Monticello Township is a former
township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
in northwest
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county conta ...
. It is now merged with
Lenexa
Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is one of four principal cities of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and 9th most populated city of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,434. It is th ...
and
Shawnee, Kansas
Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311.
History
Territory of Kansas
Before ...
.
History
In 1858 Monticello elected 21-year-old James Butler Hickok (better known as
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
) as town constable. At one time Monticello had a stage shop, stores, saloons, blacksmith, doctor, hotel, general store, school house, churches, and about 15 dwellings. The 1910 population was about 63. The town was bypassed by the Kansas Midland Railroad (Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe), which instead passed
Olathe which caused the town to lose its county seat status. In 1987,
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
annexed land south of 55th to 83rd/79th west to 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 ...
, increasing the city size to .
Before its annexation, Monticello Township was the natural crossroads for
fur trading
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
and later westward emigration by wagon.
See also
*
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
*
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
*
Harold "Jug" McSpaden
Harold Lee "Jug" McSpaden (July 21, 1908 – April 22, 1996) was an American professional golfer, and golf course architect.
Early career
Born in Monticello, Kansas, McSpaden became interested in golf at the age of ten, after seeing Harry Va ...
-
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
player and golf course architect
*
National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame
The National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame is a museum and educational facility in Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States. The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code (issued in 1960). It is located ea ...
north along K-7 Corridor
References
Notable residents
*
Manuel Lisa
Manuel Lisa, also known as Manuel de Lisa (September 8, 1772 in New Orleans Louisiana (New Spain) – August 12, 1820 in St. Louis, Missouri), was a Spanish citizen and later, became an American citizen who, while living on the western frontier, b ...
- Fur trader
*
Wild Bill Hickok
James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, gambler, showman, and actor, and for his involvement ...
- Lawman
*
Jug McSpaden
Harold Lee "Jug" McSpaden (July 21, 1908 – April 22, 1996) was an American professional golfer, and golf course architect.
Early career
Born in Monticello, Kansas, McSpaden became interested in golf at the age of ten, after seeing Harry Va ...
- Professional golfer
*
William S. Williams - Mountain man
External links
City of Shawnee Kansas: Historic TownsRevised version (June, 2006)
*
''Monticello Township passes into history''(January, 2006)
Lost Cities of Johnson County: MonticelloA full-color map of the trails of Johnson, Wyandotte and part of Leavenworth Counties, Kansas
''Monticello Ferry Company''
Lost Towns of Johnson County
{{authority control
Townships in Johnson County, Kansas
Kansas City metropolitan area
California Road According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, there were two trails that may have been known as the California Road at the time of the California Gold Rush. A southerly route, which ran through present-day Oklahoma (then known only ...
Townships in Kansas
Populated places disestablished in 2002
1858 establishments in Kansas Territory