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is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, 61 miles (98 km) southwest of Kansas City. The population was 4,645 at the 2000 census. It derives its name from two streams near by, the Osage and Potawatomie. In 1900, 4,101 people lived in Osawatomie; in 1910, 4,046. Osawatomie was chartered in 1883 and in 1890 became a second-class city. The commission form of government was adopted in 1914.
Osawatomie was one of the free-State settlements made by the Emigrant Aid Society in 1855. On August 30 1856, abolitionist John Brown lead the defense against a pro-slavery invasion of the town. After he and his followers were dispersed, the town was almost completely demolished by the proslavery men.
In 1859, the first convention of the Kansas Republican Party was held in Osawatomie. Republican Party founder and
Osawatomie is the site of the oldest state psychiatric hospital in Kansas, first established as the "Kansas Insane Asylum" in 1866. It was renamed "Osawatomie State Hospital" in 1901. At opening, it had only 12 beds, but the number quickly grew to the point where the patient to physician ratio in 1945 was 854:1. Osawatomie State Hospital was the last Kansas hospital to abandon the use of restraints, continuing to use straightjackets as late as 1956. These practices have since been discontinued. The hospital currently has 176 beds and serves 46 counties in Kansas.
Osawatomie is surrounded by the two rivers. There is an Indian legend stating that a village in between two rivers cannot be touched by a tornado, since there is a body of water on each side. A tornado has never touched down in Osawatomie.