the executive ax 
 with good purpose. In discharging some of the offi- 
 cials Geary wrote to one of them: "As your services 
 as superintendent of the capitol building are no 
 longer required, you are hereby notified that your ap- 
 pointment is revoked from this day." 
 
 In the meantime several influential members of 
 the legislature secured large interests in a land com- 
 pany that had decided to start a new town in Frank- 
 lin county, call it Minneola'and make it the capital. 
 
 * John Conovpr, the gallant colonel of the 8th Kansas 
 regiment, now of the hardware firm of Riclmrds & Conover 
 Kansas City, Mo., tells a very interesting story of a search he 
 made for a territorial capital, donover was born in New 
 Brunswick, N.J., November 27,1835. He was the oldest son of 
 John and Jane E. (Cornell) Conover, whose ancestors were 
 among the earliest settlers of New Jersey. He was educated 
 in the common schools of Camden. He came to Kansas on 
 March 18, 1857, and settled at Leavenworth. July 22, 1861, he 
 entered the army as second lieutenant, and on August 28 was 
 attached to company A, 8th Kansas regiment. In December 
 he was made a first lieutenant; March, 1862, a captahi; in 
 August, 1865, the President brevetted him a colonel for "gal- 
 lant and meritorius services.'' He made a gallant record 
 with the 8th Kansas during the war, but it is a territorial inci- 
 dent we desire to quote. The colonel tells about his search 
 for Minneola as follows: 
 
 "Even as late as '58 capitals were scattered promis- 
 cuously throughout the state. I started horseback from 
 
—11— 
 
 The legislature fell in with the scheme, and in Feb- 
 ruary, 1858, enacted a law making the change. It 
 then applied to the United States for an additional 
 appropriation. The President referred the request to 
 the Attorney-general of the. United States, and this 
 was his opinion, in part: 
 
 Leavenworth in '58 while clerking for Reisinger & Fenlon, 
 who had a hardware store on Main street, between Shawnee 
 and Delaware, to find the capital of Kansas. I had a note for 
 $97.50 for a set of chafing dishes and table appurtenances for 
 the eating department of the new capitol, which was located 
 on the first floor of the capitol building. The note was made 
 and signed by Dr. J. B. Davis, Cyrus Fitz Currier, of Leaven- 
 worth; O. A. Bassett and Joel K. Goodin of Lawrence; E. C. 
 K. Garvey and a lawyer by the name of Blackwefl,of Topeka, 
 but none of them had means enough to pay, at least that is 
 what they said. The capital that I was looking for was Min- 
 neola, Kansas. I stopped at Lawrence overnight and the 
 next day started south. I met a farmer and his wife in a wa- 
 gon at a crossing of the Wakarusa, and inquired where Min- 
 neola was. They said they had never heard of it. I rode 
 about three miles further, met another couple in a wagon and 
 they stated they did not know of any town of that name. 
 Riding three or four miles further I met a man coming up 
 horseback who said he had heard some talk about the capital 
 but did not know where it was. About three miles further on 
 I met a carpenter riding an old mare, bareback, with a blind 
 bridle. I inquired if he knew where the new ca]>ital of Kan- 
 sas was. He said. 'Yes siree.' He had been working on the 
 capitol building. 'You go one and a half mile further and 
 you can see it about a mile off to the right.' I found it. The 
 legislature had met there one morning about a week before 
 and adjourned that afternoon to meet at some future time at 
 Leavenworth. I was on a collecting tour, so I rode to Tope- 
 ka and then to Manhattan, and then back to Leavenworth." 
 
 The following concerning the town of Minneola is taken 
 from a paper on "Some Lost Towns in Kansas" by Geo. W. 
 Martin, secretai-y of the Historical Society, published in its 
 twelfth volume, 1911-12. 
 
