Flint Hills Scenic Byway
Council Grove has been a meeting place for Native Americans, explorers, soldiers and Santa Fe Trail traders. The name "Council Grove" came from treaty negotiations that were conducted here in 1825 between Osage chiefs and U.S. commissioners to grant safe passage to white settlers along the Santa Fe Trail.
Council Grove is noted for its historic and architecturally rich structures. Much of the community is a National Historic District.
Self-guided tour maps are available from local merchants. Group-guided tours are available through the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 212 West Main, Council Grove.
The presence of the Kaw is further highlighted at the Al-le-Ga-Wa-Ho Memorial Heritage Park. Here one can see the ruins of huts built by the government for the Kaw, retrace their steps on the Flint Hills Nature Trail, and learn of their culture at the Heritage Center.
Wah-shun-gah Days, held annually in June, is a family celebration complete with parade, pow-wow, craft show, and flea market. Council Grove is the site of a cutting horse competition in May that displays the skills of national award-winning cutting horses and riders.
In August, Council Grove hosts the "Quilts on the Prairie" outdoor quilt show. During September, you may attend "Voices of the Wind People," an historical pageant that re-enacts the settlement of the Santa Fe Trail.
Just north of Council Grove is a 3,000-acre federal reservoir and a 500-acre city lake. Both facilities provide camping, boating, fishing, picnicking, and other outdoor recreational amenities.
Enjoy the prairie and observe the Santa Fe Trail ruts. Our community and others in Morris County rely upon agriculture - both farming and ranching - as a way of life.
Community activities are centered around farm and family and include church, 4-H clubs, youth rodeos, ranch rodeos, the county fair, livestock shows, and other rural events.
The Kaw (or Kansa) Native Americans lived in three villages southeast of Council Grove until they were moved south to Indian Territory in 1873.
The Kaw Mission was a school built by the U.S. government to teach farming and the "White Man Ways" to the Kaw. Methodist Episcopal missionaries were retained as teachers for the school. Today it is a state historic site depicting the heritage of the Kaw, the Santa Fe Trail, and early Council Grove.
2000 Population: 2,328
Founded: 1847
Elevation: 1,250'
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