Chief Captain Joseph Parks Home

This is the site of the former home of Pa-Ka-tas-Ka-Kah, commonly known by his American name, Chief Captain Joseph Parks, who was one of the most influential members of the Shawnee Tribe living on their reservation in what is now Johnson County. In 1833, in accordance with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Parks led about 400 members of the Hog Creek Band of the Shawnee Tribe from their former reservation in Ohio to their new reservation in the Indian Territory in today's Johnson County. In 1845, he built a large log home just west of Westport on the Santa Fe Trail. He became an influential Chief of the Shawnee Tribe and a prosperous businessman. The Chief's reputation grew nationally, and his home was a frequent destination for travelers on the trail. In 1854, Parks helped negotiate a new treaty that granted each member of the tribe 200 acres of the reservation that they could keep or sell as they wished. The treaty also granted 1310 acres to Parks, with land in today's Rosedale, Westwood, and Westwood Hills communities. After his death in 1859, the land was divided amongst his descendants, who gradually sold all of the land in sections to developers.

The Shawnee Chief Pa-Ka-tas-Ka-Kah, better known by his American name Joseph Parks, was born in 1797 in present-day Michigan. Nothing is known about his early life beyond his own account of those years. Parks shared that he was raised in the household of American General Lewis Cass, where he learned to speak English and live by European-American customs. As a young man, Parks was employed as an interpreter for the army under General Cass. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 decreed that the native peoples of the eastern United States were to be removed to reservations in a new Indian Territory in what is today Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. General Cass was charged with overseeing the removal of the tribes. He commissioned Joseph Parks to lead about 400 members of the Hog's Creek Band of Shawnees in Ohio to their new reservation in what is today Johnson County, Kansas. They arrived in their new home in 1833.

Since Parks was familiar with both the Shawnee and American language and culture, he acted as an intermediary for the tribe. His connections led to opportunities for trade and acquiring real estate. He became a prominent businessman in the nearby town of Westport, which was founded the year of his arrival at the reservation. Parks would eventually own property and businesses in Westport and even became a founding member of the town's Masonic Lodge. Parks was known both as an intermediary and businessman and a defender of the rights of the Shawnee. He used his experience and influence to lobby the federal government to protect the reservation from the encroachment of American settlers, who attempted to squat on Shawnee land, sell whiskey, or otherwise abuse or take advantage of the tribe. It is important to note that Parks differed from many Shawnees, as he firmly believed that their tribe and others should abandon their traditional way of life and become settled farmers.

When the U.S. Army recruited Shawnee men to fight the Seminole Tribe in Florida, which was resisting its forced relocation, Parks enlisted. In the ensuing First Seminole War, he was promoted to captain for his leadership and bravery in the conflict and the fact that all of his men returned unharmed. After that war, he was known as Captain Joe Parks.

In 1844, Parks built a large log home on his farm at 4824 Rainbow Blvd, in Westwood Ks. He was an associate of Rev. Thomas Johnson, head of the nearby Shawnee Methodist Mission. He himself became a member of the branch of the Southern Methodist Church established by Johnson on the reservation. Moreover, like Johnson, Parks was pro-slavery and was known to have owned 8-10 slaves on his plantation. According to one story, when two of Parks' slaves escaped, he tracked them all the way into Iowa, a free state. When he captured them and attempted to bring them back, the authorities in Iowa stopped him and threatened to arrest him for kidnapping if he didn't release them.

The Parks home was located along the Santa Fe Trail just outside Westport, so it naturally became a destination for many travelers and merchants who wanted to do business or simply meet the famous Native American leader. He was eventually elected a Chief by the tribe. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 opened up the Indian Territory, now Kansas Territory, to settlement, Chief Parks led a delegation of the Shawnee to Washington to negotiate a new treaty. That treaty granted each member of the tribe 200 acres that they could either sell or keep. They also had the option of moving to Oklahoma. It granted Parks himself 1310 acres, covering much of today's Rosedale, Westwood, and Westwood Hills.

Parks was the largest Native landowner in the new Territory of Kansas. When he passed away in 1859, his land was divided among his descendants. Little by little, over the next 60 years, the descendants sold off the land to developers. The home itself was torn down in 1905. Parks and his wife, a Wyandot, whose Wyandot name by some accounts was named Olathe and was that city's namesake, were both buried in the Shawnee Tribal Cemetery in what is today Shawnee, Kansas.

, Gilcrease Museum. Hand written biography of Captain Joseph Parks or Pa-Ka-tas-Ka-Kah, Gilcrease Museum. Accessed September 20th, 2024. https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/40263522-5.

Morgan, Perl W.. History of Wyandotte County Kansas and its People. Chicago, Illinois. Lewis Publishing Company, 1911.

"The Last Lineal Ownership of Indian Grant Disappearing." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) June 14th, 1936. .67.

"Kansas Citian Has a Copy of an 1832 Treaty With the Shawnee Indians." Kansas City Times January 26th, 1935. .22.

Blair, Ed. History of Johnson County, Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas. Standard Publishing Company, 1915.