Near Lawrence in Douglas County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Lawrence and the Old Trails

Photographed by William J. Toman, May 6, 2017

1. Lawrence and the Old Trails Marker

Inscription. Between Lawrence and Topeka, the Kansas turnpike passes near the route of the old Oregon-California Trail, traveled in the 1800s by explorers, missionaries, soldiers, emigrants in search of land, and forty-niners in search of gold. Fifteen miles south of here was the Santa Fe Trail, which for more than 50 years served mainly as a trail of trade and commerce. From the Missouri River it was some 2,000 miles to Oregon and California and around 800 to Santa Fe, following trails established centuries earlier by Native Americans. Tribes living in this area during the 1800s included the Delaware, Kaw, Kickapoo, Shawnee, and Wyandot.

Travelers often stopped in Lawrence after its establishment in 1854. The town became famous as a free-state headquarters in the territorial fight over slavery, with some of its more prominent citizens helping to transport slaves to freedom along the underground railroad. Proslavery men responded in 1856 by sacking the town and destroying the newspaper office. Lawrence underwent its greatest trial in 1863 when Confederate guerillas led by William C. Quantrill burned the town and killed more than 150

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men and boys. Lawrence soon rebuilt, and is home to the University of Kansas and the Haskell Indian Nations University.

Erected by Kansas State Historical Society & Kansas Department of Transportation. (Marker Number 9.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1854.

Location. 39° 1.138′ N, 95° 8.242′ W. Marker is near Lawrence, Kansas, in Douglas County. It is on Interstate 70 at milepost 209, in the median. The marker is in the Lawrence turnpike service area. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lawrence KS 66044, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kansas and specifically in Bleeding Kansas Border War Country.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

on the prairies,

on the Southern Plains,

and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself

Photographed by William J. Toman, May 6, 2017

2. Lawrence and the Old Trails Marker

in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Kansas River Flood Levels (approx. 5.2 miles away); 4 East 7th Street (approx. 5.4 miles away); Eudora's First Bell (approx. 5.4 miles away); 701 Main Street (approx. 5.4 miles away); 700 Main Street (approx. 5.4 miles away); 707 Main Street (approx. 5.4 miles away); 711 Main Street (approx. 5.4 miles away); 715 Main Street (approx. 5½ miles away).

Credits. This page was last revised on May 6, 2017. It was originally submitted on May 6, 2017, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 830 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 6, 2017, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin.