page_title: Peketon County, Kansas Territory
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Peketon County, Kansas Territory / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A beautiful 1855 first edition example of Colton's map of Nebraska and Kansas. This is most probably the rarest and most desirable of all Colton atlas maps. Based on earlier wall map produced by Colton and D. Griffing Johnson, this map details the regions between the Great Salt Lake and Iowa and between the Canadian Border and New Mexico. Covers territorial Kansas and Nebraska as well as parts of adjacent Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Utah. Shows Nebraska in its full territorial glory extending from the 40th parallel to the border British America or Canada. This massive and ephemeral territory covered much of what is today Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota. Nearby Minnesota is also exceptionally large embracing all of the territory between Wisconsin and the Missouri River. When this map was printed Nebraska and Kansas had only recently been opened for settlement. Both regions were sparsely inhabited by the diverse yet powerful Indian nations of Comanches, Kioways, Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Sioux, Dacotahs, Poncas, Pawnee's, Omahas, Missouris, Delawares, Shawnee, Osages, Crow, Black, and others - whose territorial claims Colton notes. Colton also notes three of the routes proposed for the Pacific Railroad, the Stevens route far to the north, the Beswith route running through the center of the map, and the Gunnison Route passing through Kansas. This map further identifies various forts, rivers, mountain passes, fords, and an assortment of additional topographical detail. Map is hand colored in pink, green, yellow and blue pastels to define territory and state boundaries. Surrounded by Colton's typical spiral motif border. Dated and copyrighted to J. H. Colton, 1855. Published from Colton's 172 William Street Office in New York City. Issued as page no. 50 in volume 1 of the first edition of George Washington Colton's 1855 Atlas of the World .
context_page_description: Peketon County was a county of the United States Territory of Kansas that existed from February 7, 1859 to January 29, 1861, when Kansas joined the Union as a state.
context_section_description: In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County of the Territory of Kansas (now in the State of Colorado). This discovery precipitating the Pike's Peak Gold Rush.  To promote the development of this western region, the Kansas Territorial Legislature created Peketon County to the east of Arapahoe County and the Territory of New Mexico on February 2, 1859, but Peketon County was never organized.
  Following the Republican Party election victories in 1860, the United States Congress admitted Kansas to the Union. The Kansas Act of Admission excluded the portion of the Kansas Territory west of the 25th meridian west from Washington from the new state, and Peketon County and the rest of this region reverted to unorganized territory.
  On February 28, 1861, the Territory of Colorado was organized to govern this unorganized territory and adjacent areas of the Territory of New Mexico, the Territory of Utah, and the Territory of Nebraska. The new Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties on November 1, 1861.
caption: 1855 first edition of Colton's map of Nebraska and Kansas Territories
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