A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.

LOUIS VIEUX

LOUIS VIEUX Of Pottawatomie Indian and French ancestry, Louis Vieux was an early resident of this area. Probably born near Lake Michigan, Vieux, with a portion of the Pottawatomies, moved to Iowa...

LOUIS VIEUX Of Pottawatomie Indian and French ancestry, Louis Vieux was an early resident of this area. Probably born near Lake Michigan, Vieux, with a portion of the Pottawatomies, moved to Iowa...

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ST MARYS

ST MARYS This city and college take their name from St. Mary's Catholic Mission founded here by the Jesuits in 1848 for the Pottawatomie Indians. These missionaries, who had lived with the tribe...

ST MARYS This city and college take their name from St. Mary's Catholic Mission founded here by the Jesuits in 1848 for the Pottawatomie Indians. These missionaries, who had lived with the...

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THE VIEUX CROSSING

THE VIEUX CROSSING A few miles to the northwest, the Oregon-California trail crossed the Vermillion Creek heading toward the Pacific from the 'jumping off' towns on the Missouri River. The...

THE VIEUX CROSSING A few miles to the northwest, the Oregon-California trail crossed the Vermillion Creek heading toward the Pacific from the 'jumping off' towns on the Missouri River. The...

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COUNTRY OF THE PAWNEES

COUNTRY OF THE PAWNEES For many centuries this region was the homeland of the Republic band (Kitkahahakis) of Pawnees. A numerous and prosperous people, the Pawnees dominated the north central...

COUNTRY OF THE PAWNEES For many centuries this region was the homeland of the Republic band (Kitkahahakis) of Pawnees. A numerous and prosperous people, the Pawnees dominated the north central...

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PAWNEE INDIAN VILLAGE MUSEUM

PAWNEE INDIAN VILLAGE MUSEUM This is the site of a large, fortified village of the Republican band of Pawnee Indians, occupied during the early 1800s. As the inscription on the stone marker...

PAWNEE INDIAN VILLAGE MUSEUM This is the site of a large, fortified village of the Republican band of Pawnee Indians, occupied during the early 1800s. As the inscription on the stone marker...

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THE CHISHOLM TRAIL

THE CHISHOLM TRAIL At the close of the Civil War when millions of longhorns were left on the plains of Texas without a market, the Union Pacific was building west across Kansas. Joseph McCoy, an...

THE CHISHOLM TRAIL At the close of the Civil War when millions of longhorns were left on the plains of Texas without a market, the Union Pacific was building west across Kansas. Joseph McCoy,...

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INDIAN TREATIES OF 1865

INDIAN TREATIES OF 1865 Hundreds of Cheyennes, Arapahos, Kiowas, Apaches, and Comanches camped not far from here in 1865 to negotiate peace with the U.S. government. Both sides at the Little...

INDIAN TREATIES OF 1865 Hundreds of Cheyennes, Arapahos, Kiowas, Apaches, and Comanches camped not far from here in 1865 to negotiate peace with the U.S. government. Both sides at the...

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FARGO SPRINGS AND SPRINGFIELD

FARGO SPRINGS AND SPRINGFIELD The importance of railroads to the early settlement and prosperity of the West is nowhere better illustrated than in the stories of two Seward county towns. Fargo...

FARGO SPRINGS AND SPRINGFIELD The importance of railroads to the early settlement and prosperity of the West is nowhere better illustrated than in the stories of two Seward county towns....

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WHEN CORONADO CAME TO KANSAS

WHEN CORONADO CAME TO KANSAS Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, with 36 soldiers and Father Juan de Padilla, marched north from the Rio Grande valley in the spring of 1541. Coronado's objective was...

WHEN CORONADO CAME TO KANSAS Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, with 36 soldiers and Father Juan de Padilla, marched north from the Rio Grande valley in the spring of 1541. Coronado's objective...

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FOOL CHIEFS VILLAGE

FOOL CHIEFS VILLAGE The Kansa, for whom the state is named, once occupied 20 million acres of land in eastern and northern Kansas. In 1825 the U.S. government reduced the lands to a reservation...

FOOL CHIEFS VILLAGE The Kansa, for whom the state is named, once occupied 20 million acres of land in eastern and northern Kansas. In 1825 the U.S. government reduced the lands to a reservation...

