Register of Historic Kansas Places - Listed May 8, 2021 National Register Listed August 2, 2021
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Register of Historic Kansas Places - Listed May 8, 2021
National Register Listed August 2, 2021United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
5. Classification
Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property
(Check as many boxes as apply.) (Check only one box.) (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.)
Contributing Noncontributing
x private building(s) 0 0 buildings
public - Local District 1 0 sites
x public - State x Site 0 0 structures
public - Federal structure 0 0 objects
Object 1 0 Total
Number of contributing resources previously
listed in the National Register
0
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions Current Functions
(Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.)
Domestic/Village Site Transportation/Road related
Agriculture/Agricultural Field
7. Description
Architectural Classification Materials
(Enter categories from instructions.) (Enter categories from instructions.)
foundation: N/A
N/A walls: N/A
roof: N/A
other: N/A
2United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
This site also may potentially yield information about a poorly known earlier Kanza settlement (“Old Hart
village”) associated with historic context III. Early Kansas River Settlement, circa 1790-1825 of the Kanza
People (Kaáⁿze níkashiⁿga) of Kansas Multiple Properties Documentation Form. Further archaeological
investigations are necessary to test this possible association.
Criteria Considerations (justification)
Narrative Statement of Significance
(Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of
significance, and any applicable criteria considerations.)
Summary
Fool Chief’s village is of National significance under Criteria A and D. The site is eligible under Criteria A
because it is part of the greater Indian Removal movement of the nineteenth century and the first Indian
reservation to be established in Kansas. The site is eligible under Criteria D because it has yielded and still has
the potential to yield important information about the Kanza and their lifeways, impacts of the first reservation,
resettlement of eastern tribes, and effects of Euro-American immigration on the Kanza, and pre-territorial
Kansas.
This archaeological site is nominated under the Kanza People (Kaáⁿze níkashiⁿga) of Kansas Multiple
Properties Documentation form as representative of the ‘Village’ property type under historic context IV
Kansas River Reservation, 1825-1847. It was the largest and best documented Kanza settlement on the first
reservation established for the Kanza. It was occupied (ca. 1828-1844) during a significant period of cultural
and historical transition for the Kanza following the signing of the St. Louis Treaty of 1825 that established the
first federal reservation for this tribe. The signing of this treaty caused tribal factionalism resulting in fissioning
into three to four villages with new leaders, in contrast with the single tribal village maintained earlier
(Ritterbush 2015). Historical and archaeological documentation of Fool Chief’s village has provided and
continues to hold potential for understanding the dramatic changes in Kanza leadership, settlement patterns,
frequency and kind of interactions with diverse Euro-American and immigrant American Indian populations
and the federal government, commerce; diet, health, and welfare, and values and beliefs.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Elaboration
National Significance
Fool Chief’s village is eligible under Criteria A. It is part of the greater movement of the early nineteenth
century when the United States government forced American Indians to relinquish their lands and relocate
to reservations. There their personal freedoms of self-governance, the raising of their children, the free
practice of their religion, the practice of tribal traditions, and the speaking of their native languages were
greatly restricted or criminalized. The neglect and mismanagement of these reservations led to the
catastrophic population decline of these tribes, including the Kanza. The policy of removal began in
earnest after the Louisiana Purchase when President Thomas Jefferson proposed that eastern American
Indians could be relocated to the Western Territory (Jefferson 1803). Tribal lands belonging to the Kanza
were wanted in order to make room for the tribes such as the Shawnee, Delaware, and Kickapoo (Figure
8).
