Roberts-Luther-Mitchell House

The Roberts/Luther/Mitchell House was constructed in 1870, a period of regrowth and expansion in the wake of the Civil War which included the devastating Quantrill's Raid of 1863. The home underwent several expansions and modifications in 1874, 1897-1905, 1921, 1927, and 1960. Civil War officer John Roberts and his wife owned both the home and the "castle home" next door. During the World War period, from the 1910s to the 1940s, U.G. Mitchell, a longtime professor and department chair at the University of Kansas, owned the home, which speaks to the town's evolution from its post-Quantrill's Raid era to its presence as a "Quiet University Town." 

Members of the New England Emigrant Aid Society, an anti-slavery political group, founded Lawrence in 1854. The group chose to settle near Mount Oread. Little evidence remains of the original construction in the community because most of it burned down during Quantrill's Raid, the infamous 1863 guerrilla warfare attack led by the Confederate soldier William Quantrill. The city began to rebuild almost immediately after the raid, supported by the completion of the transcontinental railroad branch to Lawrence in 1864, the opening of the University of Kansas (KU) in 1866, and the arrival of both the Kansas Pacific and the Leavenworth, Lawrence, & Galveston railroads in 1867. Indeed, Lawrence enjoyed robust economic expansion and population growth, known as the City-Building Period, from 1864 to 1873.

During the City Building Period, abundant commercial construction occurred along Massachusetts Street while simultaneous residential construction took place in the Oread neighborhood, mainly from Massachusetts Street westward towards the University of Kansas. In 1869, John N. Roberts, an officer in the Civil War, and his wife, Emily S. Roberts, moved to Lawrence, Kansas. They subsequently purchased two lots on Massachusetts Street, just north of the now-historic home at 1313 Massachusetts. (The Roberts would eventually build their historic "castle home on those lots at 1307 Massachusetts.). In 1870, John and Emily purchased Lot 171 (the subject property) from Arthur B. Bixler and subsequently built the original portion of the subject house. In 1871, the Roberts sold this house to E.H. Benham, who had recently moved to Lawrence as an agent for the Continental Life Insurance Company; by 1872, the Roberts had regained ownership of the subject house.

The panic of 1873 ended Lawrence's City-Building Period, as an economic decline and decrease in population ensued. However, while the town struggled, the Oread Neighborhood continued to enjoy new construction from 1874 to 1899 (referred to as the "Agriculture and Manufacturing, Foundations of Stability period). Roberts sold the home in 1874 to highly successful grocer Caleb Luther, who lived there until 1885. The house changed hands several times until Roberts again purchased it in 1898.

By 1900, Lawrence had developed into a university town, and many KU administrators, professors, and students moved to the nearby Oread Neighborhood. In 1914, KU graduate and faculty member Ulysses Grant (U.G.) Mitchell and his wife, Lulu Grace, rented the historic home from Roberts before purchasing it outright in 1916. Mitchell served as a KU faculty member from 1910 to 1941, ten years of which included working as the math department chair; they lived in the home until the mid-1940s. 

The house has recently undergone a rehabilitation project, saving it from being demolished. It enjoys a unique relationship with adjacent Roberts' "castle home" (now known as the Castle Tea Room) as he owned both properties. The home survives as a reminder of the quick rebuilding that occurred in the wake of Quantrill's Raid during the Civil War. Each owner speaks to a unique time in Lawrence's history. Indeed, Roberts, who sold and re-purchased the home a few times, served as an officer in the Civil War, while Mitchell, who lived in the house during the first half of the twentieth century, worked at KU for more than thirty years.  

Epps, Kristen. "Quantrill's Raid on Lawrence" Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865. The Kansas City Public Library. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/quantrills-raid-lawrence.

Hernly, Stan and Megan Bruey. "Registration Form: Roberts/Luther/Mitchell House." National Register of Historic Places. kshs.org. 2022. https://www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/DouglasCo_1313Mass_RobertsLutherMitchell_Listed_05092022.pdf.

Kansas Historical Society. "New England Emigrant Aid Company Sign." kshs.org. December 2014.. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/new-england-emigrant-aid-company-sign/10231.

Lawrence Preservation Alliance. "LPA Announces Summer 2022 Preservation in Progress Awards: 1313 Massachusetts Street." lawrencepreservation.org. August 09, 2022. https://lawrencepreservation.org/news/lpa-announces-fall-2022-preservation-in-progress-awards-1.