Honoring Lawrence’s historical participation in the Underground Railroad would be a worthy use of the Grover Barn, which has housed a Lawrence fire station for about 25 years. Firefighters are scheduled to leave the station this fall when a new fire station on Wakarusa Drive is completed.

Turning the building near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Clinton Parkway over to the Underground Railroad Association of Douglas County has drawn some support from Lawrence city commissioners, but the city isn’t interested in providing ongoing financial support for the project. That’s the right decision for the city, but it creates a daunting fundraising goal for those who want to preserve the barn.

Researchers have documented the use of the barn once owned by abolitionist Joel Grover as a place to harbor escaped slaves on the road to freedom in the 1850s. It is just one of 30 documented Underground Railroad sites in the county that local historians hope to link. The Grover Barn would be the perfect starting point for information about the Underground Railroad and tours of Douglas County sites.

Lawrence and Douglas County residents are proud of their history and the role early residents played in opposing slavery. Plans to preserve and showcase Underground Railroad sites and history would seem to fit perfectly with larger plans to have 37 counties in eastern Kansas and western Missouri designated as a National Heritage Area focusing on the Bleeding Kansas era. Federal action on the Heritage Area application is pending in Congress.

The story of local residents who risked their lives and reputations to shepherd escaped slaves to freedom is an interesting and noble part of our history. Preserving that history at Grover Barn would be wonderful, but it probably won’t happen without local residents stepping up to support the effort with time and money.

City commissioners are right not to commit tax support to this project, but a community effort to preserve the Grover Barn and the county’s Underground Railroad history could produce a wonderful addition to our local culture and heritage.