1859-1875. Kansas territory was crossed by at least three major trails. These included western Santa Fe Trail and Oregon Trail, and the south to north Chisholm Trail. These trails served first as routes through Kansas territory or for commercial purpose, but later served to bring settlers to the territory. First Schools Indian Mission schools The Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway, Kansas was the first school for children in Kansas Territory, serving Shawnee, Delaware and other Indian nations from 1839 to 1854. In 1847, the Jesuits established a mission school for the Osage Indians in Neosho County at present day St. Paul, Kansas. Like the Shawnee Indian Mission School, education was available for both boys and girls. The curriculum included both academic studies and manual trades. The Jesuits who taught the children blended Native American customs with Christianity. In 1869, following the cessation of Indian lands by the Osage tribe in Kansas, the school became St. Ann's Academy for girls and St. Francis Institution for boys, attracting students from several states. Kansas Territory On May 30, 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, and on August 30, 1855, the first Territorial Legislature made provision by law for a school in each of the counties of the territory. By 1858 the legislature recognized the right of all children regardless of color or religious background to an education. Section 71 of Chapter 8 of the laws of 1858, declares: "All school districts established under the authority of this act shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the age of five and twenty-one years, and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein." Immigration Settlement in Kansas territory before the Civil War was hampered by the issue of slavery. Kansas became a state in 1861, but not before experiencing a period known as Bleeding Kansas. Even with statehood, questions concerning land titles continued because of Indian claims. Despite this danger and uncertainty, settlement in Kansas continued. In the Spring of 1863, James R. Mead, noted plainsman and one of the original founders of Wichita, Kansas, first arrived in the Walnut Valley at the extreme western settlement. He came across the tiny community of Towanda where, in addition to the several families staking claims, he saw a "very rough log building called a school house". Following the Civil War, immigration renewed with passage of the Homestead Act and the final removal of