The Earliest Residents

The Earliest Residents. Native Americans find healthy spring waters. , The Osage at Baxter Springs, The Osage once controlled a vast territory in the center of North America. In the mid-1600s, the tribe moved to the area around Baxter Springs. The area was important to the Osage because, for the tribe, it was a natural camping spot and a place of healing. They believed drinking the water could cure illnesses while bathing in the water could physically rejuvenate the body. The story is told that famed Osage Chief Black Dog stopped at the mineral-rich springs during summer hunting trips to Oklahoma. Their route, the "Black Dog Trail," was the first improved road in the region, a precursor to Route 66., The Osage excelled as hunters and warriors and were described as powerful, tall, and warlike. As characterized by Frenchman Victor Tixier, "all the physical qualities which denote skill and strength combined with graceful movements." Despite this, European settlement overtook them. As early as the 1670s, French trappers and traders were in contact with the Osage, and soon after, the Osage adopted the horse. By 1750, the Osage controlled a large area spreading into Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. The U.S. bought their land with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Following Missouri statehood in 1821, many Osage were relocated to Indian Territory, along with tribes from eastern states. To keep peace, federal troops patrolled the border of the "Permanent Indian Territory," which included the Baxter Springs region., The Neutral Lands, The Neutral Lands of present-day Cherokee and Crawford counties and southern Bourbon County were originally a buffer between settlers in Missouri and the Osage territory in Kansas. The area was ceded to the Cherokee in 1835 when they were relocated from the Southeastern United States. However, few Cherokee settled the "Cherokee Neutral Lands" as it became known. Instead, settlers squatted on the land during the 1860s, leading the Cherokee to sell the land. In 1867, the United States sold the land to the Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad on behalf of the Cherokee. This sale angered squatters because the railroad resold land at what they saw as inflated prices. The two sides became violent, growing into one of the biggest railroad-settler disputes in Kansas history. . This historical marker was erected by Kansas Byways, Historic Route 66 Byway. It is in Baxter Springs in Cherokee County Kansas