Place:Shawnee (township), Johnson, Kansas, United States

Township of Shawnee

Shawnee historically was a civil township situated in the northern part and northeastern corner of the county of Johnson, state of Kansas, United States of America. In 2002, the final remaining portion of the township was consolidated into the incorporated city of Shawnee.

History

Shawnee was one of the eight original civil townships erected at a meeting of the county commissioners on 28 October 1857 after the county was erected in 1855. It was named after the Shawnee tribes who resided in the county during the early 19th century until the Civil War. The new civil township encompassed parts of townships 12 and 13 south, of ranges 24 and 25 east of the Sixth Principal Meridian.

Boundaries

The township of Shawnee was originally bounded on the north by the county of Wyandotte, on the east by the state of Missouri (including the county of Jackson), on the south by the townships of Oxford and Olathe, and on the west by the township of Monticello. In the 1890s, the township of Mission was formed from the eastern 40% of Shawnee, and the meridian between ranges 24 and 25 east became the new boundary of the townships. At the same time, the northern boundary of the township of Oxford was moved 1.5 miles to the south.

Research Tips

Bibliography

See the entries for Johnson County.

Resources

Historical property maps—

Standard atlas of Johnson County, Kansas. (Chicago, Illinois: Ogle, 1902), p. 19: Map of Shawnee Township

Atlas map of Johnson County, Kansas. (Wyandott, Kansas: Heisler, 1874), p. 80: Map of Shawnee Township (See also its history of Johnson County and the townships.)