Labette County, located in the Neosho River Valley of southeast Kansas, is home to eight cities, each rich in history. The story of Labette County is the story of French fur traders, Indian treaties, Civil War veterans, homesteaders, and railroad magnates–the people and events that transformed a prairie wilderness and shaped the county’s future. Mike Brotherton and Dave Mattox are board members of the Parsons Historical Society Museum and authors of Images of America: Parsons.