The POWER DAM, just east of the bridge that spans the river at Massachusetts St., furnishes power for many of Lawrence's industries. It is the only dam on the Kansas River.
In ROBINSON PARK, overlooking the river at 6th and Massachusetts Sts. is the OLD SETTLERS' MONUMENT, a giant boulder brought to Lawrence by the Santa Fe Railway Co. from the mouth of Shunganunga Creek near Tecumseh. On it is a bronze plaque bearing the names of the first settlers who arrived in 1854.
The SITE OF THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH, 724 Vermont St., is indicated by a stone marker bearing the inscription: "Site of First Methodist Church in Lawrence. Bought July 6, 1855. Building erected 1857. Used as a morgue, August 21, 1863." The last date is that of Quantrill's raid.
The CARNEGIE LIBRARY, NW. corner 9th and Vermont Sts., was originally a one-story building constructed of tan brick, completed in 1904. A $35,000 addition was added in 1937 as a PWA project. The library contains 27,000 volumes.
The PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 923 Vermont St., a red brick structure with a modern community house on the south, houses the oldest church organization in Kansas. On October i, 1854, the Reverend S. Y. Lum delivered the first sermon in Lawrence. The congregation was organized two weeks later with seven members. Meetings were held in the Pioneer Hotel.
"A few rough boards were brought for seats," wrote Mrs. Sara Robinson, "and with singing by several good voices among the pioneers the usual church services were held. The people then, as on many succeeding Sabbaths, were gathered together by the ringing of a large dinner bell."
SOUTH PARK, between nth and 13th Sts., and divided by Massachusetts St., has an area of 12.8 acres. The eastern section of the park is attractively landscaped and contains a bandstand where public concerts are given. Franklin D. Roosevelt, as a candidate for Vice President, spoke from this bandstand in September 1920.
The SITE OF THE MASSACRE OF RECRUITS, near the sidewalk at 935 New Hampshire St., is indicated by a stone marker. It was near this spot that Quantrill's guerrillas shot down twenty unarmed boys during the raid of August 21, 1863.
The SITE OF THE ROBINSON HOME, 1115 Louisiana St., is commemorated by a granite marker. Dr. Charles Robinson built a home here soon after his arrival in 1854. It was burned by Sheriff Jones' raiders May 21, 1856.
The JOHN SPEER HOME, 1024 Maryland St., used as an implement shed and in a state of dilapidation, was built by one of the town's first settlers. In front of this house Larkin M. Skaggs, the only member of Quantrill's band who lost his life during the raid, was killed by White Turkey, a Delaware Indian.
HASKELL INSTITUTE, 23rd St. and Barker Ave., is the largest Indian school in the United States. Haskell was opened in 1884 as one of three non-reservation boarding schools provided by an Act of Congress in 1882. The purpose of the institution, according to its founders, was "to provide an opportunity for the American Indian to acquire an education which would fit him for useful citizenship." Land for the original campus of 280 acres was donated by the city of Lawrence. The school was known as the Indian Training School of Lawrence until 1890 when it was named for Congressman Dudley C. Haskell of Kansas who was influential in locating it in the State.
This initial attempt to educate the Indian in the ways of the white man was regarded as a radical innovation, especially by the considerable group of people in the western States who still adhered to the belief, fostered by years of bloody warfare, that "the only good Indian was a dead Indian."
Classes opened with twenty-two students and a faculty of three members. While enrollment was unrestricted as to age, tribe, or residence, the first enrollees were younger children from the reservations whose parents felt compelled to send their boys and girls to Lawrence to "learn the white man's ways." Consequently the first academic courses were elementary and many of the children had to be taught to speak English as well as to read and write.
The first superintendent was Dr. James Marvin, who had lately retired as chancellor of the University of Kansas. Doctor Marvin held office for one year and was replaced by Col. Arthur Grabouski, a retired Army officer who instituted a rule of strict military discipline. Colonel Grabouski was succeeded by former Gov. Charles Robinson.
Enrollment increased rapidly and at the end of the second year had reached 200, representing 31 tribes. As older students began to enroll courses in home economics for the girls and handicraft and agriculture for the boys were developed. By 1895 new academic courses had given the school a rating equal to that of a standard elementary school and junior high school.
As the older Indian boys came in increasing numbers Haskell began a program of organized athletics. In competitive sports, especially football, the Indians displayed a remarkable skill. As the fame of Haskell elevens spread, the Braves were invited to compete with some of the larger colleges and universities in the Missouri Valley area. In later years they played in every section of the country.
