"In preparing this book I have departed in many particulars from the ordinary course and established custom of compilers of county histories. I have endeavored to give the causes which led up to our early troubles, and to delineate, to some extent, the public sentiment and feeling of given periods. I have kept in touch with the various Territorial Governments, Administrations, Legislatures and prominent public men, in order that the reader may have an intelligent understanding of the situation. I have intended this book to be of refreshing interest to the old settler, and to be especially interesting and instructive to the young men and women of Bourbon County." - T. F. Robley.
This history covers a wide variety of topics including the Louisiana Purchase, Colonel H. T. Wilson, Annexation of Texas, Early Settlers of Bourbon County, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, First Elections, Texas Rangers, Slaves in Bourbon County, Squatter's Court, U.S. Troops at Fort Scott, Some Old Settlers of 1858, Kansas is Free, Amnesty Law, N.Y. Indian Lands, Battle of Drywood, Marmaton Massacre, Business and Improvements, and much, much more. Vintage photographs, illustrations, and advertisements enhance the text.