Conn Store

Conn Store (HMUBF)

Location: Council Grove, KS 66846 Morris County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 39.672', W 96° 29.426'

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Inscription

"He fears no competition."

"In his stock were found every known variety of goods for use on the frontier, from ox yokes and repairs to cambric needles, from small boxes of pills to barrels of whiskey."
- Conn Store Clerk William Shamleffer

For traders on the Santa Fe Trail, the Conn Store must have been a welcome sight. Here, traders headed from Santa Fe to "the States" purchased a meal or perhaps slept in a bed after crossing 625 miles of prairie. And Council Grove was the last major stop for supplies and amenities before travelers trekked to New Mexico.

Malcolm Conn's stone store, built in 1858, rivaled the outfitting firm already run by Seth Hays on the opposite side of the street. Business was brisk, with Conn selling $24,000 in merchandise in one month in 1864. He traded with freighters; the government; locals; and Kaw (Kansa) Indians, on whose reservation Council Grove was located. Conn became a community leader, eventually serving as county clerk and treasurer of the Town Company, a corporation that plotted and sold town lots.

One of the oldest buildings still standing in Council Grove, the Conn Store provided accommodations, meals, and stables for freighters, in addition to retail operations. In 1866, Conn sold his store to Shamleffer & James, who took this photo between 1867 and 1871.

These 1859 advertisements from the Kansas Press illustrate the rivalry between Council Grove's two most prominent merchants.

Details

HM Number	HMUBF
Series	This marker is part of the Santa Fe Trail series
Tags	Industry and Commerce, Man Made Features, Roads and Vehicles, Settlements and Settlers
Placed By	National Park Service and City of Council Grove
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Friday, September 19th, 2014 at 10:18pm PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	14S E 718355 N 4282169
Decimal Degrees	38.66120000, -96.49043333
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 38° 39.672', W 96° 29.426'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	38° 39' 40.32" N, 96° 29' 25.56" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	620, 785
Closest Postal Address	At or near 116-198 W Main St, Council Grove KS 66846, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap