Editing Lawrence, Kansas (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Kansas#Prehistory|label 1=Early Kansas History}}

===Settlement and early years===
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 [[Shawnee Methodist Mission|Indian Reservation]], established in 1830.<ref>David Dary, Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas: An Informal History (Lawrence: Allen Books, 1982), 7–9.</ref> The Kansas Territory was established in May 1854. During this period, the [[Oregon Trail]] ran parallel to the [[Kansas River]], roughly through the area where Lawrence is now. A hill in the area, then known as Hogback Ridge and now known as [[Mount Oread]], which sits on the [[Drainage divide|water divide]] separating the Kansas and [[Wakarusa River]], was used as a landmark and outlook by those on the trail.<ref name="Cutler Douglas Settlers">Andreas (1883), pp. 308{{en dash}}09.</ref> While the territory was technically closed to settlement until 1854, there were a few "[[Squatting|squatter settlements]]" in the area, especially just north of the Kansas River.<ref>Nelson (1995).</ref>

Lawrence was founded "strictly for political reasons"<ref>{{cite web |title=About the City |url=https://lawrenceks.org/about/ |publisher=Lawrence, KS |access-date=July 10, 2018}}</ref> having to do with slavery, which was heavily debated in the United States in the early to mid-1800s. [[Northern Democratic Party|Northern Democrats]], led by Senators [[Lewis Cass]] of Michigan and [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of Illinois, promoted "[[popular sovereignty]]" as a [[Popular sovereignty in the United States#Regarding slavery|middle position on the slavery issue]]. Its proponents argued it was more democratic, as it allowed the citizens of newly organized territories (and not Washington, D.C. politicians) to have a direct say as to the legality of slavery in their own lands.<ref name=childers_2011 /><ref name=gilman /> (Meanwhile, enemies of the bill, especially in the north, derisively called this idea "squatter sovereignty".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/popular-sovereignty|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=Popular Sovereignty|access-date=August 4, 2018|date=May 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>Lincoln (1989), p. 441.</ref>) Douglas eventually made popular sovereignty the backbone of his [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]]{{em dash}}legislation that effectively repealed the [[Missouri Compromise]] of 1820 and created the territories of [[Kansas]] and [[Nebraska Territory|Nebraska]]{{em dash}}which passed Congress in 1854.<ref name=childers_2011 /><ref name=gilman>Gilman (1914), pp. 5{{en dash}}10.</ref>

[[File:Eli Thayer - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|upright|Lawrence was founded by settlers affiliated with the [[New England Emigrant Aid Company]], headed by [[Eli Thayer]], a Republican in the United States House of Representatives.]]

The Christian abolitionist and [[Protestant]] minister [[Richard Cordley]] later noted that after the bill 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".<ref name=cordley1>Cordley (1895), p. 1.</ref> This was largely because nearby [[Missouri]] allowed slavery, and many rightly assumed the first settlers in Kansas Territory would come from Missouri, bringing their penchant for slavery with them.<ref name=cordley1 />

In time, anger at the Kansas–Nebraska Act united antislavery forces into a movement committed to stopping the expansion of slavery, eventually institutionalized as the [[History of the Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name="childers_2011" /><ref name="gilman" /> 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.<ref name="cordley1and2">Cordley (1895), pp. 1{{en dash}}2.</ref><ref name="childers_2011">Childers (2011), pp. 48–70.</ref> These settlers soon became known as "[[Free-Stater (Kansas)|Free-Staters]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legendsofkansas.com/freestate.html|work=Legends of America|date=June 2015|access-date=May 30, 2018|author=Weiss, Kathy|title=Free-Staters of Kansas}}</ref> Even before the bill passed, some people already had this idea. 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.<ref name="cordley2and3">Cordley (1895), pp. 2{{en dash}}3.</ref> In his book ''A History of Lawrence'' (1895), Cordley wrote:

<blockquote>The most systematic and extensive movement [to populate Kansas], however, was made [by] "[[New England Emigrant Aid Company|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 [[GOP|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 L. Robinson|Charles Robinson]], of [[Fitchburg, Massachusetts|Fitchburg]], and Mr. [[Charles Branscomb|Charles H. Branscomb]], of [[Holyoke]], to explore the territory and select a site for a colony ... [Previously] Robinson [had journeyed to Kansas, during which] his party climbed the hill along this spur, and looked off over what was afterwards the site of Lawrence. They marked the beauty of the spot and the magnificence of the view. Whether they thought then of what might afterwards occur is not known; but when the time came to select a location for the first colony, Dr. Robinson remembered this view from the hilltop, and this doubtless had much to do in the final decision. When he was asked, therefore, to go and explore the country with a view to locating colonies, it was not altogether an unknown land to him.<ref name=cordley3and4>Cordley (1895), pp. 3{{en dash}}4.</ref></blockquote>

Branscomb was tasked with exploring the Kansas River up to about [[Fort Riley]], while Robinson scouted land near [[Fort Leavenworth]] and the nearby [[Leavenworth, KS|city of the same name]]; after assessing the territory they had surveyed, the two recommended the New England Emigrant Aid Company (NEEAC) send its settlers to claim territory along the Oregon Trail near Hogback Ridge.<ref name=cordley4and5>Cordley (1895), pp. 4{{en dash}}5.</ref><ref name="Cutler Douglas Lawrence">Andreas (1883), pp. 312{{en dash}}14.</ref> The two likely chose this site because it was the "first desirable location where emigrant Indians had ceded their land rights".<ref>Freedom's Frontier (n.d.), p. 21.</ref> The area was also attractive because it was close to not only on the Oregon Trail, but also the [[Santa Fe Trail|Santa Fe]] and the 1846 Military Trails.<ref>[[Federal Highway Administration]] (2002), p. A64.</ref><ref>Andreas (1883), p. 308.</ref>

[[File:Charles_L._Robinson.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles L. Robinson]] was instrumental in the founding of Lawrence.]]

