the first people to live there were some native american tribes. others included frontier towns that relied on cattle ranching and mining. they were hurt by violence over the issue of slavery. this happened both before and during the american civil war (see bleeding kansas). the most common type of mining in southeast kansas was coal mining. this contributed to the amount of coal found. it also contributed to the quality and thickness of coal in southeast kansas. southeast kansas has one of the well-made recreations of early life in the united states army at fort scott national historic site.