John 'Tauy' Tecumseh Ottawa Jones' trading post burned down by pro-slavery forces
Oct. 8, 1856
Reverend John Tecumseh Jones
John Tecumseh Jones was an Ojibwe person born in 1808 who later moved to Kansas and was adopted into the Ottawa tribe. He was a businessman, Baptist minister, Ottawa leader and friend of abolitionist John Brown. His trading post was a main stop between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott. John Brown and his abolitionist forces regularly camped there and he 'regularly assisted' them. Although his trading post was burned down twice by pro-slavery people, he rebuilt it the final time with huge stones and the structure still stands today. John is also considered the founder of Ottawa College (Kansas) which he envisioned as an integrated school for Native and non-Native students.