Concurrent with Robinson and Branscomb's exploration, the NEEAC was soliciting some of its members to settle in Kansas.<ref name=cordley4and5 /> At first, the NEEAC wanted to send a somewhat sizeable group of settlers to claim the land, but a [[cholera]] outbreak in the [[Missouri River Valley|Missouri Valley]] prevented it.<ref>Andreas (1883), p. 312.</ref> In the end, a group of only 29 men{{em dash}}which Eli Thayer later called the "pioneer colony"{{em dash}}volunteered for the job.<ref name=cordley4and5 /> Led by Branscomb, these pioneers left [[Boston]], Massachusetts, and set out for Kansas Territory on July 17, 1854; according to Thayer's antislavery newspaper the ''Kansas Crusader for Freedom'', "Immense crowds had gathered [in Boston] at the station to give them a parting God-speed. They moved out of the station amid the cheering of the crowds who lined the track for several blocks."<ref name=standard360>Connelly (1918), p. 360.</ref><ref name=cordley4and5 /> In late July, the group met Robinson in [[St. Louis]], and he discussed the next leg of the journey with them and provided them with transportation.<ref name=cordley4and5 /> 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]].<ref name=cordley4and5 /><ref name=19thcenturyhouses5>Armitage and Lee (1992), p. 5.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Harvey |first1=Douglas |title=Fuller's Brushes With Fame |url=http://www.kuconnection.org/archive/2002/03/people_Fullers.asp |website=[[University of Kansas|KU Connection]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130014530/http://www.kuconnection.org/archive/2002/03/people_Fullers.asp |archive-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref><ref name="biennialreport"/> Immediately thereafter, about half this party set off to claim land in the nearby countryside, where about 15 of the original settlers remained, and began to establish a city between [[Mount Oread]] and the [[Kansas River]] roughly where Massachusetts Street now runs.<ref name=standard360 /><ref name=standard361>Connelly (1918), p. 361.</ref>

While all of this was unfolding, 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{{en dash}}11, it had grown to about 114 people.<ref name="Cutler Douglas Lawrence" /><ref name=standard360 /><ref name=cordley6and7>Cordley (1895), pp. 6{{en dash}}7.</ref> This second party included about ten women, a number of children, and several musicians.<ref name=cordley6and7 /> A third group of settlers arrived in the vicinity of the future city on October 8{{en dash}}9, but many "became disgusted by the outlook" of the settlement and returned to New England, feeling they had been "deceived" by the NEEAC.<ref name=standard361 /> A fourth group of settlers arrived on October 30,<ref name="claims">Andreas (1883), pp. 314{{en dash}}16.</ref><ref name="Cutler Newspapers">Andreas (1883), pp. 316{{en dash}}17.</ref> followed by a fifth on November 20 and a sixth on December 1.<ref name=border>Gilmore (2005), p. 47.</ref> On September 18, the early colonists convened and established a "voluntary municipal government",<ref name=cordley9>Cordley (1895), p. 9.</ref> and by September 20, the settlers had approved a constitution that included principles of prohibitionatory [[Maine law]] to govern their town.<ref name=cordley8and9>Cordley (1895), pp. 8{{en dash}}9.</ref> The settlement was created against threats by pro-slavery men that the free-staters ought to be "driven from the country".<ref name=biennialreport /> 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.<ref name=biennialreport />

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).<ref name=biennialreport />  Meanwhile, settlers from Missouri derisively called it "[[Yankee]] Town", due to its New England connections.<ref name=biennialreport /> Another name considered around this time was Lawrence.<ref name="Cutler Douglas Lawrence" /> Many approved of this name in honor of [[Amos A. Lawrence]], an [[Ipswich, Massachusetts|Ipswich]]-based businessman and noted abolitionist, who, Cordley writes, was "a man of wide personal influence" and "one of the first men of means" to fund the Emigrant Aid Company.<ref name="cordley10">Cordley (1895), p. 10.</ref> Others hoped that if they named their town after him, Lawrence would be inclined to support them with monetary donations, which proved correct.<ref>Bisel (2012), p. 32.</ref> Another factor making "Lawrence" a popular choice was that it had "no bad odor attached to it in any part of the Union".<ref name="Cutler Douglas Lawrence" /> On October 1,<ref name=biennialreport /> the settlement's leaders voted to approve "Lawrence" as the name of their new city, and on October 17, the citizens drew territory lots so as to begin erecting homes and businesses.<ref name="Cutler Douglas Lawrence" /><ref name="claims" /> Around this time, the settlers got into a heated argument with pro-slavery squatters, who were hoping to establish a city named Excelsior on the land where Lawrence was being constructed. These pro-slavers threatened violence against anyone who stood in their way, but eventually acquiesced to the New Englanders, and no open conflict occurred.<ref name="claims" /><ref name=eb1911 />

In early October 1854, the first governor of the Kansas Territory, [[Andrew Horatio Reeder]], arrived, had a reception and a festival, and after a welcoming speech by Pomeroy, made a conciliatory speech urging harmony and order, while evading the slavery question.<ref name=biennialreport /> Lawrence's first winter was characterized by great hardship, as the people predominantly lived in [[sod house]]s and "[[shack|shanties]] made of clap-boards".<ref name=biennialreport /> About two miles (3.3&nbsp;km) south of Lawrence, at the first election on November 29, 1854<ref name=standard435>Connelly (1918), p. 435.</ref> to elect Congressional delegates, there was a commotion; it ended with a man named Henry Davis attacking a free-stater man named Lucius Kibbee with an [[Arkansas toothpick]] knife.<ref name=biennialreport /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Pantle, Alberta|title=Death Notices from Kansas Territorial Newspapers, 1864-1864: Part One, A-L|journal=The Kansas Historical Quarterly|year=1950|pages=301–529|url=http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1950/50_3_pantle.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030820203353/http://www.kancoll.org/khq/1950/50_3_pantle.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 20, 2003|access-date=February 21, 2020}}</ref><ref name=standard435-436>Connelly (1918), pp. 435–436.</ref> The fight ended when Kibbee shot Davis, making this Kansas's first homicide.<ref name=standard435-436/>

