Skip to content
Kaw Mission State Historic Site, Council Grove, KS

Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Kaw Mission State Historic Site

A stone mission and school in Council Grove that served the Kanza people in the 1850s, now run by the Kansas Historical Society.

500 North Mission, Council Grove, Kansas 66846 · Council Grove, KS

About Kaw Mission State Historic Site

This state historic site preserves a native stone mission finished in 1851 in Council Grove. The area was a busy trade route, with many wagon trains heading toward Mexico passing through each day. The mission was built to house and teach Kanza boys, and it also held teachers, missionaries, and farmers. Its school opened in May 1851 under Thomas Sears Huffaker, who was 24 at the time. The school closed in 1854, and the building was later sold to Huffaker. Visitors can view the Visitor Center and lower level, and newer exhibits explore the mission, the town, and the meeting of different cultures.

  • #history
  • #mission
  • #Kanza
  • #Council Grove
  • #Kansas Historical Society

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Kaw Mission State Historic Site, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

    No admission fee

    Hike open Flint Hills prairie past a bison herd and tour the 1880s limestone buildings of Spring Hill Ranch.

    16 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Museums

    National Teachers Hall of Fame

    Check prices

    A nonprofit in Emporia, Kansas that honors exceptional career teachers and preserves the history of the teaching profession.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    24 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Emporia

    No admission fee

    Emporia, Kansas's visitor bureau, gateway to the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie and the William Allen White House.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    25 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Local Gem

    Wabaunsee County

    No admission fee

    Rural Flint Hills county in Kansas known for scenic byways, the small town of Alma and tallgrass prairie views.

    26 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    First Territorial Capitol

    No admission fee

    State historic site where Kansas's 1855 territorial legislature met, located on Fort Riley.

    32 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Wildwood Adventure Park

    $50+

    Ride seven zip lines through the trees of the Flint Hills, then finish the course with a 40-foot free fall.

    35 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors