Shawnee, Kansas, United States

🇺🇸 Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

History Before and after the American Civil War, Shawnee served as a government road that connected Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley. During the mid 19th century, branches of the Oregon Trail and nearby Santa Fe Trail that travelled through, Olathe, Overland Park and Kansas City, Missouri saw settlers travel through the area. A Shawnee Indian mission had been established at the present site of Shawnee in 1831. Shawnee was laid out as a town in 1857. Kansas entered the union as a free state on January 29, 1861 to become the 34th state. The declaration of a free state, added to the tension between the anti-slave abolitionists and pro-slave Confederate guerrillas.

American Civil War William Quantrill was a confederate Guerrilla Leader who led Confederate soldiers that were known as bushwhackers. In October 1862, Willam Quantrill ordered an attack on Shawnee, which saw the town pillaged and burned to the ground. Quantrill and his army of bushwhackers return in the summer of 1863, to raid and look for an escape route from Lawrence, which he was intending to sack. The raids on Shawnee served as a training exercise before attempting the full scale siege on Lawrence.

Shawnee was selected by Quantrill for its proximity to Lawrence, being 35 miles away (56 kms). Lawrence was established for the political reason of being an anti-slave town and had many clashes with the confederate army started before the American Civil War. The first documented event of Bleeding Kansas was the Wakarusa War that saw both sides clash and come to a temporary truce. This allowed Lawrence to add to its defenses before the Sacking of Lawrence. In August 1863, the Lawrence Massacre took place at the hands of William Quantrill. This saw 250 men corralled and murdered and $2.2 million from damages.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.86 square miles (111.01 km²), of which, 41.85 square miles (108.39 km²) is land and 1.01 square miles (2.62 km²) is water.

Shawnee Mission Park is a 1,600-acre (6.5 km²) park that includes a 120-acre (0.49 km²) lake.

Economy The top employers in the city include: FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., Bayer HealthCare, LLC-Animal Div, EC Manufacturing, Wal-Mart Super Center, IBT Inc, Shawnee, City of, Nazdar Industries, Hy-Vee Food Stores, McLane Food Service, Sweet Life at Rosehill, The.

Government

Shawnee has a council–manager government. Mayor and councilmembers are elected to four year terms. Each ward has two representatives whose terms are staggered by two years. However, the elections of April 2010 and 2012 will serve for three years. The day-to-day operations are managed by the city manager.

Libraries and museums Two branches of the Johnson County Library serves the Shawnee Mission area. The Library includes 13 locations throughout Johnson County, including the Monticello and Shawnee Libraries. Shawnee Town 1929 Museum and Wonderscope Children's Museum are also located within the city.

Media Shawnee is in the Kansas City, Missouri television market. The Shawnee Dispatch was a weekly newspaper published by the Lawrence Journal-World and The World Company. The Shawnee Dispatch ceased operation in November 2018.

Schools • USD 512 Shawnee Mission School District • USD 232 De Soto School District • Maranatha Christian Academy • Kansas City, Kansas Archdiocese Catholic Schools • Midland Adventist Academy • Hope Lutheran School.