[[File:1857 Plymouth Stone Church photo.png|thumb|[[Plymouth Congregational Church (Lawrence, Kansas)|Plymouth Congregational Church]] in Lawrence was the first church established in [[Kansas Territory]].]]
By the end of 1854, two newspapers touting the [[Slave and free states|free state]] mission had been established in the town: the ''Herald of Freedom'', edited by George W. Brown, and the ''Kansas Pioneer'', edited by John Speer, renamed the ''Kansas Tribune'' after Speer discovered a proslavery ''Kansas Pioneer'' newspaper existed.<ref name=biennialreport /> A third paper, the ''Kansas Free State'', was also created by editors Robert Gaston Elliott and Josiah Miller, and began publication in early January 1855.<ref name="Cutler Newspapers" /><ref name="KSHS kansas free state newspaper">{{cite web|url=https://kshs.org/p/a-look-at-early-lawrence/13271|access-date=May 25, 2019|title=A Look at Early Lawrence|publisher=Kansas Historical Society|author=Carolyn Berneking|date=Autumn 1977|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215215355/https://kshs.org/p/a-look-at-early-lawrence/13271|archive-date=December 15, 2018}} Kansas Historical Society's entry on Robert Elliott. Autumn 1977 (Vol. 43, No. 3), pages 282 to 296</ref><ref name=biennialreport /><ref name="KSGenWeb Douglas1" /> The [[Plymouth Congregational Church (Lawrence, Kansas)|Plymouth Congregational Church]] was started in September 1854 by Reverend S. Y. Lum, a missionary sent to Kansas from [[Middletown, Orange County, New York|Middletown, New York]].<ref name=cordley13>Cordley (1895), p. 13.</ref> The first post office in Lawrence was established in January 1855,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:1/county:DG/sort:County.county_name/direction:asc |title=Kansas Post Offices, 1828–1961 (archived) |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |access-date=June 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529170103/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page%3A1/county%3ADG/sort%3ACounty.county_name/direction%3Aasc |archive-date=May 29, 2014 }}</ref> and E. D. Ladd was appointed the town's first [[postmaster]].<ref>Cordley (1895), p. 20.</ref> On January 10, 1855, the first school in Kansas was established in Lawrence by voluntary contributions, and it was taught by Edward P. Fitch.<ref name=biennialreport />

==="Bleeding Kansas"===
{{See also|Bleeding Kansas|Wakarusa War}}

At the start of 1855, settlers who held opposing opinions about slavery settled in the Kansas Territory around the Lawrence area and began to vie for political power. Secret societies, called Blue Lodges, were created, and their sole purpose was to make Kansas a slave state. Their plan was to come into Kansas on the day of the election and vote so as to gain control of the legislature.<ref name=cordley28and29>Cordley (1895), p. 28{{endash}}29.</ref> Before the election, a census determined Kansas had a population of 8,601 with 2,905 of them being voters. Lawrence, specifically, had 369 voters.<ref name=cordley28>Cordley (1895), p. 28.</ref> At the legislature election on March 30, 1855, about 700–1,000 armed pro-slavery men from Missouri voted at the election. They came in over 100 wagons, and they were armed with guns, rifles, pistols, and Bowie knives. They also brought two pieces of artillery.<ref name=cordley30and31>Cordley (1895), p. 30{{endash}}31.</ref> Due to their large numbers, they went unchallenged. They left for Missouri the next morning, having camped in Lawrence the night before. Silas Bond was shot at and driven from the polls on the grounds he was "an obnoxious free-state man".<ref name=biennialreport /> 1,034 votes were cast in Lawrence, 232 of which were legal, with 802 being from non-residents. There were only 2,905 legal voters in the territory, but 6,307 votes were cast.<ref name=cordley32>Cordley (1895), p. 32.</ref> The people appealed to Governor Andrew Reeder to set the election aside, to which he agreed initially, but after being threatened by pro-slavery people, he decided to hold another election in districts in which there were protests, such as Lawrence. The people of Lawrence felt this did nothing, and many were uncertain about what would happen or what they needed to do.<ref name=cordley33>Cordley (1895), p. 33.</ref>

In June 1855, a meeting was held in Lawrence, at which resolutions were adopted intending to resist any laws that may be passed by the legislature, and they declared that the legislature was elected by "armed usurpers from Missouri".<ref name=biennialreport /> This paved the way for a larger convention on June 25. Between June 8 and August 15, 1855, seven meetings were held in Lawrence for the purposes of resisting the legislature.<ref name=cordley35>Cordley (1895), p. 35.</ref> The free-state leaders sent George W. Deitzler to the east to secure weapons from other anti-slavery people. Amos Lawrence and others sent crates full of rifles, to which they labeled "books" because "the border ruffians had no use for books, [and] they came through without being disturbed."<ref name=cordley37>Cordley (1895), p. 37.</ref> With the help of [[Horace Greeley]], a howitzer was sent to Lawrence.<ref name=cordley37 /> On August 27, 1855, the proslavery faction in Douglas County (based primarily out of the territorial capital, [[Lecompton, Kansas|Lecompton]], as well as smaller satellite settlements like [[Franklin, Douglas County, Kansas|Franklin]] and [[Lone Star, Kansas|Lone Star]])<ref>{{cite web|title=About Lecompton|url=http://www.lecomptonkansas.com/about-lecompton/|website=Historic Lecompton|date=April 19, 2015|publisher=Lecompton, Kansas|access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>Litteer (1987), p. 32.</ref><ref>Parker and Laird (1976), pp. 146{{endash}}62.</ref> got a boost when acting territorial governor [[Daniel Woodson]] appointed the zealously proslavery settler [[Samuel J. Jones]] to the office of county sheriff.<ref>{{cite web|title=Samuel J. Jones (Sheriff), ca.1820-ca.1880|url=http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/~imlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=bio_sketches/jones_sheriff|website=Territorial Kansas|access-date=April 27, 2018}}</ref> Then, in October 1855, the outspoken abolitionist [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] arrived in the Kansas Territory; he brought with him a wagon-load of weapons with which he intended to use to fight off "Satan and his legions" (i.e., proslavery settlers).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bordewich|first1=Fergus|title=John Brown's Day of Reckoning|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-browns-day-of-reckoning-139165084/|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=October 2009}}</ref>

For much of 1855, the pro- and antislavery factions existed uneasily. Then on November 21, 1855, after an intense verbal altercation, the proslavery settler Franklin N. Coleman shot the Free-Stater [[Charles W. Dow|Charles Dow]] in the head, killing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://territorialkansasonline.ku.edu/index.php?SCREEN=show_document&document_id=101751&SCREEN_FROM=keyword&selected_keyword=Dow,%20Charles%20W.&startsearchat=0|title=Experience of John E. Stewart|date=1856|author=John E. Stewart|publisher=Kansas Historical Society|access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref name=biennialreport /> The murder was the culmination of a long-simmering feud between them, as for some time they had bickered about a land claim near the Hickory Point post office, about {{convert|14|mi|km}} south of Lawrence.<ref>Litteer (1987), pp. 4{{en dash}}7.</ref><ref>Connelley (2018) [1900], p. 44.</ref> According to the ''Border War Encyclopedia'', "Politics had not motivated Coleman to kill Dow, but the murder marked the genesis of the violent political divisions that characterized Kansas for the next 10 years."<ref name=wakwarcyc/> When Jones investigated the crime, Coleman argued he had acted in [[self-defense]]. The sheriff sided with his proslavery compatriot and chose to instead arrest Dow's free state affiliate Jacob Branson for [[Breach of the peace|disturbing the peace]]. Branson was quickly rescued by [[Samuel Newitt Wood]] and a gang of Free-Staters by breaking him out of jail.<ref name=wakwarcyc/><ref name=wakwarcyc1/><ref>Bisel (2012), pp. 55{{en dash}}56.</ref> He was rescued at one in the morning, just two hours after the arrest. As the gang of free-staters were heading back, they were unsure of what to do.<ref name=cordley50>Cordley (1895), p. 50.</ref> They consulted with Charles Robinson, and they all realized the pro-slavery people would label this act of breaking someone out of jail as an insurrection. They realized the militia would be called to carry out the arrests of those who broke Branson out of jail, but that they would likely use it as an excuse to destroy Lawrence. The rest of the city was unaware of the rescue at this time. It was decided that the men who broke Branson out of jail would need to keep out of the way. Robinson informed the others at a meeting of citizens that morning, to which they agreed.<ref name=cordley51>Cordley (1895), p. 51.</ref> They then started preparing the city for defense.<ref name=crodley52>Cordley (1895), p. 52.</ref>

