Local writer Sarah St. John pulls from the Journal-World archives to compile reports of what it was like to be in Lawrence decades ago.
On Aug. 21, 1863, the rumbling of equine feet accompanied the dawn in Lawrence, Kansas. Before a swarming mass of pro-Confederate bushwhackers rode William Clarke Quantrill, once a resident of Lawrence himself. The guerrilla chieftain let his Missourians loose — hundreds of them — on the ...
Mary Boucher can trace her fascination with Lawrence history back to the year she settled here, 1975. It was, coincidentally, the very same year that the Watkins Museum of History — the old building at 1047 Massachusetts St. used to house a bank and mortgage company owned by the storied ...
Every year, for a few fleeting days in mid- to late August, history comes alive in Lawrence and the surrounding area as part of the Douglas County Historical Society’s annual “Civil War on the Western Frontier.”Long-dead historical figures like John Brown and W.B. Brockett resurface to ...
*Dear Readers: I have enjoyed preparing the Old Home Town column for the print and online Journal-World for over six years now. Although I will no longer be on the newspaper staff as of August 1, I wish to thank all those who have participated in this discussion of local history. Your ...
From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 30, 1916:"In order to put the city of Lawrence where it ought to be in the matter of fire protection, Fire Chief Reinisch includes in his annual recommendation to the city commission a budget based on a full paid department, the discarding of ...
From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 29, 1916:"After fighting fire at the canning factory all day yesterday, the fire department took up their hose and returned to the station about midnight with the fire apparently out. At three o'clock a call was sent in and the blaze was raging at ...