Douglas County, Kansas - History and Information


Douglas County, Kansas - Page 2

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Another meeting of the “ Free-State ” settlers was called on August 12, 1854 to adopt regulations to protect the actual settlers, not unlike those adopted by the pro-slavery men farther east. It was generally understood that only actual settlers were expected to attend, but the members of the Wakarusa Association and many other pro-slavery men were present, traveling from a radius of some 40 miles. When the meeting was called to order and it was stated that the objective was to be a conference of actual settlers in the territory, one of the Missouri men present caused a disturbance which led to a quarrel and the meeting almost broke up. However, a compromise was met and after considerable argument and deliberation, a committee was chosen from each of the associations to agree upon some plan by which they could work together, for the benefit of both.
The struggle in Lawrence and other parts of Kansas would eventually lead to the Kansas-Missouri Border War

A joint committee was then formed to settle the many of the claim difficulties and disputes that arose thereafter and as new settlers came into the territory they joined either association as they preferred.

The first election was held on November 26, 1854 for a delegate to Congress but for whatever reasons, the Free-State men did not take much interest in it, but from the great number of Missourians who voted at the time, the residents should have had some hint of what would follow at the local elections. Douglas County, with only 50 legal voters, cast 283 votes.

The election for members of the first territorial legislature was set for March 30, 1855. By this time the district in which Lawrence was located had 369 voters. For weeks before the election the residents in the border counties of Missouri were active and the Blue Lodges perfected a plan of campaign by which their members were to march into Kansas on Election Day, take possessions of the polls and by a heavy vote gain control of the legislature. Companies were sent into every council district in the territory, and into every representative district but one, in such numbers that they could control the election. They came openly, with the avowed purpose of voting, heavily armed and provided with provisions. About 1,000 of these men came into what is now Douglas County on the evening preceding the election, and the morning of Election Day.

The polls were crowded all day and the Missourians forced the Free-State men to pass through two lines before reaching the polls. During the day some Free-State voters were driven away and prevented from voting. Although the district had but 369 voters, according to the census, 1,034 votes were cast and a careful examination showed that only 232 were legal.

Samuel J. Jones was appointed sheriff of Douglas County by the first territorial legislature, and the county was officially organized on September 24, 1855. The first commissioners divided the county into the municipal townships of Lecompton, Lawrence, Franklin, Washington and Louisiana. The county seat, by the first act organizing the county, was designated as Lecompton, which by the same legislature was made the capital of the territory, and it remained the county seat and territorial capital as long as the pro-slavery party was in power.

For the next several years, many of those who lived in Douglas County and other areas of eastern Kansas were involved in what is known as the Kansas-Missouri Border War – the bloody conflict between the advocates and opponents of slavery, to settle the question as to whether Kansas should be admitted into the Union as a free or slave state.

The ruins of the Free State Hotel in Lawrence.

The "War" lasted from 1854 until 1859, and included a number of skirmishes including the Wakarusa War, Sacking of Lawrence, Pottawatomie Massacre, Battle of Hickory Point, and several others.

In 1858 an act was passed by the legislature removing the county seat to Lawrence, where it has since remained. During the Civil War, Lawrence once again saw the wrath of the southern sympathizers when William Quantrill led some 300-400 men into the Free-State stronghold an incited one of the bloodiest events in Kansas history, known as the Lawrence Massacre. In four hours, Quantrill and his men killed some 150 men, burned about a quarter of the town to the ground, including all but two businesses, and looted the banks and retail establishment. However, Lawrence rebuilt and continued to maintain its county seat status.

For a number of years the county offices were located in different business blocks until the city hall was built in 1869. In 1903 a fine new courthouse was erected on the corner of Massachusetts and Quincy Streets at a cost of $85,000. The county jail and sheriff's house were located just back of the court-house on Hancock Street.

The first railroad in Douglas County was the Union Pacific, constructed in 1864 and in 1869 the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad was built south from Lawrence into Franklin County. As the railroads continued to push westward the many wagon trails became obsolete. At this time, the main economic venue in the county was agriculture, but the county soon also developed into an academic area with the founding of the University of Kansas in 1865 and the Haskell Indian Nations University in 1884, both located in Lawrence. Baker University in nearby Baldwin City, was the first area college, the oldest in Kansas, founded in 1858.

By 1910, Douglas County was called home to almost 25,000 people and has continued to grow over the years.

Today, the county is one of the fastest growing in the state of Kansas and supports a population of about 115,000 people who live within the 457 square miles of the county.

The current towns of Douglas County include:

City	Population (estimated 2006)
Baldwin City	4,145
Big Springs (unincorporated)	?? (Ghost town)
Clinton	607
Eudora	6,027
Lawrence (c)	89,852
Lecompton	649
Vinland (unincorporated)	?? (Ghost town)

An old school sits quiet and abandoned in Big Springs

today, Kathy Weiser, March, 2009.

The historic Eldridge Hotel in Lawrence was burned

twice during Bleeding Kansas days. It has been rebuilt

and renovated several times and continues to serve guests today. Kathy Weiser, March, 2009.

Contact Information:

Douglas County, Kansas

1100 Massachusetts

Lawrence, Kansas 66044

Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of Kansas, updated April, 2010.

About the Article: Much of the historic text in this article comes from Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, edited by Frank W. Blackmar, published in 1912 as well as Kansas: History of the State of Kansas, by William G. Cutler ; published in 1883 . However, other sources have also been used, the content combined, and heavily edited.

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