Doniphan County

That territory now known as Doniphan County was crossed by Major Stephen H. Long in 1819 or 1820. He described the area in his Account of an Expedition from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and 1820, by order of John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, under the command of Maj. Stephen H. Long:

"The prairies for many miles on each side [of the Missouri river] produce abundance of good pasturage, but as far as our observation has extended, the very best soil is a margin from ten to twelve miles in breadth along the western bank of the river."

Now there was a man who knew his soil.

In1837, the Kickapoos possessed that part of Doniphan lying south of the settlement of "Bellemont". North of this line the Sac tribe had its land, the northern boundary of which ran north of Highland. And north of the Sac boundary was the land of the Iowas.

Doniphan County was organized on September 15, 1855. The first County Court consisted of: J.P. Blair, A. Dunning, and E.V.B. Rogers, County Commisioners; C.B. Whitehead, Sheriff, and J. A. Van Arsdale, Clerk pro tem. On September 17, 1855, the County of Doniphan was divided into five municipal townships, called Iowa, Wolf River, Burr Oak, Washington, and Wayne.

And so it began.

 Doniphan County Historical Links 

• Andrew Sublett and the Company of Catholics
  
  
• Father of Doniphan County - From the 1915 Kansas Chief
  
  
• Mosquito Creek Settlement, Doniphan County, Kansas
  
  
• The Political Graveyard: Doniphan County, Kansas
  
  
• The Samuel Collins - Patrick Laughlin Incident
  
  
• Kansas Territory: Crucible of the American Experience
  
  
• Northeast Kansas Trails
  
  
• Old Doniphan County Map
  
  
• William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas
  
  

 Outline Map of Northeast Kansas 

Check out our neighbors! in Kansas . . . Atchison Brown Jackson Jefferson Leavenworth Nemaha in Missouri . . . Buchanan (St. Joe) Andrew in Nebraska . . . Richardson Pawnee

 Websites of People with Ancestors in Doniphan 

• Cowger & Wheeler
  
  
• Curtis & Mulanax
  
  
• George
  
  
• Marrita-McMillian
  
  

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Send mail to: Theresa (Wood) Root, Doniphan County Coordinator

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Copyright ©1996 Jaculene G. Masters
Transferred to the KSGenWeb Project June 1997
Revision Copyright © October 5, 1998 Theresa (Wood) Root
Latest Revision July 7, 2000