Wabaunsee, Kansas
Wabaunsee is a census-designated place in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104. It was named for former Pottawatomi chief Wabaunsee.
History
Wabaunsee was founded in 1855 by a group of nearly 100 emigrants from New Haven, Connecticut. They were inspired by a sermon given by well-known abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, who donated money to help supply rifles for the men to defend themselves. The rifles were smuggled through pro-slavery areas in crates marked "Beecher's Bibles."Wabaunsee was staunchly anti-slavery and became part of the Underground Railroad in late 1856 and helped Lawrence after Quantrill's Raid. In 1862, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was completed and after the Civil War, Wabaunsee hoped for a railroad, but it was constructed north of the river.
Wabaunsee served as the county seat until after the Civil War, when the seat was transferred to Alma.
Today, the community consists of several houses and buildings including the church which is on the National Register of Historic Places.