Homesteading in Jewell County

Jewell County was officially organized in 1870, and the current county seat is Mankato. The county was named Jewell County to honor Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis R. Jewell, a member of the Sixth Kansas Cavalry. This county is located along the Kansas-Nebraska border and is approximately 150 miles from the Missouri River.

The first settlers in Jewell County were William Harshberger and his wife, as well as A. Clark and his wife.  

The rumored history of Jewell County is particularly bloody. The Sioux and the Pawnee tribes fought a gruesome battle outside of an early settlement, leaving the warriors of the Pawnee tribe dead. Several massacres followed. One notable occurrence was in the spring of 1867 when some members from the Cheyenne tribe started a massacre that killed many of the residents. Any survivors of this massacre left the settlement, threatening to wipe it off the map.

Source 

Cutler, William G. History of the State of Kansas. Chicago IL: A. T. Andreas, 1883.

Paragraphs written by intern Holly Younger in 2012