Located a quarter mile south of US 56 Highway on E 2000 Road, approximately three miles east of Baldwin City, the Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park contains the site of the June 2, 1856, Battle of Black Jack, where a Free State militia led by the abolitionist John Brown successfully attacked a proslavery militia led by Henry Clay Pate, in what many say was the first battle of the Civil War. In addition to the battlefield, the beautiful 40-acre park contains a variety of natural areas including riparian woodlands, wetlands, and restored upland prairie, all accessible by a network of nature trails. The Robert Hall Pearson House is a dominant feature near the entrance to the Park. Built in 1890 by a man who fought alongside John Brown in the battle, it is a prime example of a late 19th century Kansas farmhouse, and was the center of a thriving farm that was a showpiece in the county during Pearson's life.

The library is open from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Sundays, April through October.

Twelve miles southeast of Lawrence, the Coal Creek Library, believed to be the oldest continuously operating library in Kansas has served the Vinland community for over a century. The Coal Creek Library Association was founded in 1859 when neighbors sent $10 to Philadelphia to purchase books. For the next 41 years the volumes were housed in local homes but in 1900 a library building was constructed on a lot purchased for $10. Take a step back in time in Vinland.

Grover Barn is an historic stone barn, built in 1858 by abolitionists Joel and Emily Grover to serve their farm, which was a station on the Underground Railroad network in Kansas Territory. The barn played a significant role in the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War Kansas including the sheltering of 12 freedom-seekers being escorted from Vernon County, Missouri, to freedom in Canada by the abolitionist John Brown and his men. The barn is also one of the nation’s best-documented stations on the Underground Railroad and the best-preserved Underground Railroad site still standing in Lawrence. Because of this, the Grover Barn is designated as an Underground Railroad site on the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Three informational kiosks at the barn tell of the Underground Railroad history of the site, the Grover Family, and the history of the barn after the Grovers. Informational brochures are also available on site.

Visit the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum to deepen your understanding of a complex and important chapter in American history. This museum highlights the school's origins as a federally operated boarding school aimed at assimilating Native American children, offering honest exhibits that explore both the hardships and resilience of those affected. Through powerful displays, personal stories, and historical artifacts, visitors gain insight into the legacy of Haskell Indian Nations University and its role in Native American history. It’s a compelling place for reflection, education, and honoring the enduring strength of culture, making it a meaningful destination for anyone interested in history, cultural preservation, and reconciliation.

At Haskell Indian Nations University stands a massive memorial ARCH. It was constructed in 1926 to honor 415 soldiers from Haskell who served in World War I. Two Quapaw Haskell alumnae, Agnes Quapaw-Hoffman and Alice Beaver Hallam, paid for its construction. Markers are on the Memorial Arch are located at the south end of the football stadium about 300 feet southeast of the intersection of Barker and Pawnee Avenues. The adjacent football stadium is said to be the first lighted stadium in the Midwest. To learn more about the history of HINU, visit the Cultural Center and Museum at 155 E. Indian Avenue. The Cultural Center is open 9 am to 4 pm Monday-Friday.

Built in 1869, the Turnhalle served as the center of German-American life in Lawrence until the outbreak of World War I. It was here that Lawrence’s German immigrants gathered for community events, socialized in the beer garden, and utilized the building’s physical fitness center. As the home of the Lawrence chapter of Turnverein, a German club that emphasized gymnastics, the building was outfitted with gymnastics equipment. Many of those that frequented the Turnhalle, including community leaders and prominent business owners, lived near the building on the western edge of East Lawrence. Today, it is the oldest standing community building in Lawrence- predating the sanctuary of Plymouth Congregational Church by a year.

The Old Castle Museum is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

If the walls could only talk, this three story limestone building built in 1858 would begin its story by bragging that it was Kansas’ first four-year university building. Known originally as “The College Building,” the Old Castle currently houses artifacts and memorabilia from the Methodist circuit-rider, Santa Fe Trail history, settlement days, and Baker’s history. This site also includes the Old Palmyra Post Office that once served travelers along the Santa Fe Trail.

The First United Methodist Church along U.S. 40 west of Lawrence proudly protects a segment of the Oregon and California Trail that at one time served as a major transportation corridor to the West. It is said that over 400,000 pioneers traveled the route from 1840 to 1860. The Oregon Trail was the main route used by American emigrants looking for land and business ventures. The route stretched 2,000 miles over the Great Plains and the Continental Divide, ending in the fertile lands of the Willamette Valley of Oregon or the gold fields of California. The migration left its mark on the American frontier. Decades of wagon wheels carved ruts along the traiol, left imprints in stone, and wore down the open prairies. While at the site, take a hike along the nature trail south of the church and enjoy views of Lawrence, Local farms, and native prairies.

Organized in 1862, the early years of the church did not include this location or building. Services were held in a blacksmith shop in the 700 block of Massachusetts Street. At the time of Quantrill’s Raid on Lawrence (August 21, 1863), St. Luke had begun construction of a new church at the corner of New Hampshire and Warren (9th) Streets. On that fateful day, a company of 25 military recruits was encamped on the site. Twenty men were killed by the raiders and thrown in the foundation trenches. The site was then abandoned and a stone building bordering the alley was erected on the rear of the present lot at 900 New York Street. Escaped and freed enslaved people and their children became members of St. Luke. Many members of the congregation came to Lawrence through the Underground Railroad which operated on the west bank of the Missouri River, and stretched across eastern Kansas and into Douglas County.

The trains still run the tracks on the south side of the old Lawrence Union Pacific Depot built in 1888-1889 by the Union Pacific Railroad. Constructed of Johnson City limestone, pressed brick and Colorado red stone, the station had a central ticket office at track side and separate waiting rooms for men and women. Slate shingles covered the roof of the 153’ by 30’ structure. The building was designed by Henry Van Brunt, one of the top five architects in the nation during the late 19th Century. The Union Pacific discontinued passenger service in 1971, but used the building for freight until 1984. Efforts by the Save the Depot Task Force persevered in its fight to preserve the structure which was deeded to the city of Lawrence in 1991. The awning and the spire were both reconstructed.