===Sacking===
{{Main|Sacking of Lawrence}}
To calm the increasingly belligerent settlers, the governor of the Kansas Territory, [[Wilson Shannon]], called on the Kansas militia to intervene. Shannon had intended for the militia to be composed of Kansans, but Jones mustered a small army of 1,200–1,500 proslavery men, all but about 50 of them from Missouri.<ref name=biennialreport /><ref>Litteer (1987), pp. 13{{en dash}}14.</ref><ref name=wakwarcyc1/><ref name=cordley54>Cordley (1895), p. 54.</ref> When the citizens of Lawrence learned of Jones's army, they raised up a defensive militia of 600–800 men armed with "[[Beecher's Bibles]]". Robinson was chosen to direct the city's military operations, the future state senator [[James H. Lane (politician)|James Lane]] was selected as his second-in-command, and a "committee of safety" was also created, which organized squads of about 20 men to keep watch over the city. Lawrence was additionally aided by John Brown and his four sons: John Jr., Oliver, Owen, and Watson. Five forts of earthwork or rifle pits were constructed, and a solid defense was prepared. While both sides were ready for a fight, an outright clash between the two militias was prevented at least in part by the harsh Kansas winter. On December 8, Shannon had had enough and ordered representatives from both sides to meet at the proslavery stronghold of Franklin to sign a peace treaty. Terms were agreed to, and eventually, after much persuading, the Missouri army reluctantly left the area.<ref name=biennialreport /><ref name=wakwarcyc>{{cite web|last1=Mullis|first1=Tony|title=Wakarusa War|url=http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/content/wakarusa-war|website=Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854–1865|access-date=September 5, 2015|date=April 22, 2013}}</ref><ref name=wakwarcyc1>{{cite web|url=http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/w/wakarusa_war.html |title=Wakarusa War {{en dash}} KS-Cyclopedia {{en dash}} 1912 |publisher=Skyways.Lib.KS.us |access-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512061914/http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/w/wakarusa_war.html |archive-date=May 12, 2012 }}</ref><ref>Fitzgerald (1988), pp. 74{{en dash}}75.</ref> This conflict, despite its rather diminutive size and scale, would later be known as the "[[Wakarusa War]]".<ref name=wakwarcyc1 />

[[File:Sacking-lawrence.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[The Eldridge Hotel|Free State Hotel]] after the 1856 [[Sacking of Lawrence]]]]

In the spring of 1856, the proslavery forces, hoping to diminish the power of the anti-slavery settlers, singled out the ''Kansas Free State'', the ''Herald of Freedom'', and the [[The Eldridge Hotel|Free State Hotel]] (the latter of which the NEEAC owned and operated) as "nuisances" that needed to be stopped.<ref name="Cutler Newspapers" /> On April 23, 1856 Sheriff Jones entered Lawrence and attempted to arrest about a dozen members of the extralegal [[Free-Stater (Kansas)|Free-State]] legislature (a [[Opposition (politics)|rogue governing body]] set up in opposition to the official proslavery territorial government). During the commotion, Jones was non-fatally shot by a [[sniper]] named Charles Lenhart, and Lawrence residents promptly drove the sheriff out of town.<ref name=biennialreport /><ref>Connelley (2018) [1900], p. 53.</ref><ref name=ball/> The people of Lawrence disavowed the act, and they offered a $500 bounty for the sniper's arrest.<ref name=cordley88>Cordley (1895), p. 88.</ref>

A few weeks later, on May 11, Federal Marshal Israel B. Donaldson proclaimed the act had interfered with the legal execution of warrants against select antislavery settlers.<ref name="ball">Ball (2001), p. 174.</ref> This proclamation was bolstered by a Kansas grand jury's [[wiktionary:presentment|presentment]] that "the building known as the 'Free State' Hotel' {{sic}} in Lawrence had been constructed with a view to military occupation and defence, regularly parapetted and port holed, for the use of cannon and small arms, thereby endangering the public safety, and encouraging rebellion and sedition in this country".<ref>Griffin (1968), pp. 409{{en dash}}26.</ref> Donaldson, Jones, and Missouri senator [[David Rice Atchison]] consequently raised another army of around 800 [[Southern United States|Southerner]]s.<ref>Ball (2001), p. 175.</ref><ref>Monaghan (1984), pp. 55{{en dash}}58.</ref> Ostensibly this army's purpose was to enforce the legal arrest warrants, but the group was also motivated by a desire to stamp out the Free-Stater nest that was Lawrence.<ref name="money_book">Whitfield (2014), p. 14.</ref>

On May 21, Donaldson and Jones rode into town and arrested those who had evaded them. While the citizens of Lawrence hoped the officers would leave peacefully, this did not come to pass.<ref name="money_book" /> Donaldson dismissed his men, who Jomes immediately [[Deputy sheriff|deputized]]. The sheriff was then joined by more followers and together they began to [[Sacking of Lawrence|sack the city]]. After seizing the house of Charles Robinson (who had recently been arrested in Missouri, and was held in prison near Lecompton on grounds of treason)<ref name="biennialreport" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Robinson Arrested in Lexington, Missouri |url=http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/timeline/charles-robinson-arrested-lexington-missouri |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011120126/http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/timeline/charles-robinson-arrested-lexington-missouri |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2018 |access-date=February 21, 2019|year=2014|website=Civil War on the Western Border|publisher=[[Kansas City Public Library]]}}</ref> to serve as his headquarters, Jones and his men attacked the offices of the antislavery newspapers. The attackers smashed the presses, tossed the [[Sort (typesetting)|type]] into the nearby Kansas River, and threw printed copies of the newspapers into the wind. Afterward, the proslavery mob shot the Free State Hotel with a cannon and burnt it down. Jones and his men then pillaged $30,000 worth of valuables. When Jones left the city, he and his men lit Robinson's house on fire for good measure.<ref name="money_book" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lawrencesack.htm |title=The Sack of Lawrence, Kansas, 1856 |website=EyeWitnessToHistory.com |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref>

