Grinter Place is a house on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

above the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

in the

Muncie Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the seat of Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs/lenape-villages.pdf It is located in ...

neighborhood of

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

History

The house was constructed by Moses Grinter where he and his half-

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

(Delaware) wife lived until he died in 1878 and she in 1905. Grinter's wife's Indian name was “Windagamen,” which meant “Sweetness.” She was one of about 25 Delaware women who became U.S. citizens when the territory became a state."Delaware woman chose life as U.S. citizen"
''Wichita Eagle and Kansas.com'', Nov. 1, 2010. Near this place, the Delaware Crossing (or "Military Crossing"; sometimes "the Secondine'") allowed passage from the old Indian trail where it met the waters of the

Kaw River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

. Around 1831, Grinter, one of the earliest permanent white settlers in the area, set up the Grinter Ferry on the

here. His house, the Grinter Place, still stands. The ferry was used by individuals such as traders, freighters and soldiers traveling between

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

and Fort Scott on the military road. Others would cross this area on their way to Santa Fe. Grinter operated a trading post at the site and later in the home, the oldest remaining in Wyandotte County, between 1855 and 1860. The area was home to the first non-military post office in Kansas. The property remained in the family until 1950, when it was sold and became a chicken dinner restaurant until the mid-1960s. The property was bought by the state of Kansas in 1971. The site is administrated by the

Kansas Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kan ...

as Grinter Place State Historic Site. It was placed on the

on January 25, 1971.

Other activity

By the 1820s, François Gesseau Chouteau's family, part of the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...

, operated posts in this vicinity. Beginning in the 1830s, the

Delaware tribe The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

, the Wyandot tribe, Munsee tribe and the

Shawnee tribe The Shawnee Tribe is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma. Formerly known as the Loyal Shawnee, they are one of three federally recognized Shawnee tribes. The others are the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and th ...

, all Eastern United States tribes, were relocated in this area. The Delaware agency, smithy, and Baptist and Methodist missions were located near the Grinter Place. Between 1863 and 1864, the

Union Pacific Eastern Division The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontin ...

built a railway through the area between the house and the

. In 1869, the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

constructed rails through the area and they continued on to the western border of the state. By the 1870s, the Eastern United States tribes were removed from the area and relocated further south to what is now the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Gallery

MosesGrinterHouse.JPG, 1857 Grinter House. MosesGrinterPlace.JPG, 1857 Grinter House. TheSecondine.JPG, The Secondine looking eastward. MilitaryCrossingGrinterFerry.JPG, The "Military Crossing" on the Kaw River. GrinterPlaceKawRiver.JPG, The Kaw River at the Grinter Place looking westward. MosesAndAnnieGrinterTombstone.jpg, A quarter-mile behind the Grinter Place, this is Moses and Annie Grinter's tombstone.

Notes

External links

Official site
* {{Registered Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Kansas Kansas state historic sites Museums in Wyandotte County, Kansas Historic house museums in Kansas Historic American Buildings Survey in Kansas Houses in Wyandotte County, Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Kansas