John Brown Museum

Story

The John Brown Museum, also known as the John Brown State Historic Site and John Brown Cabin, is located in Osawatomie, Kansas. The site is operated by the Kansas Historical Society, and includes the log cabin of Reverend Samuel Adair and his wife, Florella, who was the half-sister of the abolitionist John Brown. Brown lived in the cabin during the twenty months he spent in Kansas and conducted many of his abolitionist activities from there. The museum's displays tell the story of John Brown, the Adairs and local abolitionists, and include the original cabin, Adair family furnishings and belongings, and Civil War artifacts.HistoryWhen Kansas Territory was established in 1854, newspapers in the North encouraged settlement in the area to ensure that the new state would be free. The land also offered promise to families—the opportunity to cultivate fertile land, enjoy the peaceful countryside, and protect the territory from the spread of slavery.Samuel and Florella Brown Adair held such a dream. Florella's father, Owen Brown, was also the father of the abolitionist John Brown. Owen, a strict Calvinist, was a trustee at Oberlin College. John Brown's mother, Ruth Mills Brown, died in 1808, and Owen married Sally Root around 1811. Their children included Florella.Both Samuel and Florella were graduates of Oberlin, a progressive coeducational and biracial college in Ohio. Samuel finished his theology program and the two were married and moved westward, where Samuel sought a position in Osawatomie, Kansas Territory.