 "In reading of the early days in Kansas frequent mention 
 is made of a town called Minneola. Minneola was one of the 
 most remarkable of all the projected towns in Kansas terri- 
 tory, and by only a hair's breadth did it miss becoming the 
 
—12— 
 
 ". . . Congress did not decide where the 
 permanent seat of government should be, but 
 located it temporarily at (Fort) Leavenworth, 
 The territorial legislature, then, had power 
 
 capital and perhaps the metropolis of the state. The capital 
 was at Lecompton, but the 'free-state legislature had a fashion 
 of adjourning its sessions from that town to Lawrence on ac- 
 count of a proslavery reputation of Lecompton. This sort of 
 a movable capital was not satisfactorj', however, and under 
 the leadership of Perry Fuller, of Lawrence, a scheme was 
 evolved to go to Franklin county and start a capital in the 
 midst of the virgin prairie. At the suggestion of E. N. Mor- 
 rill, the new town was called Minneola, and the list of stock- 
 holders in the town company included almost every prominent 
 leader in the free-state cause, including a majoi'itj^ of the 
 members of the legislature. At once nine quarter sections 
 of land wei*e purchased, at a cost of .'^3131. Money was raised 
 by assessment and by mortgage. Inside of a week a hotel 
 costing $8000 had been completed, as well as a large hall to be 
 used for legislative purposes. On February 10, 1858, the legis- 
 lature, sitting at Lawrence, passed a bill making Minneola 
 the territorial capital, but this bill was vetoed by Acting Gov- 
 ernor Denver. Then an appeal was taken to the attorney 
 general of the United States, who decided that the bill was in 
 violation of the organic act, and therefore void. 
 
 "The same legislature which adopted the capital bill 
 made provision for a number of railroads centering at Min- 
 neola. Maps and bird's-eye views issued by the company 
 are still in existence, and made the town appear as a great 
 railroad center. Before the decision of the attornej^ general 
 town lots in choice localities sold at phenominal figures. 
 Many buildings went up, and the town had several hundred 
 population. Although afterward it became the county seat 
 for a brief period, its downfall dated from the constitutional 
 convention which had been called by the legislature to meet 
 there. This was March, 1858. The convention met in the 
 big hall, and James H. Lane was elected chairman. At this 
 print a motion was made to adjourn to Leavenworth. It was 
 supported by all the delegates from localities which had am- 
 bitions to secure the state capital, and after a debate lasting 
 all day and all one night the motion was carried. This con- 
 vention was the one that drew up the Leavenworth constitu- 
 tion, It sealed the fate of Minneola, and today the former 
 town site is the place of half-dozen farms, and there is no- 
 thing to show its former glor3^" 
 
—13— 
 
 to remove it as they saw proper, either for a 
 short time or for all time. But Congress, 
 when the appropriation of 1855 was made re- 
 quired, as a condition precedent to the pay- 
 ment of the money, that the seat of govern- 
 ment should be permanently located, and left 
 the territory, through its legislature, to do • 
 that for itself. Making a permanent loca- 
 tion certainly did not mean designation of a 
 place merely for the purpose of getting the 
 money, and then making another change. 
 Such a removal, if carried out, would defeat 
 the manifest intention of Congress, violate 
 the spirit of the act, and be a fraud upon the 
 United States." 
 
 This blocked the scheme to make Minneola the 
 territorial capital. The town was well laid out on a 
 map, all the roads in the United States pointing in 
 that direction, and, according to a prospectus, was 
 the coming center of population and commerce. But 
 it died. 
 
 Pawnee was an excellent location for the seat of 
 government. Had Governor Reeder and his Pennsyl- 
 vania friends confided tlieir purpose to some of the 
 legislature's influential members some time in ad- 
 vance of its session in July, 1855, and taken them in 
 as shareholders, it is doubtful if any adjournment 
 had been taken to Shawnee Mission, and it is not un- 
 likely that Kansas' capital would have been at Paw- 
 nee and Junction City. That Minneola was out of 
 the question, because of locality, was quite certain; 
 that it was born in fraud official records prove. 
 
 Lecompton continued to be the capital until 1861, 
 when the act of Congress ratifying the Wyandotte 
 constitution of 1859 was approved by the President, 
 which provided that Topeka should be the temporary 
 capital. 
 
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