Lecompton’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Lecompton. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Lecompton was founded in 1854, on a bluff on the south bank of the Kansas River. It was originally called Bald Eagle, and was renamed Lecompton in honor of Samuel Dexter Lecompte, the chief justice of the territorial Supreme Court. In August 1855, the city became the capital of the Kansas Territory after President Franklin Pierce appointed Andrew Horatio Reeder as governor and charged him and his officials with establishing government offices in Lecompton. The city soon became a stronghold of pro-slavery politics and Southern sympathy, which put it in conflict with nearby Lawrence, which had been founded by Free-Staters from Massachusetts.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Lecompton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lecompton’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPlanned Lecompton, Kansas state c…, 1855: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Lecompton
See all 3 →
Lecompton, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Planned Lecompton, Kansas state capitol (1855) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (4) and the National Register (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.