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THEY SHOT OUR BOYS, STOLE OUR FOOD, BURNED OUR HOUSES AND GAVE US 15 DAYS TO LEAVE HOME WITH ONLY WHAT WE COULD CARRY... | |||||||||||||||||||
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Harrisonville’s past continues to influence our future. Our historical roots are the foundation of a city that today is poised for growth. Originally home to the Native tribes of Kansa, Dhegiha and Osage, settlers from Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia arrived here in the 1830s. They were attracted to the rich bottomland, streams and rivers in what was then called Van Buren County. The town of Harrisonville was established in 1837 and named in honor of Albert G. Harrison, one of the first two U.S. Congressional representatives from our state. The town began to take shape as the land was surveyed and platted into lots and blocks. Lots were sold right on the square -$20 for those facing the square and $10 for those that did not. Homes and businesses began to appear. The first public school was established in 1839, demonstrating the importance of education to our early settlers.
| Colonel H.W. Younger, father of the infamous Cole Younger, was elected mayor in 1859. By the onset of the Civil War, the population of Harrisonville had grown to 675. As a border state situated between the North and South, Missouri suffered greatly in the Civil War. The divided loyalties of Missourians is evidenced by the fact that 100,000 men enlisted in the Federal forces and over 50,000 joined the rebels. The term “brother against brother” was never more true than in Cass County. Due to those southern roots of many of our residents, Confederate troops were able to take refuge in the area. Our close proximity to the Union state of Kansas made us the site of numerous border skirmishes. William Quantrill, southern sympathizer and infamous leader of the rebels, used Cass County as a base to launch his guerilla raids. Border skirmishes along the state line increased until Quantrill led the bloody assault on Lawrence, Kansas on August 21, 1863.
| Retaliation was swift. In an effort to cut Quantrill off from his supporters, the government issued the infamous Order No. 11 on August 25. The order forced all persons in Cass County living more than one mile from Harrisonville or Pleasant Hill to vacate their homes within 15 days. Grain, hay and food supplies were confiscated by Union troops. Homes and outbuildings were burned to the ground. Order No. 11 did not stop rebel activities in our area, but it certainly left damage. Its effects live on today as there are virtually no homes outside our city dating back before the war. One exception is the Sharp-Hopper Log Cabin. Originally located in a densely wooded area, it was simply missed by the Union troops. Volunteers moved the cabin to its present home just off the Square to preserve and honor our past.
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