Dunavant, Kansas

Plat map of Dunavant, 1878

Dunavant is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States.[1]

History

A post office was opened in Dunavant in 1888, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1932.[2]

In 1910, Dunavant's population was 85 people.[3] In 1912, Dunavant had a money order Post Office and a telegraph office, and was on a branch of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.[4]

Battle of Hickory Point

James Lane during the Battle of Hickory Point, by Samuel Reader

Second day of the Battle of Hickory Point

The Battle of Hickory Point proceeded on September 13 and 14, 1856. On September 13, 1856, James H. Lane, leader of Free-State men in Kansas, besieged a group of Border Ruffians in the log buildings near Dunavant at Hickory Point (also known as Stony Point), a proslavery settlement on the Ft. Leavenworth-Ft. Riley military road.[5] Prior, this group of proslavery men led by Capt. H. A. Lowe had attacked Valley Falls, then called Grasshopper Falls. Among this band of the Border Ruffians were around 40 South Carolinians.

With a small force of jayhawkers Lane attacked but was repulsed. Lane then sent to Lawrence for artillery to drive the Border Ruffians out. Reinforcements led by Col. James A. Harvey arrived the next day, on September 14, 1856, and the skirmish ended with four Proslavery men wounded, one killed and five Free-State men injured. Around 100 Free-Staters were detained by U.S. troops afterwards, since the skirmish occurred after a declaration issued by Territorial Governor John W. Geary directing the cessation of all hostilities in the Kansas Territory. The Jayhawkers claimed self-defense and were released.[6]

A Kansas Historical Marker for the Battle of Hickory Point stands a half mile away, on today's U.S. Route 59.[7][8]

Farm where John Steuart Curry was born

Becker Hardware Store and a pharmacy in Dunavant, circa 1880–1900[9]

Also nearby, just 1/4 mi. from the Battle of Hickory Point marker, is the farm on which painter John Steuart Curry was born. The farmhouse has been moved to Oskaloosa and there are plans to turn it into a museum.[10]

Later in life, John Steuart Curry would become known for his painting of abolitionist John Brown at the Kansas State Capitol, and also for his painting Law vs. Mob Rule at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, in which a judge in black robes protects a man from a lynch mob.[11]

Geography

Dunavant is located at 39°18′07″N 95°19′58″W. Its elevation is 1,155 ft (352 m).[1]

Notable people

• John Steuart Curry (1897–1946), painter

References

1. "Dunavant, Kansas", Geographic Names Information System, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior
2. "Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961 (archived)". Kansas Historical Society. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
3. Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.
4. "Dunavant - KS-Cyclopedia - 1912". Retrieved February 19, 2012.
5. Legends of Kansas: Stony Point, Kansas
6. Battle of Hickory Point, Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1855-1865
7. "Panoramio - Photo of Hickory Point". Retrieved February 19, 2012.
8. The Historical Marker Database: Battle of Hickory Point
9. Kansas Memory: Street scene in Dunavant, Kansas
10. Lambert, Don (May 2004). "My Experience With John Steuart Curry and His Widow". American Artist. 68 (742) – via Ebsco.
11. Kennedy, Roger G.; David Larkin (2009). When art worked. New York: Rizzoli. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-8478-3089-3.

Further reading

See also: List of books about Jefferson County, Kansas

• The First Day's Battle at Hickory Point. From the Diary and Reminiscenses [sic of Samuel James Reader, Kansas historical Society.

External links

• Plum Grove Cemetery, Dunavant, Kansas
• Historical marker for Battle of Hickory Point, located 1/4 mil E of John Steuart Curry's birthplace, on U.S. Route 59
• Photographs of Dunevant, Kansas, Panoramio
• Battle of Hickory Point reenactment Archived September 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Jefferson News
• Jefferson County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT

39°18′07″N 95°19′58″W