Lawrence was founded in 1854 by the New England Emigrant Aid Company as a deliberate antislavery settlement intended to influence whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state. The city was named after Amos A. Lawrence, an Ipswich businessman and abolitionist who was among the first wealthy supporters to fund the emigrant effort. The settlers also calculated that naming the town after him would encourage further donations, which proved correct.
What happened during the Sacking of Lawrence in 1856?
On the 21st of May 1856, Federal Marshal Israel B. Donaldson and Sheriff Samuel J. Jones led an army of around 800 men into Lawrence, smashing the presses of two antislavery newspapers, throwing the type into the Kansas River, firing a cannon at the Free State Hotel and burning it down, and pillaging roughly $30,000 worth of valuables. Only one person died during the attack, a member of Jones's own force who was struck by falling masonry.
What was the Lawrence Massacre of 1863?
On the 21st of August 1863, William Quantrill and hundreds of irregular Confederate raiders attacked Lawrence, killing between 150 and 200 men and boys, leaving 80 widows and 250 orphans, and destroying approximately $2,000,000 worth of property. Most buildings constructed before 1860 were burned. The attack was widely believed to be motivated in part by anger over Jayhawker guerrilla raids on western Missouri that were thought to be based out of Lawrence.
When was the University of Kansas founded and why was Lawrence chosen?
The University of Kansas opened to students in 1866, after Lawrence beat Emporia by a single legislative vote for the right to host it. Lawrence's winning argument included $10,000 plus interest donated by Amos Lawrence and 40 acres of land offered for the campus. Manhattan had already been chosen on the 13th of January 1863 as the site of the state's land-grant college, making Lawrence the host of the main state university.
What is Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence Kansas?
Haskell Indian Nations University opened in Lawrence in 1884 as the United States Indian Industrial Training School, a federal boarding school for Native Americans whose stated goal was assimilation. It was renamed the Haskell Institute in 1887 after legislator Dudley Haskell, and became Haskell Indian Nations University in 1993. Today it offers free tuition to members of registered Native American tribes and has an average enrollment of more than 1,000 students from all 50 states and over 150 tribes.
What is the Bowersock Dam and why is it significant to Lawrence Kansas?
The Bowersock Dam on the Kansas River is the only hydropower dam in the state of Kansas. It was completed in the 1870s after earlier construction was damaged by an ice jam and seasonal floods. Justin DeWitt Bowersock assumed responsibility for dam repairs in 1879, after which regular flood damage ceased. The dam closed in 1968 and reopened in 1977 when the city built a new city hall adjacent to the Bowersock Plant.