|
Shawnee County Courthouse
Topeka, Kansas |
||||||
| |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
||||||
| Completed -
1965 Architect - Raymond & Phillip Coolidge Photos: Robert Deering 6/7/2005 |
 |
 |
 1896 Courthouse Architect - J. C. Holland |
 1965 Courthouse |
COUNTY NAMED FOR: The Shawnee Indians
COUNTY SEAT NAMED FOR: Topeka means "to dig good potatoes" in the languages of the Kansa and the Iowa. The potato referred to is the prairie potato (Psoralea esculenta), a perennial herb which is an important food for many Native Americans. As a place name, Topeka was first recorded in 1826 as the Kansa name for what is now called the Kansas River. Topeka's founders chose the name in 1855 because it "was novel, of Indian origin and euphonious of sound." The mixed-blood Kansa Indian, Joseph James, called Jojim, is credited with suggesting the name of Topeka.
COURTHOUSES:
STANDING: 1965 Modern structure.
 |
 |
 |