All of the 476 square miles that are now Johnson County were once part of the Shawnee Indian reservation. The territory was opened to white settlement with the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. At that time the area was crisscrossed by a number of major westward migration routes including the Ft. Leavenworth Military, the Santa Fe and Oregon-California trails.

Johnson County was created on August 25, 1855 by the Kansas Territorial Legislature. One of the first 33 counties in the state, it was named for the Reverend Thomas Johnson, founder of the Shawnee Methodist Mission.

Happy 50th birthday Overland Park! The city was incorporated in May 1960. Join us at the Central Resource Library May 24, 2010 at 7 p.m. as we look back at the history of Overland Park, and look forward to a bright future...

The Johnson County Library will host a local history book talk on Monday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Central Resource Library. The discussion is geared toward those who enjoy reading local history or fiction set in the area, or for those who are interested in seeing what books and topics are available...

We have been posting timely tidbits about local history on the JoCoHistory blog for several months now. We feature news about items in the image collection, historical stories from Johnson County, as well as periodic History Mysteries.

Stay in touch with Johnson County history online! We are posting links to fun photos, news, events and other interesting local history items through our Twitter feed.

Welcome to the new and improved JoCoHistory Web site. We have made a number of changes that should make for a more fun, educational and efficient experience on the site. What improvements have we made?