Editing Whitewater, 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.  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, [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler County]] was established within the [[Kansas Territory]], which included the land for modern day Whitewater.

The city originally formed several miles to the east.  A post office was established as '''White Water''' (as two words) on August 7, 1871.  The post office was renamed to '''Ovo''' on July 7, 1882.

In 1887, the [[Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway]] built a branch line north–south from [[Herington, Kansas|Herington]] through Whitewater to [[Caldwell, Kansas|Caldwell]].<ref name="Rock Island Rail History">[http://home.covad.net/~scicoatnsew/rihist4.htm Rock Island Rail History]</ref>  It foreclosed in 1891 and was taken over by [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway]], which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as [[Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad]], merged in 1988 with [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]], merged in 1997 with [[Union Pacific Railroad]].  Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

Between 1885 and 1888, several buildings were moved to the present location on the Whitewater River after the [[Missouri Pacific]] railroad came through the area. The city was established where the [[Missouri Pacific]] and Rock Island railroads intersected.<ref>http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/butler/history/1916/11.html History of Butler County, pp. 175-176</ref>  The post office was renamed to '''White Water''' on May 15, 1888.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:BU |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961, page 2 (archived) |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=5 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009184935/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:BU |archive-date=October 9, 2013 }}</ref>

===20th century===
The historic [[Oak Lawn Farm Dairy Barn]] was built near Whitewater in 1926.

On November 1, 1950, the post office name was changed to '''Whitewater''' (one word).

In 1961, [[Frederic Remington High School]] was built immediately north of Brainerd.  Leading up to this new school, Whitewater, [[Potwin, Kansas|Potwin]], [[Brainerd, Kansas|Brainerd]], [[Elbing, Kansas|Elbing]], [[Furley, Kansas|Furley]], Countryside, and Golden Gate schools merged to form a joint rural high school. Heated opposition between Whitewater and Potwin occurred during the discussion for the location of the new high school.  Rural voters pushed for a centralized location in neither town.  A public vote was passed to build the new school near Brainerd.<ref>[http://www.usd206.org/?PN=AboutUs USD 206 History]</ref>