250 Years of History: How Johnson County Became What It Is Today
The transformation of the United States, Kansas and Johnson County spans an incredibly rich 250 years.
When 13 British colonies declared their independence from the British Empire on July 4, 1776, there were no states. There were only a few dozen shires (equivalent to counties) in the original colonies, primarily in Virginia and Massachusetts.
In 1776, Kansas and what is now Johnson County were under the dominion of the Spanish Empire. They primarily served as the homelands for indigenous peoples, including the Kanza or Kaw and Osage tribes.
Although the subsequent Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the first states to ratify the U.S. Constitution and “to form a more perfect union” were Delaware, Pennsylvania (commonwealth) and New Jersey, in December 1787. They were joined by the remaining 10 ex-British colonies by 1790. By this time, there were 292 counties in the new nation.
A historic land deal
The Louisiana Purchase contained land that would become the state of Kansas, including Johnson County
The Louisiana Purchase occurred 13 years later when France officially regained control of the Louisiana Territory from Spain on Nov. 30, 1803, following the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso signed on Oct. 1, 1800. France held this land for only 20 days before transferring it to the United States on Dec. 20, 1803, as part of the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million. At this time, the nation had 17 states and 550 to 600 counties.
The landmark land deal almost doubled the size of the new nation by adding 828,000 square miles (530 million acres) of territory in the center of the expanding nation. The purchase included land for six states (Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma) and large portions of land for nine other states.
About the land: The Louisiana Purchase cost was approximately $18 per square mile or 3 cents per acre. Economists estimate the conservatively modern-day value of this land exceeds $1.2 trillion.
After the Louisiana Purchase, visitors to what would someday become Kansas and Johnson County had different reviews of the land’s value.
Early American explorers, including Zebulon Pike (1806) and Major Stephen Long (1820), first branded the region as a “barren wasteland.” Their accounts categorized the Plains as the “Great American Desert” and did not recognize its important farming potential. In reality, indigenous farmers and early pioneers had previously proven Kansas fields were quite fertile and not barren at all.
“The Garden of Eden”
Horace Greeley, who encouraged western emigration and visited Eastern Kansas in 1859.
Beginning in the 1830s and continuing for decades, Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, encouraged western emigration. In 1854, the Territory of Kansas was formed, opening the land for legal settlement.
Greeley visited Eastern Kansas, including Johnson County, in 1859. According to the Kansas Historical Quarterly of the Kansas State Historical Society, Greeley was much impressed with the beauty of this region and declared, “If the Garden of Eden exceeded this land in beauty or fertility, I pity Adam for having to leave it.”
On Jan. 29, 1861, President James Buchanan signed a bill allowing Kansas to enter the Union as the nation’s 34th state. At this time, the nation had 2,126 counties and county-equivalent divisions. They included Johnson County, which was created as one of the first 33 counties in the then Kansas Territory on Aug. 25, 1855.
About the land: In 1861, the standard minimum price for public land under the nation’s land policy was $1.25 per acre, mostly used for farming/ranching. The following year, the landmark Homestead Act of 1862 went into effect, allowing citizens to claim 160 acres by living on and improving the land, subject only to small registration fees.
Greeley famously popularized the phrase “Go west, young man, and grow up with the country” in his newspaper editorials in 1865 (the original coinage was by Indiana newspaper editor John Babson Lane Soule in 1851). The slogan became the rallying cry for America's western expansion. He repeated the advice in 1871.
250 years later
Johnson County Museum’s new “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County” exhibit celebrates America's 250th anniversary.
Now, 250 years from that first declaration of independence from a monarchy, the 50 states of the Union encompass all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. There are 3,143 counties and county equivalents, including 105 in Kansas.
About the land: Johnson County totals about 475 square miles or approximately 304,000 acres. In 2026, 34.5% acres remain unincorporated with 25.6% being agricultural/farmland.
As part of the Louisiana Purchase (1803), all the acres that became Johnson County cost $9,120 at 3 cents per acre in monetary value at that time.
By 1861, Johnson County’s acreage at $1.25 per acre could have been purchased for roughly $380,000. It was a 4,067% increase since 1803.
Will Rogers said it best in 1930: “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.”
Johnson County land is no longer dirt cheap. The median land price is $49,273 per acre in 2026 for mostly residential/commercial development. Some land has sold for more than $100,000 per acre. Using the median land price, the land within Johnson County would cost more than $15 billion. That’s a 39,473% increase since statehood 165 years ago.
The rest is history.
Want to learn more? In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Johnson County Museum’s new “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County” exhibit explores the national milestone, the meaning of democracy and reflecting American ideals through the lens of life in Johnson County. The historic trends and changes, locally and nationally, are showcased in 50-year segments – 1776, 1826, 1876, 1926, 1976, 2026 and looking ahead to 2076.
Located in the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, the museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Entry to the special exhibit is included with museum admission, which is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 for children.
There are several ways to visit the Museum for free this summer:
- Johnson County Library free days on July 10 and July 24 for JCL cardholders (JCL staff will be on site to sign people up those days)
- Kansas’ “Sunflower Summer” initiative from July 9 to Aug. 2
- Blue Star Museums for active military personnel/families until Labor Day
The temporary exhibit will run through Jan. 9, 2027.
The museum will be closed on July 3 and 4.