Editing Wilson 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. In 1855, Wilson County was established and included what is now Wilson County and [[Montgomery County, Kansas|Montgomery County]]. It was named for Colonel Hiero T. Wilson. He was a successful Indian trader who had been the first white settler of [[Fort Scott, Kansas]] and had served as postmaster and [[sutler]] at the fort. He could speak Cherokee, Creek, and Osage and the Osage called him "Big White Chief". He was a delegate to the [[Constitution Hall (Lecompton, Kansas)|Lecompton Constitutional Convention]].<ref name=Rydjord317>Rydjord, p 317</ref>