Seth Hays came to Council Grove in 1847 to trade with the Kaw (Kansa) Indians, who bought guns, blankets, flour, and tinware from him. About 1857, he replaced his log store with a frame building that served citizens and travelers as a trading post, courthouse, post office, printing office, and meeting and social hall. Business was lively; in a four-day period in 1860, the Kaw Indians spent $15,000 there and across the street at the Conn Store, and the Santa Fe trade grew increasingly lucrative. In 1863, Hays' former partner, G. M. Simcock, estimated that $40 million in freight was hauled in ox- and mule-drawn wagons through the town. Along with supplies for the road, the Hays House provided meals and rooms to weary travelers on their eight-week journey between New Mexico and Missouri. A great-grandson of Daniel Boone, Seth Hays was Council Grove's first permanent settler and helped organize the town into a thriving trade center during the Santa Fe Trail era.