Quantrill's Raid Downtown Walking Tour
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Description
A self-guided walking tour of downtown sites associated with Confederate guerrilla William Clarke Quantrill's devastating raid on Lawrence in 1863.
1. The Methodist Church Historical Marker
A small bronze plaque located at 724 Vermont Street (on a wall adjacent to the bus stop) marks the original location of the First United Methodist Church. The church doubled as a morgue and triage camp after "Quantrill's Raid" on August 21, 1863. The church was one of the few structures spared during the raid. In addition to destroying most of Lawrence's structures by fire, General William Quantrill and 400 bushwhacker troops killed at least 150 men and teenage boys. The church building lasted until the 1940s while the congregation moved to a new brick church in 1865 and then to their present location on Vermont Street in 1891.
2. Dix Home
Now home to the downtown library, this was the site of a hotel known as the Johnson House as well as the home of the Ralph and Jetta Dix family in the early 1860s. It was here where Jetta Dix watched Quantrill's men kill her husband, Ralph Dix, and her brother-in-law. Four hours after Jetta was awoken by gunfire and screaming, the raid was over and she and eighty-four other women became widows while her children were among the 250 children in Lawrence who were left fatherless.
3. The Ravine: A Refuge for Lawrencians
William Quantril served as a Confederate officer in charge of guerrilla-style troops that led a bloody and devastating raid on Lawrence in 1863; many survivors took refuge in a woody ravine in what is now Watson Park. The ravine in 1863 acted as a physical barrier that separated downtown from West Lawrence. It had steep banks and only one small bridge spanning it. While some of Quantrill's men rode along the edge of the ravine and shot into it, most others crossed the bridge into West Lawrence where they killed several of its prominent residents.
4. Eldridge Hotel, Former Site of the Free State Hotel
The Eldridge Hotel stands on the site of the former Free State Hotel. One of the first buildings in Lawrence, the Free State Hotel was built in 1855 and the hotel's name reflected the politics of its founders during the time period known as Bleeding Kansas. The original hotel was set on fire in 1856 by pro-slavery Sheriff Sam Jones and his men during their attack on Lawrence. A new four-story hotel was rebuilt in 1857. Colonel Shalor Eldridge, the hotel's owner and avowed Free Stater, vowed that every time the structure was destroyed he would "rebuild and add a story to it." On August 21, 1863, Quantrill's men raided Lawrence. They targeted the hotel because it was considered the seat of free-state activity. The Provost Marshall of Kansas, Alexander R.Banks, displayed a white sheet outside his window, declaring sanctuary for those inside the hotel. Quantrill's raiders burned the hotel but did not kill the occupants. Col. Eldridge immediately started rebuilding but was unable to keep his promise to add a story. The resulting three-story hotel lasted until 1924 when it was demolished to make way for the present five-story hotel built by then-owner W. G. Hutson. Each August 21, the anniversary of the raid, a white sheet is displayed from a window.
5. The House Building and Miller Block
Constructed by Josiah Miller from 1858 to 1860, the House Building was located in the center of Lawrence in the territorial period. Miller acquired town lot 35 and built this commercial structure on Massachusetts Street. A leader in the effort to attract settlers to the Kansas Territory, Miller was one of five Lawrence men who petitioned the government for protection following the 1856 Sack of Lawrence. Miller also became the postmaster and built this three-story structure as part of the effort to bring commerce to the Central Plains. In 1860, Miller added an identical structure on the north half of the lot, creating a 50-foot-wide frontage known as the "Miller Block." The southern half of the building was leased to Jacob House for his gentlemen's clothing store in 1862. When Lawrence was again attacked by proslavery men in 1863, House was in the structure and Quantrill's Raiders forced him at gunpoint to serve as a local guide. Miller later leased the north half to Joseph Wharton who set up a dry goods and groceries store. Jacob House's daughter-in-law remodeled the building into a two-story structure with office space above in the early 1920s. The building has housed many businesses and upstairs offices over the years and was listed for sale in 2019.
6. Ridenour & Baker Store (Bartelds Seed Company)
This historic Lawrence structure was one of the first to be rebuilt following Quantrill's Raid in 1863 and was home to the Ridenour & Baker grocery store between 1858 and 1888. The building was later home to the Bartelds Seed Company and has been home to Sunflower Outdoor and Bike for the past fifty years. Friedo Barteldes came to Lawrence in 1860 from Germany and opened a bakery that later transitioned into a seed house, serving the community for 100 years.
7. White Recruits Camp
The historical marker on the wall of the parking garage commemorates a small encampment of white volunteers for the 14th Kansas Cavalry, many of them only teenagers. The actual site of the encampment was about one block south of this location. As they rode downtown, a group of raiders trampled their tents and killed 17 of the 21 unarmed, unprepared recruits. "Before we crossed New Hampshire St. [three of us] were down.... I ran across an open lot to Joe Rawlins' back fence ... when we saw some of the gang ahead of us on Rhode Island St., I jumped the fence and turned to help Charley, when he was shot in the back and fell at my feet dead, leaving me the last of five." -- Cosma T. Colman
8. Black Recruits Camp
On this corner stood a small encampment of African American men who were recruits for the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment. As Quantrill's raiders entered Lawrence, the twenty or so Black recruits heard gunfire and horses' hooves and knew they were in grave danger as they saw between 400 and 450 mounted raiders. The men immediately fled to a willow grove two miles down the river, where they hid with other African Americans until the raiders left Lawrence. "As I stood looking some three or four negroes from the camp, which was some forty rods from where I stood, came rushing by, hallooing 'The Secesh [secessionists] have come!" -- Erastus D. Ladd, raid survivor.
9. Bleeding Kansas Exhibit at the Watkins Museum of History
The Bleeding Kansas exhibit at the Watkins Museum of History remembers Quantrill’s Raid of Lawrence, Kansas and its significance in relation to the Civil War. The exhibit contains background information on the people and events preceding the raid, information regarding the places in Lawrence that were affected, and artifacts.
10. "Rush on to the Town"
At the corner of what is now 11th and Massachusetts Streets, a squad of raiders went west to the top of Mount Oread to watch for signs of approaching Union troops. The main body--shouting "On to the Hotel!" and other slogans--continued their ride down Massachusetts Street toward the Eldridge Hotel as smaller bands tracked along Vermont and New Hampshire Streets. "When they came to the high ground facing Massachusetts street, not far from where the park now is, the command was given in clear tones, 'Rush on to the town.' Instantly the whole body bounded forward with the yell of demons." -- Rev. Richard Cordley, Lawrence resident
11. South Park
South Park originally served as a public area for residents to grow crops and graze livestock. This green space later became a staging site for the infamous "Quantrill's Raid" on August 21, 1863. The raid became a defining point in Lawrence's history. At dawn on August 21, 1863, Quantrill and his raiders rode northwest through the outskirts of Lawrence and South Park toward their objective of the downtown business district. About four hours later, having completed their mission and wary of approaching Union troops, the raiders regathered just east of the park with their plunder and rode southward out of town.