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THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER

THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER In a park three miles north and one mile west is the exact geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. The location has been officially established by the U.S. Geological...

THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER In a park three miles north and one mile west is the exact geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. The location has been officially established by the U.S....

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CHISHOLM TRAIL IN SUMNER COUNTY

CHISHOLM TRAIL IN SUMNER COUNTY The Chisholm Trail probably began as a buffalo migration route, linking summer pastures in the Central Plains to winter pastures in Texas. American Indians followed...

CHISHOLM TRAIL IN SUMNER COUNTY The Chisholm Trail probably began as a buffalo migration route, linking summer pastures in the Central Plains to winter pastures in Texas. American Indians followed...

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HISTORICAL KANSAS

HISTORICAL KANSAS When Kansas territory was opened for white settlement on May 30, 1854, a bitter contest developed over the slavery question. Established the following December, Topeka, 25 miles...

HISTORICAL KANSAS When Kansas territory was opened for white settlement on May 30, 1854, a bitter contest developed over the slavery question. Established the following December, Topeka, 25 miles...

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FORT WALLACE

FORT WALLACE First called Camp Pond Creek, Fort Wallace was established in 1865. The fort served as the headquarters for troops given the task of protecting travelers headed west along the Smoky...

FORT WALLACE First called Camp Pond Creek, Fort Wallace was established in 1865. The fort served as the headquarters for troops given the task of protecting travelers headed west along the...

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BUTTERFIELD STAGE LINE

BUTTERFIELD STAGE LINE When the Kansas Territory was created in 1854, it stretched all the way to the Rocky Mountains. The current state boundary, a few miles west of here, took effect in 1861...

BUTTERFIELD STAGE LINE When the Kansas Territory was created in 1854, it stretched all the way to the Rocky Mountains. The current state boundary, a few miles west of here, took effect in 1861...

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HOLLENBERG RANCH AND THE PONY EXPRESS

HOLLENBERG RANCH AND THE PONY EXPRESS Begun in 1858, the Hollenberg Ranch, four miles north and one mile east of here, served as a stop on the Oregon-California Trail until the late 1860s. Gerat...

HOLLENBERG RANCH AND THE PONY EXPRESS Begun in 1858, the Hollenberg Ranch, four miles north and one mile east of here, served as a stop on the Oregon-California Trail until the late 1860s. Gerat...

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OPENING OF THE MID- CONTINENT OIL FIELD

OPENING OF THE MID-CONTINENT OIL FIELD Kansas has long been oil country. There are legends that Indians held council around the lights of burning springs. Emigrants, it is known, skimmed 'rock...

OPENING OF THE MID-CONTINENT OIL FIELD Kansas has long been oil country. There are legends that Indians held council around the lights of burning springs. Emigrants, it is known, skimmed...

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HOLLENBERG RANCH PONY EXPRESS STATION

HOLLENBERG RANCH PONY EXPRESS STATION This building, constructed in 1857 by G.H. Hollenberg on his ranch here on the Oregon Trail, was a station on the Pony Express route in 1860-1861.  It is...

HOLLENBERG RANCH PONY EXPRESS STATION This building, constructed in 1857 by G.H. Hollenberg on his ranch here on the Oregon Trail, was a station on the Pony Express route in 1860-1861.  It is...

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EL CUARTELEJO

EL CUARTELEJO Reconstructed here are the remains of a seven-room pueblo believed to have been built by Pueblo Indians from New Mexico. According to Spanish records Indians from Taos and Picuris...

EL CUARTELEJO Reconstructed here are the remains of a seven-room pueblo believed to have been built by Pueblo Indians from New Mexico. According to Spanish records Indians from Taos and...

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MARAIS DES CYGNES MASSACRE

MARAIS DES CYGNES MASSACRE Nothing in the struggle over slavery in Kansas did more to inflame the nation than the mass killing which took place May 19, 1858, about four miles northeast of this...

MARAIS DES CYGNES MASSACRE Nothing in the struggle over slavery in Kansas did more to inflame the nation than the mass killing which took place May 19, 1858, about four miles northeast of...

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