Although the city was thoroughly ransacked, the human cost of the attack was low: only one person{{em dash}}a member of Jones's posses{{em dash}}died during the attack when he was struck by a piece of falling masonry.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-law-that-ripped-america-in-two-99723670/ |author=Drake, Ross|title=The Law That Ripped America in Two|journal=[[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian Magazine]]|date=May 1, 2004|access-date=October 2, 2017}}</ref> In late September 1856, another sack seemed nigh when, according to the Kansas State Board of Agriculture 1878 Biennial Report, "2,700 proslavery men appeared in sight of Lawrence, and the city was temporarily defended by Free-State men, under the command of Maj. J. B. Abbott".<ref name="biennialreport" /><ref name="KSGenWeb Douglas1" /> However, this threat was neutralized when the recently-installed territorial governor [[John W. Geary]] realized what was about to happen and called for federal reinforcements to defend the city.<ref name="biennialreport">[[#Board|Kansas State Board of Agriculture]] (1878), pp. 187–191.</ref><ref name="KSGenWeb Douglas1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ksgenweb.org/archives/1878/douglas.html|title=First Biennial Report, 1878, Douglas County, Kansas|access-date=May 23, 2019|publisher=KSGenWeb}} Kansas State Board of Agriculture 1878 Biennial Report.</ref>

===Anti-slavery capital===
In both 1855 and 1857, Lawrence received a [[Municipal charter|charter]] from the proslavery government in Lecompton, but the citizens, being adamant in their opposition to the "Bogus Legislature", refused to accept it, as it would have organized Lawrence under proslavery laws.<ref name=eb1911>{{harvp|Chisholm|1911|pp=308–309}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction |url=https://assets.lawrenceks.org/assets/hr/docs/employee_handbook/2015/1_Welcome_Mission_Intro/c_handbook_introduction.pdf |publisher=City of Lawrence |access-date=June 9, 2018 |date=December 2015 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143126/https://assets.lawrenceks.org/assets/hr/docs/employee_handbook/2015/1_Welcome_Mission_Intro/c_handbook_introduction.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In July 1857, the citizens of Lawrence then attempted to secure an "official" city charter from the [[wiktionary:extralegal|extralegal]] Free-State legislature before issuing one themselves.<ref name=eb1911/><ref name=martiallaw/> This act was seen as one of bold-faced insurrection by the newly-installed territorial governor [[Robert J. Walker]]; as a result, on July 15, 1857 Walker ordered [[William S. Harney]] to send a regiment of soldiers to watch over the city and impose [[martial law]]. These troops remained in the vicinity of Lawrence until the territorial elections in October of that year.<ref name=martiallaw>{{cite web|title=Governor Walker Declares Lawrence in Rebellion|url=http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/timeline/governor-walker-declares-lawrence-rebellion|website=Civil War on the Western Border|publisher=[[Kansas City Public Library]]|access-date=May 24, 2018|date=April 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>[[United States Congress]] (1922), p. 71.</ref> By this time, it seemed as if the struggles of Lawrence's early citizens were coming to fruition. In the election of 1857, free-staters gained the upper hand and were able to oust the proslavery majority from the territorial legislature.<ref>{{cite web|title=Free-Staters Win Election|url=http://www.civilwaronthewesternborder.org/timeline/free-staters-win-election|website=Civil War on the Western Border|publisher=[[Kansas City Public Library]]|access-date=May 24, 2018|date=April 22, 2013}}</ref> By the start of the next year, Samuel Jones{{em dash}}long the enemy of Lawrence's free state population{{em dash}}resigned his post as sheriff and left the territory.<ref>Adams (1896), p. 276.</ref><ref name=tko>{{cite web|url=http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/%7Eimlskto/cgi-bin/index.php?SCREEN=bio_sketches/jones_sheriff|website=Territorial Kansas Online|access-date=May 2, 2018|title=Samuel J. Jones (Sheriff), ca.1820-ca.1880|date=n.d.}}</ref> On January 16, 1858, Lawrence was declared the [[county seat|seat]] of Douglas County (an honor that previously belonged to Lecompton),<ref>Kansas Territory Legislature (1858), pp. 218{{en dash}}19.</ref><ref>Andreas (1883), p. 310.</ref> and in February, the legislature approved the city charter that had been drafted a little less than a year prior in July. James Blood was then elected the first mayor of the city.<ref name=eb1911/><ref name="Andreas 1883, p. 326">Andreas (1883), p. 326.</ref> Around this time, the antislavery legislature often met in Lawrence, which functioned as the ''de facto'' capital of Kansas Territory from 1858 until 1861 (although Lecompton was still the ''de jure'' seat of the governing body).<ref name=eb1911/>

===Kansas statehood and the American Civil War===
[[File:Battle of Lawrence.png|thumb|Lawrence during the [[Lawrence Massacre]], as illustrated in ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'']]
{{See also|Lawrence massacre|Lawrence blockhouses}}
[[File:Sherman Enderton Quantrill Raid sketch.jpg|thumb|Eyewitness Sherman Enderton's sketch of Quantrill's attack on Lawrence]]
[[File:Lawrence massacre ruins.jpg|thumb|Lawrence in ruins, following the Lawrence Massacre, as illustrated in ''Harper's Weekly''. The ruins of the Eldridge House are in the foreground.]]

On October 4, 1859, the [[Wyandotte Constitution]] was approved in a referendum by a vote of 10,421 to 5,530, and after its approval by the U.S. Congress, Kansas was admitted as a free state on January 29, 1861.<ref name="Adoption">{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-constitutions/16532|title=Kansas Constitutions|website=KSHS.org|publisher=Kansas Historical Society|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref> By the time the Wyandotte Constitution was framed in 1859, it was clear the proslavery forces had lost in their bid to control Kansas. But while Kansas's entrance into the Union as a free state arguably ended the Bleeding Kansas period, it coincided with the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Wyandotte Constitution|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/wyandotte-constitution/13884|website=Kansapedia|publisher=[[Kansas State Historical Society]]|access-date=April 27, 2018|date=April 2010}}</ref> Kansas's admission as a free state immediately followed the departure of the seceding states' pro-slavery congressmen, who until then had blocked it.

