Shawnee

Sister cities

• Erfurt
• Listowel

History

Before and after the 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 passed 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. 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 km). 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 resulted in 250 men corralled and murdered and $2.2 million in damages.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Shawnee Mission Park is a park that includes a lake.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,475
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,238
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,139
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  20,874
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,754
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,575
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,308
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  15,427

Largest nearby schools

• Olathe North Sr High
  High · Olathe · 2,230 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Olathe Northwest High School
  High · Olathe · 1,952 students · 16:1 ratio
• Olathe East Sr High
  High · Olathe · 1,903 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission East High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,697 students · 17:1 ratio
• Olathe West High School
  High · Olathe · 1,662 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission West High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,640 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission Northwest High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,626 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission South High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,586 students · 15.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 3.1 — 2007-03-23
  5 km N of Nortonville, Kansas
• M 3.3 — 2005-05-18
  Missouri