Editing Montgomery County, Kansas (section)

===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]]. Montgomery County was established on February 26, 1867. It was named in honor of [[Richard Montgomery]], an [[American Revolutionary War]] general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture [[Quebec City]], in [[Canada]], after successfully capturing two forts and the city of [[Montreal]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Rydjord|first=John|title=Kansas Place-Names|year=1972|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma|page=381|isbn=0-8061-0994-7}}</ref>

When Kansas was admitted to the Union as a state in 1861, the [[Osage Nation|Osage Indian reservation]] occupied a large tract of land near the southern border. The reservation had been established in 1825. After the Civil War ended, the Osage lands were coveted as the largest and last reserve of good land in the eastern part of the state. As early as 1866, the Osages were forced to cede tracts at the eastern and northern edges of the reservation. This treaty conceded white settlement on land in the eastern part of what is now Montgomery County.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

For a brief time, the Osages attempted to maintain a boundary at the Verdigris River. The Verdigris flows from north to south through the center of Montgomery County. From the west the Elk River joins the Verdigris at a confluence slightly northwest of the geographical center of the county. In 1867 Frank and Fred Bunker established a primitive cattle camp on the west side of the Verdigris south of the confluence. Like the Osages, the Bunkers thought they were beyond the boundaries of civilization.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}

Early in 1869, however, settlers began to cross the Verdigris River, "at first under protest of the Indians, but the immense throng of settlers soon made all protests futile." Montgomery County was surveyed and organized in 1869; the governor appointed commissioners June 3.{{citation needed|date=March 2011}}