Section D · Page 2
The University Daily. Kansan
Monday, August 16, 1999
Lawrence: a culture rich in heritage
The complex history of a distinct town
Riot police block the street. Students protested the Viet Nam war and to improve social conditions in the United States during the tempestuous 1960s and 1970s. Contributed photo
By Phil Cauthon
Kansan staff writer
KU basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain was arguably the most famous person ever to live in Lawrence. Yet, when he lived here in the late 1950s, most Lawrence restaurant owners wouldn't let him in the door. If they did, he was likely given one of the worst seats in the house.
Such contradictions are a constant throughout Lawrence history. While Kansas' pre-Civil War status as a "free state" originated here, Lawrence was also the host of Ku Klux Klan rallies in the 1920s.
Author Bill Moyers wrote of Lawrence in 1971: "The town is large enough to harbor several communities with their own ways of life. It is small enough for every citizen to feel the impact of colliding values."
A free state and university
The first impact of such colliding values came about a decade after the first settlers arrived in 1854, setting up camp on the hill at 11th and Ohio streets. Abolitionist "free-staters" met in what is now South Park to organize resistance to the state legislature's early pro-slavery leanings.
In 1863, Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill attacked the "free-staters." Lawrence was left in ashes and at least 150 people were killed.
Ironically, Quantrill actually shaped Lawrence's destiny for the better, said Steven Jansen, the director of Watkins Community Museum of History.
Because of Quantrill's raid, Abraham Lincoln ordered that the present-day Union Pacific railroad be built along the Kansas River, in part to facilitate the reconstruction of Lawrence.
The rebuilt town was able to successfully lobby to become home of the first state university.
When the University of Kansas opened its doors in 1866, it was plagued with difficulties. None of the first 54 students
admitted had a high school education.
admitted had a high school education. "It was less like a college than a rather indifferent high school," Jansen said.
The University's difficulty in attracting top-noth students was complicated by tight economic times and the reluctance of state tax payers — predominately farmers — to sink money into higher education.
But one of the University's first professors, Francis Snow, worked hard to convince Kansas farmers that a quality research institution would be beneficial. Traveling throughout the state, Snow taught them new techniques for reading weather and for combating pests.
Soon, people from the Lawrence area put together $100,000 of their own money to build Fraser Hall.
Snow continued to reach out to the community and formed a tight-knit town and gown relationship, Jansen said.
"In 1867, Snow gives a lecture predicting a meteor shower," Jansen said in storyteller fashion. "When the meteors
began to fall, Snow — with the help of his students — climbs up into the church tower and rings the bell until all of Lawrence awakens to see the spectacle he predicted. It is out of that relationship that KU and Lawrence have grown."
Adding to the fortune of that relationship, Elizabeth Watkins helped the town and University overcome financial strain during the Depression. Her gift of more than 26,000 acres of farmland provided the means for the Kansas University Endowment Association to boost sagging faculty salaries and to share costs of the developing Lawrence infrastructure.
To this day, Watkins' gifts annually provide millions of dollars to the Endowment Association. Her gifts transformed the University into a high-quality yet affordable institution, which in turn has brought people from all over the world to Lawrence, Jansen said.
IN THIS SECTION
See LAWRENCE on page 3D
Wilt Chamberlain, former Kansas basketball player, dunks during a game as a Jayhawk. Contributed photo
Page 2-3
Lawrence History
Page 4
Downtown
Movie theaters
Movie theaters
Breweries
Music venues
Commentary about Lawrence, Wesport bars
Recording studios
Page 10
Recording studios Page R
Page 11
Late night restaurants Farmers'market
Farmers market Page 14
Maupin mansion
Page 14 Train hopping
Grocery stores Delivery food
South Lawrence retail
Lawrence Community Theatre
Nature preserve
Plasma donation
Wandering the Web
Arts center
Arts centre Page 18
Local artist Stan Herd
Page 19
Giant ball of twine
Mother and daughter reunion
Page 82
Entering the priesthood
Famous internet domain names
Spiritual sculptures Page 22
Spiritual sculptures
**Page 22**
Dust bowl history
Medical translators
Kansas crimes
**Page 23**
Famous Kansans
Bobby Vinton's theater
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