Miami County, Kansas--Trails to the Past

Welcome to Miami County

Trails to the Past

This County Is Available For Adoption

Miami County is located in the east central part of Kansas. It shares its borders with Johnson County to the north; Cass and Bates Counties (Missouri) to the east and southeast; Linn and Anderson counties to the south and southwest; Franklin County to the west; and Douglas County the the northwest. It's county seat and largest city is Paola. Miami County was established in 1855 and was originally named Lykins County, for Dr. David Lykins. Dr. Lykins was a Baptist missionary who worked with native American tribes in the area and built a school for them. He served as a member of the territorial council. He was also pro-slavery. Because of this, the county's name was changed to Miami in June of 1861, for the principal Indian tribe in the area. There were many battles and acts of violence in Miami county over slavery. The noted abolitionist, John Brown, made Osawatomie his headquarters for his anti-slavery forces. In 1882 a large deposit of natural gas was discovered about 7 miles west of Paola. By 1886 a pipeline had been constructed to Paola's town square, bringing bringing gas lights to the area. By 1887 there were many other fields of natural gas discovered in other areas of Miami County.

We will be building this web site over time to include information and records to assist you as you research your Miami County families. Below, you will note a table which includes the types of documents and information we hope to have available for you as quickly as we can. Should you have any information that you wish to include here, please contact me at [email protected] and let me know. Copy and paste my email address into your email template. I suggest also adding "Miami County KS" in the subject line so I will notice it. If you are interested in becoming the County Administrator, let me know and I will send you more information.

Bible Records Biographies  Cemeteries Census
Church Records  Families History Land Records
Letters & Diaries  Military Records  Newspapers Obituaries
Pensions Tax Records Vital Records Wills and Probate 
Photos Schools Cities, Towns, Townships    


Links to Help You With Your Research

Return to Kansas Main Page

Copyright 2012

Uploaded March 16, 2012