ShawneeDispatch.com

From the 1820s through the 1860s thousands of people traveled from the East to settle in the West. Traders used the Santa Fe Trail to exchange goods for silver coins, wool and mules. Families traveled the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails to find new places to settle. Often, these wagon trains were led by a professional that had made the trip many times before. One such professional lived in Shawnee.

Wagonmaster Dick Williams moved to the Shawnee area from Tennessee sometime in the late 1840s. He led the heavy, freight-laden wagons on the 900-mile journey along the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. After relocating to this area, he commissioned local stone masons, Jack, Uriah and Sam Garrett to build him a two-story stone house. The wagonmaster's house stood at present-day Shawnee Mission Parkway and Nieman from 1853 to 1959.

The wagonmaster's house was constructed of native stone and written accounts describe its interior. Originally, there were two front rooms in the house. Most likely one served as the formal parlor and the other as an informal family gathering space, otherwise known as the back parlor. The other rooms located on the first floor were the kitchen and dining room.

The house was equipped with front and back stairways leading to the second level. The rooms on the second story originally wre used as bedrooms and the flue of the two fireplaces on the first floor provided enough heat for the upstairs. The size and grandeur of the house indicate that Mr. Williams was a successful wagonmaster.

The house was added onto throughout its long history. Sometime after the house was constructed in 1853 and before 1878, a two story front porch was built onto the house. The large summer kitchen located at the back of the house was built during the time of the Civil War.

Despite the community's best efforts, the house was demolished in 1959. The original stones used to build the house can be found today in Shawnee Mission Park.

The wagonmaster's house is the featured stamp cancellation for Old Shawnee Days 2004. This cancellation was designed by Lauren Weinhold and will be available at the Old Shawnee Town post office on Saturday, June 5, from noon to 4 p.m. To order by mail, send a self-addressed stamped envelope and $1 in check or money order for each cancellation purchased to Old Shawnee Days Society, P.O. Box 3214, Shawnee KS 66203.

Old Shawnee Town is embarking on a new plan for the future in which the museum is focusing all improvements, programming and services on Shawnee's history. The museum will focus on documenting the lives of Shawnee residents, their livelihoods, social life and community. We are interested in hearing from people who would like to share their memories of the late 1920s. We also are looking for any objects, photographs, diaries, books or anything relating to the late 1920s. If you have any information that will help us with our search please call Shannon Hsu at (913) 248-2360.