Brief History from
Kansas State Historical Society:
Bourbon County was
organized on April 14, 1874, amidst "bond
fraud" issues and padded census returns,
by Samuel A.
Williams; William Barbee; H. T.
Wilson; Charles B. Wingfield; B. F. Hill;
J.J. Farley; John F. Cattrell and Thomas
Watkins.
It was named for Bourbon County,
Kentucky. The name was proposed by Samuel
A. Williams and William Barbee, early
settlers who came from Kentucky. It
contains the cities of Bronson, Fort
Scott, Fulton, Mapleton, Redfield and
Union Town.
The Denver Peace
Treaty of 1858, promulgated by Territorial
Governor James Denver, was an important
part of county
history. It was created in an
attempt to end the long period of
hostilities between the pro-slave element
of Fort Scott and the
free-state supporters of the
Marmaton and Little Osage River
communities. On December 15, 1858,
"Jayhawkers" attacked
Fort Scott resulting in the shooting
of Marshal John Little. The Marmaton
Massacre of October 22, 1864, involved
approximately 60 rebels from
Missouri attacking the town, and Marmaton,
and the subsequent capture and execution
of six
townsmen. The town was also burned.
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