Peketon County, Kansas Territory facts for kids

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.

History

1855 first edition of Colton's map of Nebraska and Kansas Territories

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.