KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Since 1966, the John Brown Jamboree has been a staple celebration in rural Osawatomie.
The week-long carnival celebration has been established to bring local families together since its inception.
"We believe the John Brown Jamboree, its first year in 1966, is probably the longest running community event of its kind named after a political figure," Gordon Schrader, chairman of the event, explained.
The family-friendly event pays homage to one of Osawatomie's founding fathers, a pre-Civil War abolitionist.
John Brown Cabin sits in a park near downtown, the site of the Battle of Osawatomie in 1856.
"This place is a very special place," said Grady Atwater, site administrator of the John Brown Museum. "It was a station on the Underground Railroad."
Atwater is a lifelong Osawatomie resident who spends his days sharing the rich history of his community.
John Brown Cabin, home of Reverend Samuel Adair, became a safe haven for fleeing slaves and a gathering place for militant and peaceful abolitionists.
The cabin sits behind stone walls in its full form, with the original furniture in the residence.
It has an addition to the back of the cabin, which, to the naked eye, appeared to be a kitchen, but actually housed slaves on their way to freedom.
Rev. Adair and Brown were ahead of their time, according to Atwater.
"He is more than a person, he is a philosophical archetype for ideologically motivated guerrilla and especially for civil rights activists," he explained. "If John Brown can stand at the Battle of Osawatomie. Outnumbered four to 1. Risk his life. If he can go to Harper’s Ferry and give his life. We can stand up for our civil rights."
Atwater told KSHB 41 that today's society looks at abolitionists as heroes or people standing for freedom. During Brown's time, they were seen as extremists destroying the fabric of America. Oftentimes, those with opposing beliefs set out to kill them, and much of their work was done with extra surveillance.
"As we fight for equality for all today in our s world, one of the things we can look back on is settled in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, knowing that they could be killed at any given time simply because they believed in freedom, and freedom for African Americans from slavery, we can take courage from that," added Atwater. "Because of their efforts, that is one of the reasons that slavery ended. And sadly, we haven't yet shed racism, but we can continue to work using their example and their inspiration."
Former President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17, 2017, making June 18 a federal holiday.
The holiday commemorates the last group of enslaved people's emancipation in Galveston Bay, Texas, in 1865.
This year's John Brown Jamboree falls on Juneteenth for the first time since becoming a federally recognized holiday.
"Juneteenth folds right into our history. We were founded by abolitionists," Atwater said. "We were founded on the celebration of freedom. The fact that it coincides is absolutely a historic perfection."
Schrader told KSHB 41, celebrations like the John Brown Jamboree create an opportunity for the younger generation to learn the history and understand the cause Brown was fighting for.
"He did some really ugly things, but for the right reasons, in the wrong way," Schrader said. "Some say he was the match that lit the spark, which brought about the Civil War. Without him doing what he did, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War wouldn't have been what it was."
The John Brown Jamboree runs until Sunday, June 21, 2025. For more information on the remaining events, click here.
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