During the war, Lawrence became a stronghold for [[Jayhawker]] guerilla units (also known as "Red Legs"), led by James Lane, [[James Montgomery (colonel)|James Montgomery]], and [[Charles R. Jennison|"Doc" Jennison]], among others. These groups raided parts of western Missouri, stealing goods and burning down farms; it was a common belief by Southerners that the goods snatched by these Jayhawkers were stored in Lawrence.<ref>Drago (1998), pp. 4{{en dash}}5.</ref> On August 21, 1863, Lawrence was [[Lawrence Massacre|attacked and destroyed]] by [[William Quantrill]] and hundreds of his [[Irregular military|irregular]] [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Quantrill's Raiders|raiders]]. Most houses and businesses in Lawrence were burned and between 150 and 200 men and boys were murdered,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kancoll.org/books/cordley_massacre/quantrel.raid.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021025065731/http://www.kancoll.org/books/cordley_massacre/quantrel.raid.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 25, 2002 |title=The Lawrence Massacre, Part One |publisher=Kancoll.org |date=June 30, 1994 |access-date= May 21, 2012}}</ref><ref>Andreas (1883), pp. 321{{en dash}}23.</ref> leaving 80 widows and 250 orphans.<ref name=biennialreport /> About $2,000,000 worth of property ({{inflation|US|2000000|1863|fmt=eq}}) was destroyed.<ref name=biennialreport /> The [[Plymouth Congregational Church (Lawrence, Kansas)|Plymouth Congregational Church]] in Lawrence survived the attack, but a number of its members were killed and its records were destroyed.<ref name="Plymouth-History">{{cite web|last=Sellen|first=Al|url=http://www.plymouthlawrence.com/who/history/|title=A Brief Outline of Plymouth's History|publisher=Plymouth Congregational Church|access-date=September 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528051934/http://www.plymouthlawrence.com/who/history/|archive-date=May 28, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the Lawrence Massacre, the survivors and their Unionist allies began to clean up the damage and restore their settlement.<ref>Cordley (1895), pp. 251{{en dash}}56.</ref> After a very bitter winter that forced the citizens to temporarily put their work on hold, rebuilding continued into 1864,<ref>Cordley (1895), pp. 253{{en dash}}54, 256.</ref> and was completed with a zeal that Richard Cordley described as akin to "a religious obligation".<ref>Cordley (1895), p. 251.</ref> Given the trauma of 1863, the citizens of Lawrence were on edge during this period of rebuilding; Cordley notes, "Rumors [of guerrilla attacks] were thick and the people [of Lawrence] were particularly sensitive to them."<ref>Cordley (1895), p. 254.</ref> Consequently, Lawrence citizens organized themselves into [[Company (military unit)|companies]] to protect the city.<ref>Cordley (1895), p. 255.</ref> Around this time, the federal government also erected several [[Mount Oread Civil War posts|military posts on Mount Oread]] (among them Camp Ewing, Camp Lookout, and Fort Ulysses) to keep guard over the city. However, no further attacks were made on Lawrence, and these installations were eventually abandoned and dismantled after the war.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pollard|first1=William C. Jr.|title=Kansas Forts During the Civil War|url=http://www.vlib.us/old_west/forts1865.html|website=Kansas History|access-date=May 29, 2018|year=1992}}</ref><ref>Bisel and Martin (2013).</ref>

===Post-Civil War===
{{see also|History of the University of Kansas}}
[[File:Massachusetts Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas, 38 miles west of Missouri River. (Boston Public Library) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Massachusetts Avenue, {{circa}} 1867]]

Attempts to begin a university in Kansas were first undertaken in 1855,<ref name="Cutler KU">Andreas (1883), pp. 324{{en dash}}25.</ref> but it was only after Kansas became a state in 1861 that those attempts saw any real fruition. An institute of learning was proposed in 1859 as The University of Lawrence, but it never opened. When Kansas became a state, provision was included in the [[Wyandotte Constitution|Kansas Constitution]] for a state university.<ref name="Cutler KU" /> From 1861 to 1863 the question of where the university would be located—Lawrence, [[Manhattan, Kansas|Manhattan]] or [[Emporia, Kansas|Emporia]]—was debated. On January 13, 1863, Manhattan was made the site of the state's [[Land-grant university|land-grant college]],<ref name="Frontier">{{cite book | last = Olson | first = Kevin | title = Frontier Manhattan | publisher = University Press of Kansas | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-0-7006-1832-3}}</ref> leaving only Lawrence and Emporia as candidates. The fact Lawrence had $10,000 plus interest donated by Amos Lawrence plus 40 acres (160,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>) to donate for the university had great weight with the [[Kansas Legislature|legislature]]. Eventually, Lawrence beat out Emporia by one vote, and in 1866, the [[University of Kansas]] (KU) was opened to students.<ref name="Cutler KU" />

[[File:Overlooking Lawerence and the Kansas River. (Boston Public Library) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Old North College, the first building on KU Campus, overlooking Lawrence and the Kansas River, {{circa}} 1867]]

The first railroad that connected Lawrence was built in 1864, starting from Kansas City. It was surveyed by the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division, and the first train to Lawrence traveled on November 28, 1864.<ref name="KSHS Railroad timeline">{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/railroads-in-kansas/15120|access-date=May 25, 2019|title=Railroads in Kansas|author=Kansas Historical Society|date=January 2010|publisher=Kansas Historical Society|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215160044/https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/railroads-in-kansas/15120|archive-date=December 15, 2018}} Kansas Historical Society's timeline of railroads in Kansas.</ref> The first train to operate in Kansas south of the Kansas River did so by crossing the river in Lawrence on November 1, 1867.<ref name="KSHS 1st rail">{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/p/the-building-of-the-first-kansas-railroad/13060|access-date=May 25, 2019|title=The Building of the First Kansas Railroad|publisher=Kansas Historical Society|date=August 1947|author=Harold J. Henderson|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216133627/https://www.kshs.org/p/the-building-of-the-first-kansas-railroad/13060|archive-date=December 16, 2018}} The Kansas Historical Quarterly, August 1947 (Vol. 15, No. 3), pages 225–239.</ref>

