Editing Jefferson County, Kansas (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For many [[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]].

===19th century===
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping 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]].

In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]]. In 1855, '''Jefferson County''' was established, and was named for President [[Thomas Jefferson]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n167 168]}}</ref>  Settlement of the county was slowed by events prior to and during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], but the present day [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] of [[Thompsonville, Kansas|Thompsonville]] (3 miles northwest of [[Perry, Kansas|Perry]] on the [[Delaware River (Kansas)|Delaware River]]) was the first established in 1851 by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Mormon]] settlers who initially refused to accompany the main group led by [[Brigham Young]] to the [[Salt Lake Valley]]. The settlement was first abandoned due to the violence resulting from the [[Bleeding Kansas|border wars]], but was re-established when the Civil War ended.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}