 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz.
 Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz.
The hunting grounds of the Kaw (Kansa) and Osage Indians were located here when Americans and Mexicans began hauling trade goods over the Santa Fe Trail in 1821.In 1825, in response to traders and merchants who eagerly sought trade with Mexicans, the U.S. Congress authorized that a road be surveyed and marked from the western frontier of Missouri to New Mexico. A council was held in this oak grove amoung U.S. Commissioner George C. Sibley; Pa-hu-ska (White Hair), head chiel of the Great Osages; and Ca-he-ga-wa-ton-ega (Foolish Chief), head of the Little Osages. On August 10, 1825, they signed a treaty granting passage through Osage territory for citizens of the United States and Mexico in exchange for $800 in cash, plus ribbons, tobacco, calico, and other goods.
The Kaw (Kansa) Indians were hunting buffalo to the west when the treaty was signed. Sibley caught up with them at Turkey Creek (near present day McPherson) and signed an identical treaty with them six days later. Three U.S. commissioners were assigned to survey and mark the road to Santa Fe and gain the consent of American Indians whose lands it crossed. Mountain man "Old Bill" Williams served as translator. Sibley named the site "Council Grove." Traders continued to use the name when referring to the site, and later on, to the small settlement found here in 1847. The community grew, and the town was incorporated in 1865.
East Main (US 56) City Park, Council Grove Morris County Kansas.
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Kansas 
