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Olathe in Johnson County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Elm Grove Campground

 
 
Elm Grove Campground Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Thomas Onions, January 20, 2008
1. Elm Grove Campground Marker
Closeup of Main Elm Grove marker
Inscription. For over three decades starting in 1827, Elm Grove Campground, one mile east of near the bridge on Cedar Creek, was an important frontier camp site. Thousands of Santa Fe traders, Oregon and California emigrants, missionaries, mountain men, soldiers and '49ers camped at Elm Grove including such frontier notables as John C Fremont, William Bent, Tom Fitzpatrick, Francis Parkman, and Philip St. George Cooke.

Elm Grove Campground, originally named caravan grove, began in 1827 as a result of the Sibley survey of the Santa Fe Trail. Sibley was seeking a more direct route through present day Johnson County, bypassing Lone Elm Campground, known then as Round Grove, which was 2 ¼ miles southeast of Elm Grove on the same Cedar Creek. These two campgrounds were often mistaken for each other.

Elm Grove was often used on the first or second night out of Westport. OnJune 2, 1841, Richard L. Wilson, bound for Santa Fe, recorded in his diary "...just at sunset on the second, we descended a precipitous declivity to a place of which nothing remained but the name Elm Grove, and one solitary logan of a stricken tree 'Tom mark where an Elm grove had been.' A beautiful rivulet bubbled forth from the base of the hill, and we wound our way down, we spied a single campfire... of an old Mexican hunter."

In that same year the
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Bidwell-Bartleson party, the first emigrant wagon train to California, came through Elm Grove, as did a portion of the 'Great Migration' to Oregon in 1843. The Mexican War brought Laclede Rangers and other frontier military units through Elm Grove Campground in 1846-48. Many '49ers seeking California gold came through Elm Grove as well.

By the mid 1850s the stagecoach from Westport crossed at Cedar Creek, and by 1857 David P. Hougland had bought the land and raised a cabin at Elm Grove. The property remains with the Hougland family today.

This is a part of your American Heritage. Honor it, protect it, preserve it for you children.
 
Erected 2000 by Oregon-California Trails Association.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: LandmarksRoads & VehiclesSettlements & SettlersWar, Mexican-American. In addition, it is included in the California Trail, the Oregon Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1827.
 
Location. 38° 49.526′ N, 94° 50.059′ W. Marker is in Olathe, Kansas, in Johnson County. Marker is on Old US-Highway 56, 0.1 miles east of West 151st Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Olathe KS 66061, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are
DAR Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Thomas Onions, January 20, 2008
2. DAR Marker
Santa Fe Trail
1822 - 1872
Marked by
the Daughters
of the
American Revolution
and the
State of Kansas
1906
within walking distance of this marker. Santa Fe Trail (a few steps from this marker); Lone Elm Campground (approx. 0.2 miles away); Trails West (approx. ¼ mile away); Lone Elm Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Roads To The West (approx. 0.3 miles away); Trail Campground..To Farm..To Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); A Most Desirable Spot For Camping (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Travelers (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Olathe.
 
More about this marker. Do not stop on Old US Highway 56. Go to West 151st to South Lakeshore and take the old road to the marker.
 
Also see . . .
1. Santa Fe National Historic Trail. The National Park Service Website on theSanta Fe Trail. (Submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.) 

2. Oregon National Historic Trail. This is the National Park Service Website for the Oregon Trail (Submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.) 

3. California National Historic Trail. The official National Park Service Website on the California Trail. (Submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.) 

4. Oregon California Trails Association. This is the website for the group that created
Elm Grove Campground Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Thomas Onions, January 20, 2008
3. Elm Grove Campground Marker
Photo of the two markers.
the main marker. (Submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.) 
 
Additional keywords. Santa Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, California Trail
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas. This page has been viewed 2,706 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on June 20, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024