8United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Potential to Yield Important Information
Fool Chief’s village is also eligible under Criteria D because it has yielded and still has the potential to
yield important information about the Kanza, their lifeways during this period of dramatic change, and
impacts of the early reservation system on this society. Also, the site provided (and has potential to
provide further) insight into the impacts of direct contact with eastern immigrant Indians removed to
adjacent lands, increased contact with Euro-Americans through the Indian agency and the movement of
explorers, settlers, and traders along the adjacent Oregon and California trails, as well as the Santa Fe trail
that crossed their hunting lands. This site is one of few known sites to provide archaeological evidence of
pre-territorial Kansas during the early to mid-nineteenth century. Excavations at the site have revealed
insights into the cultural changes experienced by the Kanza after extensive contact with Euro-American
populations, including village organization, house structure, food sources (both wild and domestic), trade
networks, and native manufacturing techniques (see Section 7 of this document and Waggoner 2018 for
details of previous investigations and associated findings).
Though there were extensive excavations and some of the site is now protectively buried under a highway
interchange, portions of the site remain unexplored, and buried intact cultural deposits are known to be
present in KDOT right-of-way (Figures 9 and 10). There is also evidence that there are intact deposits on
the adjacent private property presently used for agricultural purposes. Metal detectorists still collect from
the private property to the north of KDOT right-of-way and the features discovered during the excavation
are present right up to the property line (Figure 9). Further research to the north and south could answer
more questions about village structure and activity areas on the periphery of the village. Were there
processing areas on the outskirts of the village? Could agricultural fields and animal containment areas be
located nearby? It is also not known where the cemetery for this village is located and further
investigations could reveal that. The Kansas Historical Society curates recovered archaeological
collections from this site.
The Fool Chief's village site, , is significant under Criterion A for its
association with the Indian Removal movement of the nineteenth century. It is the first Indian reservation
established in Kansas, which further expanded the Indian Removal movement. By forcing the Kanza to
relinquish their land claims in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, the U.S. Government could then relocate
the eastern tribes that were also forced to reservations in Kansas (e.g. Shawnee in November of 1825, The
Delaware in 1829, and the Kickapoo in 1832 see Figure 8). The site is an excellent example of the number of
tribal relocations where the U.S. Government forced aboriginal peoples to live and adapt to new environments
not necessarily associated with their ancestral lands or identities. It represents the changes in U.S. policy and
tenuous tribal relationships the U.S. Government imposed on North American tribes. Fool Chief's village is also
eligible under Criterion D because it has yielded and still has the potential to yield important information about
the Kanza and their lifeways, resettlement, and pre-territorial Kansas. Areas of significance include
archaeology, aboriginal heritage, Kanza Tribal heritage and history, during the period of significance (1828-
1844) when the Kanza occupied this location.
10United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Langham, Angus L. 1826-1827. Meanders of the Kansas River, twenty leagues up from the mouth, in a
straight line; and surveys of half-breed lands along the Kansas River, 1826-1827. Copy of map
curated by the Kansas Historical Society Archives, Topeka.
Maki, David. 2007. A Geophysical Investigation at Fool Chief’s Village (14SH305): Electrical Resistance
and Magnetic Field Gradient Surveys at a 19th Century Kansa Village Site, Shawnee County, Kansas.
Archaeo-Physics Report of Investigation Number 126. Submitted to the Kansas Historical Society.
Copies available from Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka.
Mandel, Rolfe D. 2006. Late Quaternary and Modern Environments in Kansas. In Kansas Archaeology,
edited by Robert J. Hoard and William E. Banks, pp. 28-45. Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka,
and the University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
Moulton, Gary E. (editor). 1987. The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Volume 3, August 25,
1803-August 24, 1804. University Press of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Ritterbush, Lauren W. 2015. Visit to Blue Earth Village. Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains
38:2-21.
Schoewe, W. E. 1949. The Geography of Kansas, Part II, Physical Geography. Transactions of the Kansas
Academy of Science 52(3):261-333.
Thies, Randall M. 2007. Phase III Investigation of F5 and F6 at
Shawnee County, Kansas. Submitted to the Kansas Department of Transportation. Copies available
from Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka.
Thies, Randall M., and Robert J. Hoard. 2008. Progress Report: Archeological Investigations at Fool
Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas. Submitted to the Kansas Department of
Transportation. Copies available from Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, Kansas Historical
Society, Topeka.
