Kansas winter surprises city’s earliest residents
With the city set to celebrate its 150th birthday Saturday, the Journal-World is taking a look at early-day life in Lawrence:
The first Lawrence residents got an early taste of what winter would be like in Kansas.
A cold wave struck Nov. 11, 1854, bringing with it 2 inches of snow. The residents, living in tents and crude shacks, had enjoyed a dry and mild fall.
“The nice fall weather probably lulled many residents into putting off construction of adequate shelters for winter,” wrote David Dary in “Lawrence: An Informal History.”
At least one resident would plan ahead for the winter. While many residents didn’t have heat, Erastus D. Ladd, from Wisconsin, heated his 12-by-14-foot log cabin with a stove brought from his native state.