Happy Sesquicentennial St. Paul — Again!

Looking east, we are watching our neighbor Girard proudly celebrate their sesquicentennial year with several interesting events.  Newspaper articles and television reports tell us Girard was founded in the spring of 1868.  Looking closer to home, it is our sesquicentennial year too!  

We, here in St. Paul, usually think of our founding date as April 28, 1847 [1].  That is the date the Jesuits arrived at the Catholic Osage Mission.  But the Catholic Mission was not a town.  The mission was a U.S. Government Indian school operated under a contract with the Jesuits, with the a great deal of assistance from the Sisters of Loretto.

The Town of Osage Mission, now St. Paul, was also founded in the spring of 1868. The formal transfer of property occurred when Father John Schoenmakers deeded some of the land he received from the Osages to the Osage Mission Town Company.  Father Schoenmakers' town company was made up of Gen. C. W. Blair, Geo. A. Crawford, S. A. Williams, Benjamin McDonald, John Naudier, the Mill Company and himself.   The date of founding is generally considered to be the date of the deed that transferred land to the Town Company —  March 21, 1868.

The highlighted portion of the Abstract of Title book shows two separate transactions: First, the receipt of Osage Lands by Father John Schoenmakers under terms of the Treaty of 1865. That transfer occurred, via a land patent between the U.S. Government and Father Schoenmakers on January 10, 1868. The second transaction was a warranty deed, transferring part of the land to the Osage Mission Town Company on March 21, 1868.

During the next year, the town was laid out with lots and streets.   Plans were made to dedicate a portion of the property sales to a very unique school system.  On April 10, 1869, the first meeting of the trustees of the Osage Mission Town Company was held.  When Father Schoenmakers was satisfied that his mission town was in good hands, he backed away to devote his energy to the new schools and a church. [2]

It is also noted that eighteen days after the first trustees meeting, they met again for their first "Special Meeting".  They approved two saloon licenses.  The first "Irrigating Fountain" in the new town of Osage Mission was established by Joseph Roycroft as "Master of Ceremonies."  Our Irish and German ancestors had some priorities.

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Another date we need to remember is April 28, 2022.   We are also going to have to practice saying "Dodransbicentennial" — 175 Years!

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Some Reference Information:
1.  Saint Paul celebrated their sesquicentennial in 1997 — commemorating 150 years from the date the Jesuits arrived at the Catholic Mission and opened the boy's department of the Osage Manual labor school.

2.  It is also likely that Father Schoenmakers withdrew from the town company to avoid involvement with any business issues or improprieties that might have occurred during startup of the town.
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3. For more information about the founding of the town of Osage Mission follow THIS LINK.  For more information about the treaty negotiations that resulted in Father Schoenmakers receiving land from the Osages, follow THIS LINK.

4.  Illustration.  The source of the Abstract of Title page, above, ​is the Neosho County, Register of Deeds office, Erie, Kansas.  Photo editing was done by the writer.