Advertisement

Kansas Abandoned|Attractions|Creepy

Visit The Very First Kansas Capitol In This Town That No Longer Exists

By Clarisa | Published May 30, 2019

Have you ever seen the capitol of Kansas? We’re not talking about Topeka, either. Of course, we have plenty of old places around our state, including the oldest city in Kansas, but we have a special love for the very first Kansas capitol ever. Come check out this piece of our history!

Welcome to the site of the First Capitol in Kansas. The year is 1855, and this stunning building is being erected in Pawnee, Kansas to house our new legislature.

The members here were mostly Missourians who were elected by Missourians through fraud in an attempt to make Kansas a slave state. They pushed to get the session moved to Shawnee Mission to get closer to Kansas City, and even though the move was vetoed, they won. If you're familiar with the events of Bleeding Kansas, you'll know that no matter what they did, they couldn't succeed in making Kansas a pro slavery state.

Advertisement

Today, the building still stands strong, but the town of Pawnee is long gone and mostly forgotten. Because there is nothing left of Pawnee the town, the building was moved years ago to Fairway (Ft Riley) where it stands today as this museum.

Advertisement

Thankfully, this building was partially restored in the 1928 to keep things stable and secure. Because of their hard work, today we get to enjoy a museum inside this historic building full of information.

While you're here, you can spend some time exploring the nearby Kaw River Nature Trail, within a short distance of the First Capitol. History and a view!

Address: Huebner Road, Fort Riley, KS 66442

If you love Kansas history, check out this beautiful lake surrounded by history on every side.

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Explore Kansas