Anna January, Osawatomie Heroine History and Heritage
By Grady Atwater
Anna January worked to preserve Osawatomie’s history and heritage from 1898 to 1946. Anna January taught locally for three years before marrying D.A. January in 1901. Anna January was driven, ambitious and community minded, and the Western Spirit reported on March 22, 1946 that “Mrs.
January did not confine her talents within the limits of four walls. She took an active interest in club work and was president of the Monday club two years. A consistent Republican, she was fearless in her stand on county, state, and federal questions.” January’s leadership abilities led to her appointment as Osawatomie’s Post Mistress in 1922 to 1932, and the Western Spirit reported, “Her unquestioned ability was rewarded by appointment as postmistress.”
However, Anna January’s most lasting legacy in Osawatomie is her successful efforts to preserve the town’s history and heritage. Anna January recognized the national importance of Osawatomie’s history and had the vision to work to preserve it. The Western Spirit stated “A living monument to Mrs. January’s far-seeing judgment and forceful character is the John Brown Memorial State Park in Osawatomie. She was appointed to the state park board in 1910, resigning this week (March 22, 1946) after thirty-five years’ active participation in the group.”
January tirelessly worked to preserve the town’s history during her tenure here in Osawatomie and one of the best testimonies to her ambition and vision is her leadership is the placing of the John Brown Statue in 1935, during the depths of the Great Depression. The Western Spirit stated, “(January) Overcame well nigh insuperable obstacles in the erection of a six foot bronze figure of John Brown by George Fife Waters, the American sculptor in the park.”
January’s tenacious ambition came into play when fundraising during the Great Depression, and she raised the funds to create the statue. However, her strength and diplomacy was further tested and vindicated when she overcame bureaucratic resistance to shipping the statue to Osawatomie both in France and the United States. The Western Spirit reported, “The statue was cast in Paris and many factors that held up the shipping of the statue to this country necessitated a trip to that city by Mrs. January in 1934. Her tact, her intelligence and tenacity of purpose finally interested the ambassador to France, Isadore Strauss, in her behalf, and he was instrumental in having the statue delivered, custom free, on American soil.”
The Western Spirit paid tribute to Anna January’s contribution to Osawatomie in 1946, and stated, “People from every where visit the park, and go through the old John Brown cabin that is preserved there as a museum and admire the rugged lines of the great emancipator in bronze.”
The Western Spirit commented that upon Anna January’s departure from Osawatomie to live with her daughter in New Mexico in 1946 that “The transplanting of this fine family is an irreparable loss to Miami County.” Anna January was an Osawatomie Heroine, and the town still benefits from her tireless efforts to preserve Osawatomie’s history and heritage.
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