The Underground Railroad in Lawrence and Douglas County
Lawrence, Kansas was a prominent anti-slavery town and was well-known as a place where fugitives from slavery stopped on their way to northern states and Canada. Though often attacked by pro-slavery sympathizers, the citizens continued to help freedom-seekers evade the slave-hunters. John Brown and other Abolitionists brought fugitives to several farms and houses in Lawrence and Douglas County.
In one famous incident the Rev. Richard Cordley was hiding a young enslaved woman named Lizzie in his home when they heard that slave-hunters were on the way. Mrs. Cordley’s friend pretended to be sick in an upstairs bedroom. If the slave-hunters knocked at the door, they planned to hide Lizzie between the sickroom mattresses. Fortunately, the slave-hunters didn’t come to the door, and Lizzie eventually made her way to Canada.
The story is told today in a mural titled “A Thousand Miles Away,” painted by artist Dave Loewenstein. You can see it on the north wall of Cordley School at 18th and Vermont in Lawrence. For more of Mr. Loewenstein’s work, see www.daveloewenstein.com
Another pre-Civil War house with ties to Bleeding Kansas is the Miller House at 1119 East 19th Street in Lawrence. The story goes that some of Quantrill’s raiders stopped at the house and were recognized by one of the residents. It was one of the few buildings not destroyed by the raiders.
Grover Barn is the most prominent and well-preserved Underground Railroad station still standing in Douglas County. You can see it at 2819 Stone Barn Terrace in Lawrence. Click the button for more information!
