Lawrence, Kansas

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Lawrence was central to the Bleeding Kansas period (1854–1861), and the site of the Wakarusa War (1855) and the Sacking of Lawrence (1856). During the American Civil War it was also the site of the Lawrence massacre (1863). The city began as a center of free-state politics. Its economy diversified into many industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and education, beginning with the founding of the University of Kansas in 1865 and Haskell Indian Nations University in 1884. The Kaw people, also known as the Kansa, settled the region including what is now Lawrence in the late 17th or early 18th century. A series of treaties with the U.S. government compelled the Kaw to relinquish the land to the Shawnee and their Indian Reservation, established in 1830. The Kansas Territory was established in May 1854. Lawrence was founded 'strictly for political reasons' having to do with slavery. The Christian abolitionist and Protestant minister Richard Cordley later noted that after the Kansas–Nebraska Act became law, 'there was a feeling of despondency all over the north' because its passage 'opened Kansas to [the possibility of] slavery [which many] thought [was] equivalent to making Kansas a slave state'. Many slavery opponents decided to 'meet the question [of slavery in Kansas] on the terms of the bill itself' by migrating to Kansas, electing antislavery legislators, and eventually banning slavery altogether. These settlers soon became known as 'Free-Staters'.

In Their Own Story

In early May 1854, four men—Thomas W. and Oliver P. Barber, Samuel Walker, and Thomas M. Pearson—toured the new territory with the intention of finding a good place to settle. Their travels included what would become Lawrence, passing up on the spur of Hogback Ridge. The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed while they were in the territory, and they were instrumental in convincing others to come. In his book A History of Lawrence (1895), Cordley wrote: 'The most systematic and extensive movement [to populate Kansas], however, was made [by] "The New England Emigrant Aid Company" ... The men engaged in it, Eli Thayer [a Republican in the United States House of Representatives], Amos A. Lawrence [a Republican abolitionist and businessman], and others, began their work at once, arousing public interest and making arrangements to facilitate emigration to Kansas. As early as June, 1854, they sent Dr. Charles Robinson, of Fitchburg, and Mr. Charles H. Branscomb, of Holyoke, to explore the territory and select a site for a colony.' A group of only 29 men—which Eli Thayer later called the 'pioneer colony'—volunteered for the job. Led by Branscomb, these pioneers left Boston, Massachusetts, and set out for Kansas Territory on July 17, 1854. The pioneers arrived in Kansas Territory near the end of July, and at about noon on August 1, they ate their first meal on Hogback Ridge itself, which was soon renamed Mount Oread after the Oread Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. A followup party of 67, guided by Robinson and Samuel C. Pomeroy (an abolitionist and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives), left Worcester, Massachusetts, on August 31; along the way to Kansas, settlers of similar political inclinations joined this group, and when the party reached its destination on September 9–11, it had grown to about 114 people. This second party included about ten women, a number of children, and several musicians. On September 18, the early colonists convened and established a 'voluntary municipal government', and by September 20, the settlers had approved a constitution that included principles of prohibitionatory Maine law to govern their town. The settlement was created against threats by pro-slavery men that the free-staters ought to be 'driven from the country'.

Reader's Guide

When the settlers arrived, most had called their fledgling city simply Wakarusa, after the nearby river of the same name, but other names were considered, such as New Boston (in recognition of both the NEEAC's city of operation and the hometown of many early settlers). Meanwhile, settlers from Missouri derisively called it 'Yankee Town', due to its New England connections. Another name considered around this time was Lawrence. Many approved of this name in honor of Amos A. Lawrence. The first rally of forces from Lawrence was the night of September 30, done to protect Thomas J. Ferril, a free-state Methodist preacher from Missouri. His assailants surrounded his house, threatening violence and to destroy his property, but retreated after they saw a body of armed free-staters without injury to either side. The next day, a woman tore down a free-state man's tent. Pro-slavery men rallied to prevent the tent's reconstruction by a group of about 20 armed free-staters, but it was completed without violence. The next day, a sizeable band of pro-slavery men appeared, threatening a repeat of the attack, but upon seeing their opponents ready, they retreated with renewed threats of vengeance.

Did You Know?

• Lawrence was founded 'strictly for political reasons' having to do with slavery, and was named for abolitionist Amos A. Lawrence.
• The first meal of the pioneer colony on August 1, 1854, was eaten on Hogback Ridge, which was soon renamed Mount Oread after the Oread Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.
• The second party of settlers, arriving September 9–11, 1854, included about ten women, a number of children, and several musicians.
• The settlement was created against threats by pro-slavery men that the free-staters ought to be 'driven from the country'.
• Lawrence was the site of the Wakarusa War (1855), the Sacking of Lawrence (1856), and the Lawrence massacre (1863).