Tecumseh, the county seat of Johnson County, was incorporated in 1856. It was first called Frances in honor of the wife of Colonel Richard M. Johnson, for whom the county is named. In 1857 the town was renamed for the famous Shawnee Indian chief Tecumseh, whom Johnson fought during the War of 1812. The original townsite stood on the old Brownville-Fort Kearny trail. Growth was slow until the mid-1860s, when lucrative freighting traffic along these trails was channeled through the town. Development accelerated after the arrival of the Atchison and Nebraska Railroad in 1872 and was further stimulated ten years later by the extension of the Republican Valley line. Tecumseh's downtown district has been enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places and contains several distinguished examples of nineteenth century architectural styles, including the old jail, built around 1872, the City Hall and Courthouse, both constructed in 1889, and the 1889 Christian Church, now the headquarters of the Johnson County Historical Society. Tecumseh's distinctive buildings stand as symbols of the community's past.