Wabaunsee, Kansas

Wabaunsee is an unincorporated community in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was named for a local Pottawatomi chief and is known mainly for Henry Ward Beecher, a financial backer for the town who helped smuggle rifles past pro-slvery forces in crates marked Beecher's Bibles.

History

Wabaunsee was founded in 1855 by a group of nearly 100 emigrants from New Haven, Connecticut. They were inspired by a sermon given by well-known abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher and Beecher gave money to help supply rifles for the men to defend themselves. The rifles were smuggled through pro-slavery areas in crates marked "Beecher's Bibles."

Wabaunsee was staunchly anti-slavery and became part of the Underground Railroad in late 1856 and helped Lawrence after Quantrill's Raid. In 1862, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was completed and after the Civil War Wabaunsee hoped for a railroad but it was constructed north of the river. Today, the town consists of a few houses and buildings including the church which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Wabaunsee is located along Antelope Creek about a half mile south of the Kansas River. It is located in Wabaunsee Township along K-18 one mile west of K-99.

Education

Wabaunsee is served by Mill Creek Valley USD 329 out of Alma.

Transportation

I-70 is about two miles south of Wabaunsee and US-24 is three miles north in Wamego.

References

"Ghost Towns of Kansas: A Traveler's Guide" by Daniel Fitzgerald (University Press of Kansas, 1988.)