Editing Neodesha, Kansas (section)

==History==

===19th century===
The first settlers in the area that would eventually become Neodesha established a trading post in October 1867 to the northwest of the present town. They were allowed by the Osage Native Americans to establish a trading post on the [[Osage Nation#Interactions with the US and relocation|Osage Diminished Reserve]] because the nearest trading post was over thirty miles away. After the [[Drum Creek Treaty]] had been signed by the Osage tribe in September 1870 and the tribe moved to [[Indian Territory]], it opened the way for settlers to move to the area. Neodesha was incorporated March 2, 1871 and the original plat was filed with the [[Land Office|U.S. Land Office]] in July 1871.<ref>Cho O-Nee to High Iron, The 'Hidden' Years Of The Town Of Neodesha, Wilson County, Kansas; Joseph W. Allen, 1962, Midwest Litho, p. 24</ref> Neodesha is an Osage name meaning "meeting of the waters".<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ | title=Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the Kansas State Historical Society | publisher=Kansas State Printing Plant | author=Kansas State Historical Society | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5zdAAQAAMAAJ/page/n422 315]}}</ref>

The first railroad was built through Neodesha in 1879.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qi9cXyTWt9EC | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2 | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qi9cXyTWt9EC/page/n336 346]}}</ref>

The first commercially successful oil well drilled in what would become the [[Mid-Continent Oil Field]] was drilled in Neodesha in 1892.  [[Norman No. 1 Oil Well]] was located in the southeast part of the city.  The Norman No. 1 Museum is near the location of the original wellsite.<ref>[http://www.neodygrads.com/pages/museum/norman.html Norman No. 1 Museum]</ref>

===20th century===
In 1943, German and Italian prisoners of [[World War II]] were brought to Kansas and other midwestern states as a means of solving the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large [[internment]] camps were established in Kansas: [[Camp Concordia]], Camp Funston (at [[Fort Riley]]), Camp Phillips (at [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]], under [[Fort Riley]]). Fort Riley established 12 smaller branch camps, including Neodesha.<ref>[http://www.gentracer.org/powcampsKS.html List of Prisoner Of War (POW) Camps in Kansas]</ref>