Territorial Capitol

In 1855, the nation wept for “Bleeding Kansas” as the struggle to determine if Kansas would enter the Union a free or slave state raged across the newly formed territory. Fraudulently elected legislators from the border area of Missouri met here briefly and quickly voted to move the Capitol closer to home in the Kansas City area.

“This building was erected in 1855 in the now extinct town of Pawnee for the State Legislature of the territory of Kansas. The members were mostly Missourians fraudulently elected in an effort to make Kansas a slave state. They came in wagons and on horseback, well armed, and camped out on the prairie. The session lasted from July 2 to 6. The Missourians were determined to legislate nearer home and passed a bill to move to Shawnee Methodist Mission near Kansas City. Governor Reeder vetoed the bill. It was passed over his veto and this ended the session here. All other acts, including the so-called Bogus Laws, were passed at Shawnee Mission. This building stood in partial ruin until its restoration in 1928 by the Union Pacific railroad.”

– Kansas Historical Society