James Henry Lane led about 300 free-staters to a ridge west of the creek. In addition, it's stated that he put a stovepipe on the back of a wagon and pointed it at the Missourians in order to make them think the free-staters had a cannon. The town of McCamish grew to about 50 residents by 1858. In 1858 the town of Lanesfield was begun by William Gans, and named after James Lane. The town profited from the Santa Fe Trail traffic, serving as a mailstop.
Stories survive of school children seeing travelers along the Trail from the school windows.
In 1869, a rail line was built from Olathe to Ottawa. The railroad bypassed Lanesfield and the town of Edgerton sprung up. Most homes and other buildings in Lanesfield were moved to Edgerton. The only surviving building of the 'ghost town' of Lanesfield was the one-room school, which continued to serve area school children. In 1903, the Lanesfield School was struck by lightening and the interior relatively destroyed.