Events scheduled for 2004 Civil War on the Western Frontier (all events are free unless otherwise designated):

FRIDAY

• Hobbs Park open house, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Hobbs Park, 10th and Delaware streets, 749-7394.

The Murphy-Bromelsick house, relocated to Hobbs Park near the site of the John Speer farmstead, pays tribute to the spirited rebuilding of Lawrence and to the courage and sacrifice of its early settlers.

SATURDAY

• African-American Heritage Bus Tour, by Wayne and Tolly Wildcat and Judy Sweets, 10 a.m.-noon, departs from Art Executive Park, northeast corner of Kasold Drive and Peterson Road, 842-7271. ($)


The first event in this year's Civil War on the Western Frontier commemoration is in the books. Sixteen area children built two mud forts Tuesday in Constant Park. The forts, built along the Kansas River, are much like Free Staters would have constructed to help protect the city in the early days of Lawrence.

Travel to local African-American historic sites in an air-conditioned bus while listening to stories of the Underground Railroad, a 19th-century lynching, Quantrill as slave-catcher and Langston Hughes’ legacy.

• Tour Historic Lecompton, by Paul Bahnmaier, 1 p.m., Territorial Capital Museum, Lecompton, (785) 887-6285.

Experience pre-Civil War history through a guided tour of the Lecompton Territorial Capital. Visit Constitution Hall, Territorial Capital Museum, Democratic Headquarters and more.

• “Have You Seen My Grandfather?” by Kyle Erickson and Denver L. Erickson, 2 p.m.-3 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 1047 Mass., 841-4109.

A presentation on a soldier’s uniform, equipment and life in the war between brothers and how to find your ancestor who wore the Blue or Gray.

SUNDAY

• Tour Historic Lecompton, by Paul Bahnmaier, 1 p.m., Territorial Capital Museum, Lecompton, (785) 887-6285.
• Underground Railroad bus tour, by Wayne and Tolly Wildcat and Judy Sweets, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., departs from Art Executive Park, 843-3154. ($)

TUESDAY

• “Vote for Sam: Kansas Governor, 1864-1868,” by Herschel Stroud, 7 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

Learn about the life and times of the state’s youngest governor, Samuel J. Crawford, who served from 1864 to 1868.

AUG. 18

• “History of a Civil War Sweetheart,” by Maryanne Shutler, 7 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

Shutler will present her great-grandmother’s Civil War-era wardrobe and possessions.

AUG. 19

• “Mine Creek Battlefield,” by Arnold Schofield and the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War, 7 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

AUG. 20

• Hobbs Park open house, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Hobbs Park, 10th and Delaware streets, 749-7394.

AUG. 21

• Quantrill’s Raid Walking Tour of downtown Lawrence, by John Jewell and Katie Armitage, 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m., departs from Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109. ($)
• Union Civil War encampment, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., west side of South Park, 11th and Massachusetts streets, 865-4499.
• Horse-drawn trolley tour: Quantrill’s Raid, by Paul Stuewe, 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m., departs from Eldridge Hotel, 749-5011. (Reservations required, $)

The tour follows the raiders’ path of destruction through downtown and Old West Lawrence.

• Quantrill’s Raid bus tour, by Wayne and Tolly Wildcat and Judy Sweets, 10 a.m.-noon, departs from Art Executive Park, northeast corner of Kasold Drive and Peterson Road, 842-7271. ($)
• “Researching Your Civil War Ancestor,” by Maryanne Clement Douglass, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., 843-3833.
• Bleeding Kansas Workshop, by Watkins Museum staff, 10 a.m.-noon, Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

Children ages 9-11 can learn about the role Kansas played as a catalyst for the Civil War through activities and discussion. Snacks provided. (Reservations required, $)

• Getting Started with a Kansas Library Card, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Lawrence Public Library, 843-3833.

Library staff will demonstrate the Heritage Quest genealogy database and other online resources available by remote access with a Kansas Library Card.

• Film: “Ride with the Devil,” directed by Ang Lee, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m., Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St., 865-4499.

Civil War drama stars Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jeffrey Wright as three friends who are avid supporters of the Confederate cause. Fighting as civilians, the three men pledge their allegiance to the South by killing unsuspecting Union soldiers.

• “The Many Faces of Civil War Kansas,” by Roy Bird, 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Lawrence Public Library, 843-3833.

Historian and author Roy Bird will discuss the men, women and children of the state — including American Indians and African-Americans — who played a role in the Civil War.

• Horse-drawn trolley tour: Quantrill’s Raid, by Paul Stuewe, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m., departs from the Eldridge Hotel, 749-5011. (Reservations required, $)
• “Lawrence in 1867 through the Eyes of a 13-year-old,” by Katie Armitage and John Jewell, 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.
• “A Soldier’s Uniform,” by Roy Lafferty, 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Lawrence Public Library, 843-3833.

Lafferty, a Civil War re-enactor from the 3rd Kansas Light Artillery, will appear in uniform to discuss military uniforms and accouterments in the Civil War.

• African-American Quilt Exhibit: “Threads of Honor,” by Marla Jackson, 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m., Art Executive Park, 843-1660.

View contemporary African-American quilts by nationally known local textile artist Marla Jackson. Her colorful applique quilts: “Harriet Tubman: The Meeting,” “Escape,” “Corporate Day Care” and “Labor Ready” recall slavery and the Underground Railroad.

• “Of Corset Matters,” by Christine Reinhard, 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m., Lawrence Public Library, 843-3833.

A light-hearted commentary on women’s clothing of the 1850s and 1860s presented while “dressing out” in the clothing of the day, beginning with the undergarments.

• “The Heroes, Heroines & Villains of Quantrill’s Raid,” by Tom Mach, 3 p.m.-4 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

Why was Lawrence unprepared? What citizens played historic roles? Were all raiders as evil as Quantrill?

• “Fraser: KU Chancellor and Civil War Hero,” by Brian DeToy, 6:30 p.m., Watkins Community Museum of History, 841-4109.

AUG. 22

• Union Civil War encampment, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., west side of South Park, 11th and Massachusetts streets, 865-4499.
• Horse-drawn trolley tour: Quantrill’s Raid, by Paul Stuewe, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m., departs from the Eldridge Hotel, 749-5011. (Reservations required, $)
• Horse-drawn trolley tour: Quantrill’s Raid, by Paul Stuewe, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m., departs from the Eldridge Hotel, 749-5011. (Reservations required, $)
• Film: “Ride with the Devil,” directed by Ang Lee, 1:30 p.m.-4 p.m., Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St., 865-4499.
• Underground Railroad bus tour, by Wayne and Tolly Wildcat and Judy Sweets, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., departs from Art Executive Park, 843-3154. ($)
• African-American Quilt Exhibit: “Threads of Honor,” by Marla Jackson, 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m., Art Executive Park, 843-1660.

ONGOING

• “Lawrence Free State Fortress,” a 25-minute docudrama showcasing Lawrence’s history from settlement through Quantrill’s Raid, Lawrence Visitor Center, 865-4499.