United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (USDI, BIA). 1839, 1842, 1843, 1844.
Annual Report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The History Collection. Electronic document,
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/History/History-idx?type=header&id=History.AnnRep4045.
Unrau, William E. 1971. The Kansa Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873. University of
Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Waggoner, Tricia J., Brendon P. Asher, Mark Volmut, Nicholas V. Kessler, Alan R. Potter, William T.
Billeck, Alison M. Hadley, John R. Bozell, Katherine J. Latham, Ed Miller, and Gina S. Powell.
2018. Excavations at Fool Chief’s Village Kansas Historical Society Contact Archeology
Publication Number 28. Kansas State Printer. Topeka.
Wilson, Frank. 1984. Landscapes: A Geologic Diary. In Kansas Geology: An Introduction to Landscapes,
Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils, edited by Rex Buchanan, pp. 9-39. Kansas Geological Survey and the
University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
12United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Wood, Margaret C. 2012. Washburn University Test Excavation at Fool Chief's Village (14SH305).
Submitted to the Kansas Historical Society. Copies available from Kansas State Historic Preservation
Office, Kansas Historical Society, Topeka.
Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:
preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67 has been x State Historic Preservation Office
requested) Other State agency
previously listed in the National Register Federal agency
previously determined elig ble by the National Register Local government
designated a National Historic Landmark University
recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________ Other
recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________ Name of repository: Kansas Historical Society, Topeka
recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________
Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): __N/A___________________________________________________________________
13United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
Photograph Log
Name of Property: Fool Chief’s VIlage (Kanza Indians in Kansas)
City or Vicinity:
County: Shawnee State: KS
Photographer: Tricia Waggoner, KSHS Staff
Date Photographed: April 2021
Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera:
Photo
View Description
Number
#1 N Looking north from the parking area
#2 NW Looking northeast from the parking area
#3 E Looking east from the parking area
#4 SE Looking southeast from the parking area
#5 S Looking south from the parking area
#6 SW Looking south/southwest from the parking area
#7 W Looking west from the parking area
#8 NW Looking at the signage (northwest) in the parking area
#9 -- Another overview of the area
Figures
Include GIS maps, figures, scanned images below.
Figure 1. Site Area
Figure 2. Total Site area and associated landowners
Figure 3. Boundary of the site for the National Register of Historic Places –
this boundary includes only two land owners, KDOT, and Mohler Marilyn N Trust
Figure 4. Map showing excavated and unexcavated houses and storage pits within the site.
Figure 5. Layout of one of the excavated houses, F282 (see Figure 4).
Figure 6. Kanza barklodge, 1880s (Kansas Historical Society 2018a).
Figure 7. Vertical piece-plot distribution (cm) of artifacts recovered in 2012-2013 by elevation.
Figure 8. Map by Isaac McCoy showing Indian lands 1830-1836. The Kanza reservation is marked as is the
location of Fool Chief's Village. (Kansas Historical Society 2018b)
Figure 9. Google Earth image (2018) showing the distribution of known features inside right of way.
15United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Figure 2. Total Site area and associated landowners
17United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Figure 3. Area of the site recommended for the National Register of Historic Places
18United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Figure 5. Layout of one of the excavated houses, F282 (see Figure 4).
20United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Figure 8. Map by Isaac McCoy showing Indian lands 1830-1836. The Kanza reservation is marked as is
the location of Fool Chief’s village. (Kansas Historical Society 2018b)
22United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
23United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo Map: star indicates the parking lot where the photos were taken.
23United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo 1: Looking north from the parking area
Photo 2: Looking northeast from the parking area
24United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo 3: Looking east from the parking area
Photo 4: Looking southeast from the parking area
25United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo 5: Looking south from the parking area
5
Photo 6: Looking south/southwest from the parking area
26United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo 7: Looking west from the parking area
Photo 8: Looking at the signage (northwest) in the parking area
27United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
Fool Chief’s Village Shawnee County, Kansas
Name of Property County and State
Photo 9: Another overview of the area
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