Adam Bauer came to Kansas in 1854 and settled on the land that now contains the Shawnee Heights complex. He donated a piece of his land for a cemetery and another piece for a church. Sadly, Bauer's wife, Julia, was an early burial in the cemetery, her passing away in 1877. The Bauers and their six children lived in a one-room cabin until the children moved out and Adam moved to Topeka. A house was built on the land by Charles Bauer and, piece-by-piece, the other children sold off their portions of the family land and moved away. Adam died in 1900 and was buried in Bauer Cemetery.
The Bauer cabin was moved to Gage Park in Topeka and then it was dismantled and rebuilt at Ward-Meade Park as part of Old Prairie Town.