Although Haskell has never produced an athlete who equalled Carlisle's Jim Thorpe, many of its gridiron heroes have received national or sectional recognition. The list includes Bill Bain, the Hauser brothers, Chauncey Archiquette, John Levi, Buster Charles, and Louis "Little Rabbit" Weller. Pete Hauser, who played on a Haskell team that defeated the Universities of Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, was one of Walter Camp's All American selections in the early 1900's. John Levi, a giant Arapahoe, starred in the early 1920's and was recognized as one of the finest fullbacks of his generation. The Little Rabbit, an eel-like Caddo halfback, thrilled Kansas football crowds from 1928 to 1931 with his sensational runs.
In 1931 Haskell's enrollment reached its peak of 1,240. Two years later the Reverend Henry Roe Cloud, a full-blood Winnebago, was appointed superintendent, the only Indian who ever held the office. He was succeeded in 1935 by Russell M. Kelley, the present (1938) institutional head.
In 1934 a new Indian educational policy resulted in the elimination of the agricultural courses and the curtailment of enrollment. The new plans originally provided for the abandonment of non-reservation schools, but because of a storm of protest Haskell was permitted to continue. Haskell now offers a four year high school course and a two year postgraduate commercial course. Enrollment is limited to students from Kansas, Iowa, Montana (except the Flathead Reservation), North Dakota, South Dakota, North Carolina, Michigan, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wyoming. In 1938 there were approximately 600 students. Applicants who are of less than one fourth Indian blood are not accepted.
Except for their racial characteristics Haskell students look very much like their neighbors at the University. Indian coeds keep pace with the current styles in campus wear, and boys dress in the casual garb affected by college men throughout the country.
A tour of the campus may be made by following a circular tree lined drive from the Barker Street entrance. The drive passes the Administration Building, a one-story frame building of bungalow-type; Pocahontas Hall and Winona Hall, girls' dormitories; Sacajawia Hall, Home Economics Building. Keokuk Hall and Osceola Hall, now used as boys' dormitories, are the oldest buildings on the campus. Both were built in 1884 and are of local limestone construction, four stories high and of the institutional-type of architecture. Other buildings in the following order are: Sequoia Hall, the Academic Building; Tecumseh Hall, the boys' gymnasium; Hiawatha Hall, the girls' gymnasium; the Auditorium; Pontiac Hall, the vocational building; and Powhatan Hall, which contains apartments for teachers. The buildings are predominantly of the institutional-type, ranging from two to four stories in height and are of brick and local limestone construction. Left from the entrance is the STADIUM, with a seating capacity of 17,000, donated to the Institute by Indians in appreciation of the work done for Indian youth. It was dedicated November n, 1926.
The REUTER ORGAN FACTORY, 6th and New Hampshire Sts., manufactures custom-built pipe organs and is the only factory of its kind between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Coast. The company was organized at Trenton, 111., in 1917 and moved to Lawrence three years later. The plant is housed in a four-story, factory-type building of brick. Normal production varies from 50 to 60 organs a year and the company employs approximately 45 persons.
The KAW VALLEY CANNING PLANT, E. loth and Maryland Sts., is a three-story, factory-type building of brick. The factory was established in 1885 by the late Jabez Watkins. In 1930 it was leased to the Columbus Foods Corp. and has since operated under their control. Providing a cash market for truck farmers in the Kaw Valley areas near Lawrence, the cannery operates continuously from April, when the spinach crop is harvested, until late November, when the last of the pumpkin crop is ready for canning. Large quantities of peas, sweet corn, tomatoes, and green beans also are canned. An average of 75 persons are employed during the season. Since 1930 the average annual output has been 75 carloads.
The ELDRIDGE HOTEL, SW. corner 7th and Massachusetts Sts., a five-story brick structure of modern design erected in 1925 is the fourth hotel on this site. The Free State Hotel, the first on the townsite, was burned by Sheriff Jones' raiders, May 21, 1856. In 1863 Col. S. W. Eldridge built another hotel on the corner, but this building was burned by Quantrill's men a few months after its completion. Before the end of the year, Colonel Eldridge began the construction of a third building that occupied the site until it was razed in 1924 to be replaced by the new Eldridge.
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1009 Vermont St., now used as a parish house, is the oldest church building in Kansas. It is English Gothic in design, constructed of native limestone, and was erected in 1858. The present church, just north of the old building, is also of native stone and of similar design. It was completed in 1871 and has been remodeled in recent years.
The SITE OF THE OLD SNYDER HOME, approximately 400 yards south of the intersection of 19th and Haskell Sts., where the Reverend S. S. Snyder of the United Brethren Church was killed by Quantrill's band as they entered Lawrence, is marked by a WELL.
See also: Kansas Facts: Douglas County Facts