Prairie City, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Prairie City was a town site in southeast Douglas County
, Kansas
near present-day Baldwin City
.
, Dr. William Graham, I.F. Greene and Salmon S. Prouty after a dispute between Graham and Henry Barricklow of nearby Palmyra. A post office opened in 1856 with John R. Winton serving as postmaster. The Heber Institute was started by the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1856 but never opened. The building became Prairie City School District No. 1.
The first printing press in Kansas was used in Prairie City by Prouty to publish The Freeman's Champion which ran for 40 weeks. Prouty bought the press in 1857 from the Ottawa Baptist Mission
in Franklin County
. Prouty would leave Prairie City in 1868 and move to Topeka
where he would found the Topeka Journal which would later merge to become the Topeka Capital-Journal
Prairie City was incorporated on February 4, 1859 and at one time had three general stores and three hotels. Prairie City was the rendezvous point for John Brown
and his men the night before initiating the Battle of Black Jack
. When the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Fort Gibson laid tracks through the area, there was a depot at Baldwin and two miles southwest at Prairie City. Thinking that was impractical, a new depot was built between the two towns and named "Media". The Media library is now used as a tool shed in the Prairie City Cemetery.
On March 24, 1883, Douglas County commissioners had certain streets and alleys vacated. Today, little remains to mark the city except a few houses, a cemetery and the ruins of an old Catholic church. The Midland Railway
from Baldwin passes by a sign pointing out where the depot, newspaper, post office and store used to be.
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
near present-day Baldwin City
Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States about south of Lawrence and west of Gardner. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,515. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
History
Prairie City was founded in 1855 by James LaneJames H. Lane (Senator)
James Henry Lane also known as Jim Lane was a partisan during the Bleeding Kansas period that immediately preceded the American Civil War. During the war, Lane served as a United States Senator and as a general who fought for the Union...
, Dr. William Graham, I.F. Greene and Salmon S. Prouty after a dispute between Graham and Henry Barricklow of nearby Palmyra. A post office opened in 1856 with John R. Winton serving as postmaster. The Heber Institute was started by the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1856 but never opened. The building became Prairie City School District No. 1.
The first printing press in Kansas was used in Prairie City by Prouty to publish The Freeman's Champion which ran for 40 weeks. Prouty bought the press in 1857 from the Ottawa Baptist Mission
Ottawa University
Ottawa University is a private, non-profit, faith-based liberal arts college located in Ottawa, Kansas. It was founded in 1865 and is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA...
in Franklin County
Franklin County, Kansas
Franklin County is a county located in East Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 25,992. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa...
. Prouty would leave Prairie City in 1868 and move to Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
where he would found the Topeka Journal which would later merge to become the Topeka Capital-Journal
Prairie City was incorporated on February 4, 1859 and at one time had three general stores and three hotels. Prairie City was the rendezvous point for John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
and his men the night before initiating the Battle of Black Jack
Battle of Black Jack
The Battle of Black Jack took place on June 2, 1856, when anti-slavery forces, led by the noted abolitionist John Brown, attacked the encampment of Henry C. Pate near Baldwin City, Kansas. The battle is cited as one incident of “Bleeding Kansas” and a contributing factor leading up to the American...
. When the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Fort Gibson laid tracks through the area, there was a depot at Baldwin and two miles southwest at Prairie City. Thinking that was impractical, a new depot was built between the two towns and named "Media". The Media library is now used as a tool shed in the Prairie City Cemetery.
On March 24, 1883, Douglas County commissioners had certain streets and alleys vacated. Today, little remains to mark the city except a few houses, a cemetery and the ruins of an old Catholic church. The Midland Railway
Midland Railway (Kansas)
The Midland Railway is a heritage railroad headquartered in Baldwin City, Kansas.It was chartered in 1982 to find an abandoned railroad line to operate. Midland purchased the line from Baldwin City to Ottawa, Kansas from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1987, and began running excursion...
from Baldwin passes by a sign pointing out where the depot, newspaper, post office and store used to be.