[[File:Windmill, Lawrence, Kansas.jpg|thumb|The wind-powered mill two years before its destruction, c. 1903]]
Facing an energy crisis in the early 1870s, the city contracted with Orlando Darling to construct a dam across the Kansas River to help provide the city with power. After an ice jam broke loose and destroyed part of the incomplete dam in the winter of 1873, Darling resigned and left Lawrence shortly thereafter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.bowersockpower.com/about/our-history |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=www.bowersockpower.com}}</ref> The Lawrence Land & Water Company completed the dam anyway later that year, but damage to the dam from seasonal floods continued to plague the company, which went into receivership in 1878, after which it was purchased by James H. Gower and his son-in-law, [[Justin De Witt Bowersock|Justin DeWitt Bowersock]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=H. S. |date=19 December 1878 |title=Sheriff's Sale |pages=2 |work=The Lawrence Daily Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/60228939/?terms=%22Kansas%20River%22%20and%20%22dam%22&match=1&clipping_id=36629639 |access-date=11 October 2022}}</ref> Only after Bowersock assumed responsibility for dam repairs in 1879 did regular damage to the dam cease. The [[Bowersock Dam]], which remains the only hydropower dam in the state of Kansas, helped Lawrence establish itself as an industrial city. The dam closed in 1968 but was reopened in 1977 with help from the city, which wanted to build a new city hall next to the Bowersock Plant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bowersockpower.com/about/our-history |title=Our History |website=Bowersockpower.com |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref><ref>Andreas (1883), pp. 326{{en dash}}27.</ref>

The first wind-powered mill in Kansas was built in Lawrence in 1863 near the corner of what is now 9th Street and Emery Road.<ref name="KS Windmill1">{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/1980autumn_peterson.pdf|title=The Lawrence Windmill|date=Fall 1980|author=John M. Peterson|newspaper=Kansas History, Vol. 3, No. 3, pg. 147 – Autumn 1980|publisher=Kansas Historical Society}} John Peterson's 1980 article about the windmill and its history.</ref> It was partially destroyed during Quantrill's Raid, but it was rebuilt in 1864 at a cost of $9,700.<ref name="KS Windmill2">{{cite web|url=https://www.kshs.org/km/items/view/304788|title=Old windmill in Lawrence, Kansas|access-date=May 24, 2019|publisher=Kansas Historical Society}} Some info about the windmill.</ref> It continued to be operational until July 1885, but on April 30, 1905, it was destroyed in a fire.<ref name="KS Windmill1" />

In 1884 the United States Indian Industrial Training School was opened in Lawrence, a Native American Boarding School with the goal of assimilation. Boys were taught the trades of tailor making, blacksmithing, farming and others while girls were taught cooking and homemaking. Most food was produced on site at the Haskell Farm and students were expected to work in addition to their training. In 1885, the school expanded to include academic training and a commercial department with five typewriters opened, starting the first touch-typing class in Kansas.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-11-10|title=School History {{!}} Haskell Indian Nations University|url=https://www.haskell.edu/about/history/|access-date=2021-03-05|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1887 the name was changed to the Haskell Institute, after [[Dudley Haskell]], a legislator responsible for the school being in Lawrence. In 1993 the name was changed again to [[Haskell Indian Nations University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haskell.edu/about.html |title=HINU &#124; About Haskell |website=Haskell.edu |access-date=May 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518023340/http://www.haskell.edu/about.html |archive-date=May 18, 2012 }}</ref>

===20th century and beyond===
[[File:Watkins Museum.JPG|thumb|Watkins Community Museum, once Watkins National Bank and Lawrence City Hall (2008)]]

In 1888, Watkins National Bank opened at 11th and Massachusetts. Founded by Jabez B. Watkins, the bank would last until 1929. Watkin's widow [[Elizabeth Watkins (philanthropist)|Elizabeth]], a philanthropist who also funded buildings for the University of Kansas and two local hospitals, donated the bank building to the city to use as a city hall.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-28 |title=LAWRENCE IN PERSPECTIVE: Elizabeth Watkins |url=https://lawrencebusinessmagazine.com/2018/09/28/lawrence-in-perspective-elizabeth-watkins/ |access-date=2023-11-12 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1970, the city built a new city hall and after extensive renovations, the bank reopened in 1975 as the [[Elizabeth M. Watkins Community Museum]].<ref name="Watkinsmuseum.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.watkinsmuseum.org/building.shtml |title=The Watkins Building &#124; Douglas County Kansas |website=WatkinsMuseum.org |date=April 14, 2011 |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710190620/http://www.watkinsmuseum.org/building.shtml |archive-date=July 10, 2017  }}</ref>

In 1903, the Kansas River flooded causing property damage in Lawrence, especially North Lawrence. The water got as high as 27 feet and water marks can still be seen on some buildings especially at TeePee Junction at the U.S. 24–40 intersection and at Burcham Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/flood-of-1903/17221 |title=Flood of 1903 – Kansapedia – Kansas Historical Society |website=KSHS.org |access-date=May 21, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="LawrenceDary">Dary, David. ''Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas: An Informal History''. Lawrence: Allen Press, 1981.</ref> Lawrence would be hit by other floods in 1951,<ref>{{cite web |first1=Kyle E.|last1=Juracek |first2=Charles A.|last2=Perry |first3=James E.|last3=Putnam |url=http://ks.water.usgs.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.041-01.html |title=USGS – The 1951 Floods in Kansas Revisited |website=KS.Water.USGS.gov |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref> where the water rose over 30 feet,<ref name="LawrenceDary" /> and in 1993 but with the reservoir and levee system in place, Lawrence only had minimal damage compared to the other floods.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lawrenceks.org/pds/floodplain_hazard |title=The Local Flood Hazard &#124; City of Lawrence, KS – Planning & Development Services |website=LawrenceKS.org |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref>

