Grover Barn

The location that I chose is called Grover Barn and that is is Lawrence Kansas. It was built in 1858 by Joe and Emily Grover. These two were a married couple and were abolitionists. it played a big role in the underground railroad and was even visited by John Brown a few times.

The city of Lawrence, Kansas has had a very rich history with the civil war and the fight to abolish slavery. Many people in this world and who have lived their whole lives in the state have never heard of many of the things that happened in the city. I have lived my whole life in the state of Kansas and have never heard of Grover barn. Grover Barn sits in the city of Lawrence and it played a big part in the underground railroad.

Grover barn was built in 1858 buy abolitionists named Emily and Joel Grover. The barn was not originally used for the freeing of slaves but it was changed into being used for that a few years after it was built. The married couple later then became abolitionists and had many people come into their barn who were trying to escape slavery. The barn was even used on John Browns last trip into Kansas.

In 1859 John Brown lead a group of abolitionists to free some slaves and bring them to Lawrence KS. He first did a trial run to submit their plans into bringing these freed slaves to Lawrence KS and take them to the Grover Barn. In January of that year, the abolitionists carried out these plans and snuck these slaves into Lawrence KS, and they settled at the Grover barn and that was where they stayed before they headed north to free country. From there, John Brown met with other abolitionists and went to Topeka KS. On their way north, they ran into a group of proslavery men. This led to a battle which is known as the Battle of the Spurs. Right after the battle, they then went up into Nebraska which then marked John Brown's last visit to Kansas.

The Grover Barn was used by many people trying to escape the imprisonment of the South. This barn was built by a man and his wife and then later used as a stopping point in the Underground Railroad. This barn is still standing today in Lawrence KS.

This barn is still standing in Lawrence and is still used for many things such as class field trips and used as a historical landmark. There is a group that guards the barn they are known as the guardians of grover barn. These people look after the barn every day and use the latest ways of information to help the people who visit understand what is going on their like informational kiosks and other such things. They also use this barn for a memory of what life was like and why the country needed to change its ways during that time. So much of the world has changed since that time and many people don’t know the history of many random structures in the world. Everywhere you look there may be a random barn or an old building with some vines growing on it but no one knows the background. Much like the barn in Lawrence, Kansas.

Kansapedia. Underground Railroad. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/underground-railroad/16721#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20years%20of,was%20dubbed%20the%20Underground%20Railroad.

Kansas Memory. Kansasmemory. https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/208856.

Guardians of Grover Barn. Guardians of Grover Barn. Last modified July 27, 2022. https://guardiansofgroverbarn.com/.