In the mid-1800s, German immigrants in Lawrence were spread throughout town, forming their own groups and businesses, but that didn't stop them from gathering for a good time or to help each other in times of need. And you can still see signs of that time today. Above the door at 900 Rhode ...

Buildings that serve a singular purpose in rural areas often take on a new identity when they’re absorbed by a growing city — and modern observers might not even realize these places were once cornerstones of country life. Take the Lawrence Board of Realtors building at 3838 W. Sixth St., ...

When you drive down Sixth Street, you might be passing by a tribute to one of Lawrence’s early settlers without even realizing it: Henry T. Davis, whose name is immortalized in the restaurant Henry T’s near Sixth and Kasold. Davis was a settler who arrived in Kansas in 1863, according to ...

Students arriving for classes at the University of Kansas on Sept. 12, 1866, were unprepared, and they weren’t the only ones. Chancellor Robert Oliver met for morning devotions with 40 students and the faculty that morning — not just the first for the year, but the first for Lawrence’s ...

Robinson Park, between the two bridges over the Kansas River in downtown Lawrence, was named after the first governor of Kansas — Charles Robinson. But according to David Dary, author of “Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas: An Informal History” Robinson was that and much more. In addition ...

It’s often easy to forget about the Kansas River. If we drive over the bridge, we might notice whether the water level is high or low, whether there are sandbars or accumulations of driftwood, and speculate on whether the water is generating power via the dam. The river is there, but it ...