[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF WYANDOTTE COUNTY, KANSAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2009

  Mr. MOORE of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the upcoming 150th anniversary of Wyandotte County, Kansas, which is 
one of three counties composing the Third Congressional District of 
Kansas. On June 6th and 7th, the Wyandotte County Historical Museum 
will commemorate Wyandotte County's 150th anniversary, including 
activities featuring re-enactors, speakers, dancers and music.
  In the territorial period of Kansas, previous to 1859, the area that 
is embraced in Wyandotte County was a part of Leavenworth and Johnson 
counties. Thus, with the domination of the ``Leavenworth crowd,'' or of 
the Missourians who came over into Kansas territory, the citizens at 
the mouth of the Kansas River had little influence over the affairs of 
government or of politics. The first election in the county, aside from 
the elections held by the Indians themselves before the organization of 
the territory, was in June 1857 to select a delegate to the Lecompton 
constitutional convention. The polls were guarded by soldiers and the 
votes were deposited in a candle box, which was afterward found buried 
in a woodpile at Lecompton and became historically infamous. In October 
of the same year the county came into notice again, politically, due to 
the stuffing of a ballot box and other frauds, perpetrated at the 
Delaware crossing, eight miles west of Wyandotte. It is said that many 
of the names found on the poll list could also be found in a New York 
City directory, which some enterprising pro-slavery advocate happened 
to have in his possession at that time.
  The political history of Wyandotte County, however, began with its 
organization under an act passed by the legislature of January 1859, 
the same legislature that authorized the Wyandotte constitutional 
convention. The act, signed by Governor Medeary on January 29, 1859, 
cut off one hundred and fifty-three square miles from the southeast 
corner of Leavenworth County and the north side of Johnson County. The 
Wyandotte Constitutional Convention was a key event in Kansas history. 
From this convention, Wyandotte County was created, Kansas became a 
state that was free from slavery, and women were given some rights in 
voting and holding property. The county is named after the Wyandot 
(a.k.a. Wyandott or Wyandotte) Indians. They were called the Huron by 
the French in Canada, but they called themselves Wendat. They were 
distantly related to the Iroquis, with whom they sometimes fought. They 
had hoped to hold off movement by white Americans into their territory 
and had hoped to make the Ohio River the border between the United 
States and Canada. One branch of the Wyandot moved to the area that is 
now the state of Ohio. They generally took the course of assimilation 
into Anglo-American society. Many of them embraced Christianity under 
the influence of missionaries. They were transported to the current 
area of Wyandotte County in 1843, where they set up a community and 
worked in cooperation with Anglo settlers. The Christian Munsee also 
influenced early settlement of this area.
  Wyandotte County, with roughly 160,000 residents, today boasts one of 
the most vibrant economies in the state of Kansas and an amazing story 
of resurgence. Comprised of the cities of Bonner Springs, Edwardsville 
and Kansas City, Kansas, the entire county has embraced a unified 
vision for the future. This vision has produced a monumental 
transformation over the last several years with the creation of the 
Kansas City metro area's premier tourist and retail destination 
including the Kansas Speedway, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Cabela's, the 
Legends at Village West, and Schlitterbahn Vacation Village. The 
explosion of development in the western portion of the City of Kansas 
City, Kansas, is also paving the way for redevelopment opportunities in 
the eastern portion of the city.
  Madam Speaker, I know that all members of this House join with me in 
celebrating the 150th anniversary of Wyandotte County, Kansas. I am 
proud to represent it in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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