Also in 1903, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] visited Lawrence on his way to [[Manhattan, Kansas|Manhattan]] where he gave a short speech and dedicated a fountain at 9th & New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lawrenceks.org/lprd/parks/southpark |title=South Park &#124; City of Lawrence, Kansas – Parks and Recreation |website=LawrenceKS.org |date=August 31, 1910 |access-date=May 21, 2012}}</ref> The fountain was later moved to South Park next to the gazebo. Roosevelt would visit Lawrence again in 1910 after visiting [[Osawatomie, Kansas|Osawatomie]] where he dedicated the [[John Brown Museum|John Brown State Historical Site]] and gave a speech on [[New Nationalism (Theodore Roosevelt)|New Nationalism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-theodore-roosevelt-s-osawatomie-speech/13176 |title=Kansas Historical Quarterly – Theodore Roosevelt's Osawatomie Speech |publisher=Kansas Historical Society |website=KSHS.org |access-date=May 21, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1871, the Lawrence Street Railway Company opened and offered citizens easy access to hotels and businesses along [[Massachusetts Street]]. The first [[Tram|streetcar]] was pulled by horses and mules and the track just ran along Massachusetts Street. After the 1903 flood, the Kansas River bridge had to be rebuilt but was not considered safe for a streetcar to pass over. The Lawrence Street Railway Company closed later that year. In 1907, C.L. Rutter attempted to bring back a bus system, after having failed in 1902. In 1909, a new streetcar system was implemented putting Rutter out of business and lasting until 1935.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.lawrence.com/project/community/transportation/transportation.html |title=History of Lawrence, Kansas |website=History.Lawrence.com |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203215248/http://history.lawrence.com/project/community/transportation/transportation.html |archive-date=December 3, 2008 }}</ref> In 1909, the streetcar company created Casey's Coaster (also known as Daisy's Dozer), a wooden [[roller coaster]] which lasted from 1909 to the 1920s, in Woodland Park.<ref name="LJ-W roller coaster1">{{cite web |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/lawrence-daily-world-jul-09-1909-p-1/ |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |date=July 9, 1909 |title=Will Put Up Ferris Wheel |access-date=May 24, 2019 |page=1 }}</ref><ref name="LJWorld roller coaster">{{cite web |url=https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/mar/28/daisy-dozers-day-lore-surrounding-bygone-roller-co/ |title=The Daisy Dozer's Day |first=Phil |last=Cauthon |date=March 28, 2010 |access-date=May 24, 2019 }} Lawrence Journal-World, mentioning the coaster.</ref>

In 1921, [[Lawrence Memorial Hospital (Kansas)|Lawrence Memorial Hospital]] opened in the 300 block of Maine Street. It started with only 50 beds but by 1980, the hospital would expand to 200.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lmh.org/aboutus/history.jsp |title=Lawrence Memorial Hospital – History |website=LMH.org |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809054706/https://www.lmh.org/aboutus/history.jsp |archive-date=August 9, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1927, high school classes were offered at Haskell Institute. Haskell's Athletics were well-knock; they were known as the "Powerhouse of the West"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pember |first=Mary Annette |date=June 1, 2009 |title=Haskell Indian Nations University Commemorates 125th Anniversary, Recognized Painful History |url=http://diverseeducation.com/article/12608/ }}</ref> with victories over Oklahoma A&M, Kansas State, Texas, and Nebraska. The Olympian Jim Thorpe graduated from the program. The last high school class graduated in 1965, the school was transitioning to post-high school education. In 1970, the school became known as Haskell Indian Junior College, and in 1993, "Haskell Indian Nations University".

In 1929 Lawrence began celebrating its 75th anniversary. The city dedicated Founder's Rock, commonly referred to as the Shunganunga Boulder, a huge red boulder brought to Lawrence from near [[Tecumseh, Kansas|Tecumseh]]. The rock honors the two parties of the Emigrant Aid Society who first settled in Lawrence.<ref name="google">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19290919&id=Hn1YAAAAIBAJ&pg=6926,5251632|title=Lawrence Journal-World – Google News Archive Search|access-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref> Lawrence also dedicated the [[Lawrence Municipal Airport (Kansas)|Lawrence Municipal Airport]] on October 14.<ref name="LawrenceDary" />

[[File:Downtown Lawrence.JPG|thumb|The 900 block of Massachusetts Street (2008)]]
[[File:Lawrence, Kansas skyline 2018.jpg|thumb|Downtown Lawrence looking south. The University of Kansas is visible in the upper right on the hill (2018)]]

In 1943, the federal government transported German and Italian prisoners of [[World War II]] to Kansas and other Midwest states to work on farms and help solve the labor shortage caused by American men serving in the war effort. Large [[internment]] camps were established in Kansas: [[Camp Concordia]], Camp Funston (at [[Fort Riley]]), Camp Phillips (at [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]] under Fort Riley). Fort Riley established 12 smaller branch camps, including Lawrence.<ref>[http://www.gentracer.org/powcampsKS.html List of Prisoner Of War (POW) Camps in Kansas], Genealogy Tracer</ref> The camp in Lawrence was near 11th & Haskell Avenue near the railroad tracks. The camp would close by the end of 1945.

In 1947, Gilbert Francis and his son George opened Francis Sporting Goods downtown, selling mostly fishing and hunting gear. In November 2014, Francis Sporting Goods, announced its retail business within what had become Lawrence's Downtown [[Historic districts in the United States|Historic District]] would close by the end of the year, allowing the Francis family to focus on supplying uniforms and equipment to teams.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/town_talk/2014/nov/6/downtown-lawrence-retailer-of-67-years-t/ | title= Downtown Lawrence retailer of 67 years to close its doors |first=Chad |last=Lawhorn | date= November 6, 2014 | newspaper= [[Lawrence Journal-World]] | quote= Francis Sporting Goods is closing its downtown store after 67 years in business. The company is not going entirely out of business. Owner Jon Francis ...will solely focus on its team business, which sells uniforms and equipment to everybody from youth baseball teams to college football programs. |access-date= November 7, 2014 }}</ref>

In the early 1980s, Lawrence grabbed attention from the [[made-for-TV movie|television movie]] ''[[The Day After]]''. The TV movie first appeared on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] but was later shown in movie theaters around the world. The movie depicted what would happen if the United States were destroyed in a [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]]. The movie was filmed in Lawrence, and hundreds of local residents appeared in the film as extras and in speaking roles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fallout from 'The Day After' |url= http://www.lawrence.com/news/2003/nov/19/fallout_from/|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=June 27, 2012 |first=Jon |last=Niccum |date=November 19, 2003}}</ref>

In 2020, a report commissioned by the Lawrence City Council concluded the city needed to promote a vital expansion or risk turning into an unaffordable albatross, saying "If Lawrence doesn't attract more kinds of businesses, it could become a bedroom community that’s not affordable for people who don't commute elsewhere."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |date=March 27, 2021 |first=Rochelle |last=Valverde |title=Consultants: If Lawrence doesn't diversify its economy, it could become unaffordable for many people |url=https://www2.ljworld.com/news/city-government/2020/nov/22/economic-analysis-finds-lawrence-under-threat-of-becoming-a-bedroom-community-unaffordable-for-non-commuters/ |access-date=March 27, 2021 }}</ref>