Editing Douglas County, Kansas (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For [[millennia]], the [[Great Plains]] of [[North America]] was inhabited by [[nomadic]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. From the 16th century to 18th century, the [[Kingdom of France]] claimed ownership of large parts of [[North America]]. In 1762, after the [[French and Indian War]], France secretly ceded [[New France]] to [[Spain]], per the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]]. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France via the [[Third Treaty of San Ildefonso]], although the former country kept title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for [[History of Kansas|modern day Kansas]] was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile [[Louisiana Purchase]] for 2.83 [[Penny (United States coin)|cents]] per [[acre]].

===19th century===
In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]]. In 1855, '''Douglas County''' was established. Douglas County was opened for settlement on May 15, 1854, and was named for [[Stephen A. Douglas]],<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA108 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=108}}</ref> a senator from [[Illinois]]. The county was practically at the center of the [[Bleeding Kansas]] years as leaders in [[Lecompton, Kansas|Lecompton]] (the territorial capital) wanted [[Kansas]] to be a slave state, whereas leaders in Lawrence wanted Kansas to be a [[Free-Stater (Kansas)|free state]]. The pro- and anti-slavery settlers held great animosity towards one another, leading to many events, such as the drafting of the [[Lecompton Constitution]] (which would have admitted Kansas into the Union as a slave state), the [[Wakarusa War]] (1855), the [[Sack of Lawrence]] (1856), [[Battle of Black Jack]] (1856), and the [[Lawrence Massacre]] (1863).

The first railroad in Douglas County, the Kansas Pacific, was built through that territory in 1864.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&pg=PA539 | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=539| isbn=9780722249055}}</ref>