The site was platted in 1880, and the city was first incorporated in 1882 and again, as a city of the second class, in 1889.
Osawatomie was settled about 1854 by colonists sent by the Emigrant Aid Company, and was platted in 1855 its name was coined from parts of the words "Osage" and "Pottawatomie."
In 1823 it was platted, and was named Calhoun in honour of John C. Calhoun, but this name was not popular and the former name was soon restored.
The settlement of the place, then called the Grand Traverse of the Flint, began in 1820, but Flint's growth was very slow until 1831, when it was platted as a village; it was chartered as a city in 1855.
In 1806 Friends from North Carolina and Pennsylvania settled near here, and Richmond was platted in 1816.