The 19th century in Lawrence consisted of much turmoil but also progress toward a new way of life for the town.

Renovations continue on Lawrence’s old post office, bought and being preserved by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

According to personal abolitionist accounts, many slaves traveled through town along the Underground Railroad to their freedom.

This American artist and diarist wrote about and created art depicting his experiences during the American Civil War.

The international exhibit displayed local manufacturing and agricultural products to encourage settlement in the state

Many of the elements that make up Lawrence as we know it today are products of the community started and grown during the 1880s.

The Lawrence community in 1940 welcomed with open arms legends like John Wayne and Gene Autry at the world premiere of their movie based on Quantrill’s Raid.

This self-taught Midwest boy discovered Pluto early in life and lived out his dreams of earning college degrees and contributing to the field of astronomy through his significant discoveries.

The North Lawrence Flood of 1951 wreaked havoc on not just Lawrence but communities all along the Kansas River. Residents and businesses were displaced, and cleanup and restoration took months.

The Public Land Survey System was the U.S.’s solution to surveying and distributing land to settlers despite it having already been claimed by indigenous people.