The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Lawrence (Kansas)

LAWRENCE, Kan., city and county-seat of Douglas County, on both sides of the Kansas River, and on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé and the Union Pacific railroads, 40 miles west of Kansas City. It is the farming trade centre for Douglas and parts of two other counties, and is principally engaged in manufacturing, which is greatly promoted by the excellent water power furnished by the river. It is the seat of the Kansas State University, Haskell Institute and Government Indian Industrial School; contains a hospital, public library, fine school buildings and several public parks, and has flour and paper mills, barbed-wire, ice, brick and tile, shirt, sash and door factories and foundry and machine shops. There are electric-light plants, waterworks, several national and State banks, daily, weekly and monthly periodicals and an assessed property valuation of over $1,000,000. The city was settled by an anti-slavery colony from the East in 1854 and was named in honor of Amos A. Lawrence. It was the first of the Kansas Free-State towns founded by the Emignant Aid Society, soon after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill (q.v.). In 1856 a band of Missouri border ruffians sacked the town, which, was defended by old John Brown (q.v.) and his sons. In 1863, the Confederate raider Quantrell attacked the town and killed 125 citizens. The commission plan of city government has been in operation since 1914. Pop. 13,018.