STREET AND.NUMBER: West side of Elmore, between Woodson and Third Streets OWNERSHIP

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1 For (Rev. 6-72) $ii; tillllm C OMMON: UNITED S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Type all entries - coplete applicable sections) Lecopton Constitution Hall ENTRY DATE FOR NPS USE ONLY ; ill AND/OR HISTORIC: Lecopton Constitution Hall STREET AND.NUMBER: West side of Elore, between Woodson and Third Streets Lecopton CONGRES SIONAL DISTRICT: CATEGORY Q District gj, Building D Site Q Structure D Object OWNERSHIP PI Public Public Acquisit on: 83 Private Q In Process ~~ Both Being Considered STATUS ACCESSIBLE 0 THE PUBLIC J5 L Occupied Yes: 3 Restricted I Unoccupied ^ ~\ Unrestricted (^Preservation work in progress " ] No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) [ Agricultural Governent [ Park Q Coercial [ 1 Industrial Private Residence CD Educational CD Military Q Religious I Entertainent [~l Museu [ Scientific liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiii;ii;;iiiii;:iii OWNER'S NAME: Rebekah Lodge #698, (no street address] Cl TY OR TOWN: Lecopton COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Register of Deeds County Courthouse Lawrence c/o Miss I Transportation 1 1 Coents CBj, Other (Sper.ify) Meeting Hall o.r^^,,,, Mary Nelle Lasswell STA TE: iiiiiiiiiiii^ CODF ' COUN TY: TITLE OF SURVEY: ssssssss^^^ ;;;;gg;;;:;;;;;;;:^^ National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings (designated Other site considered"); National Resistor DATE OF SURVEY: 1961' Federal 8 State County [ Local DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: IT- j. ' o.1. f AT -t* -ir\ «j_ Historic Sites Survey; National Register; State Historical Soc.iet.v 11QQ L St. NW (HSS and NR) ; 120 West 10th St. (KSHS) Washington / Topeka D.C. / NUMBER ENTRY DATE -n 0 70 Ẕ a en C en 0 Z f-

2 Excellent Q& Good Fair Deteriorated Ruin Unexposed CONDITION Altered TO Unaltered Moved ^ Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if /own,) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Lecopton Constitution Hall is a siple rectangular, two-story white frae building with a gabled roof, pedient and stone foundation. Since the terrain slopes to the front of the building, an uncovered porch raised on stone piers with straight stone stairs to the left, provides entry to the building. The front door is glazed with 12 lights. The windows are plain tried with double-hung sash two lights over two. The plans of both floors are basically the sae--a large eeting roo at the front and two saller roos side-by-side at the rear. The second floor is reached by an enclosed straight stairway within the left rear roo which is entered fro both the eeting roo and the outside. There is an inside chiney against the south wall and another that runs down the south wall of the right rear roos. The hall is used for lodge eetings, public activities and as a polling place during elections. There has been soe inor reodeling inside but the outward appearance is basically unchanged fro the historic * period. The Odd Fellows Lodge acquired the hall in 1894, and ownership was vested in the local Rebekah Lodge after World War II. The building is privately owned and open to the public by prearrangeent. */> rn cz n

3 ERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) G Pre-Colubian! D 16th Century 18th Century G 20th Century G 15th Century D 17th Century 19th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (if Applicable and Known) Q c t. 19, 1857; Dec : Jan. 4 f 1858 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or Afore as Appropriate) Urban Planning Abor iginal Education 3, Political ~~ Prehistoric G Other (Specify) Engineering Q Religion/Phi Q Historic j 1 Industry losophy ( 1 Agriculture Invention ] Science Architecture Landscape [ Sculpture D Art Architecture Social/Huan [~~] Coerce I Literature itarian G Counications G Military Theater Conservation Music Transportation TATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The tragic episode in our nation's history known as "bleeding " is illustrated by a siple white frae building known as the Lecopton Constitution Hall, the only reaining building of the several where opposing drafts of the first Constitution were approved. The constitutional debate in was the political aspect of a bloody struggle to test the divisive -Nebraska Act of Since the act peritted Kansans to deterine for theselves if their Territory were to becoe a free or slave State, a great influx of outsiders of opposing sypathies swelled the population in the race to take the State by popular deand. Constitutions were approved in ass asseblies at Topeka, Lecopton, Lawrence, and Wyandotte. The Lecopton Constitution of 1856, a pro-slavery docuent supported by President Buchanan but rejected by Congress, served to inflae the growing sectional dispute which was shortly to burst out in Civil War. History Fro August 1855 to January 1861, Lecopton was the territorial capital of and also the headquarters of proslavery eleents in the territory. Constitution Hall, as it becae later known, was the eeting place for the second territorial legislature which et fro January 12 to February 20, In late 1857 a special election was held to choose delegates for a constitutional convention. Charging that the election was rigged to give proslavery supporters a disproportionate share of the delegates, free-state supporters refused to participate. As a result, all 60 ebers chosen for the convention were proslavery in their beliefs. The "elected" delegates et briefly, on Septeber 7, 1857, and then adjourned, stating that the ebers needed tie to gather and digest inforation. Free-State forces believed their real reason for adjournent was to await the outcoe of the October election for the territorial legislature. Proslavery advocates suffered a setback when the election's results deonstrated what the ajority of Kansans desired by giving a victory to the free-state sypathizers. (continued)

4 Channing, Edward, A History of the United States, v.6 (New York, Macillan), History of the State of, v.l ("Chicago, A. T. Andreas"), "Johannsen, Robert W., "The Lecoraptoi i Constitutional Convention: An Analysis of its Mebershi] )," Historical Quarterly, v.23, no. 3, Autun, Western, Joe, "Lecopton Guessed Wi :ong on Slave Issue and Died," Topeka State Journal, Januar) r 16, LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEF\NING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 1 J. J _ CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW o o NE SE ' " o, SW e APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: i '. LATITUDE ANp LONGIT'JDE COO_R,D_IN A T_ES DEFINING Tht CtrviTUR POINT OF A PROPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES LATITUDE LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds 0,. o» L ST ALL S AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES COUNTY rn NAME AND Tl TLE:, Paul Ghiotd, research assistant and Benjain Levy, Senior Historian ORGANIZATION Division Of Historic and Architectural Surveys, DATE National Park Service STREET AND NUMBER; 11QQ L Street NW Washington D.C. o As the designated State Liaison Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law ), I hereby noinate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the c-iteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recoended level of significance of this noination is: National Q State Q Local CD Nae I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register. Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation Dare ATTEST: Title Keeper of The National Register Date Date GPO

5 For a (July 1969) UNITED S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Continuation Sheet) (Nuber all entries) 8. Significance: (1) Lecopton Constitution Hall FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER Seizing a last opportunity to ake a slave state, delegates to the Lecopton convention reconvened on October 19, 1857 at Constitution Hall. Before voting on any docuent a resolution was passed which infored delegates they could not do so unless they agreed to ake a slave state. The assebled constitution was placed before the territorial electorate with a choice to either vote for a "Constitution with Slavery" or a "Constitution with no Slavery." The latter choice, however, eant only that no ore slaves could be brought into ; those already present and their descendants would reain as slaves. Whichever way the choice was ade, a protection of existing rights to slave property would be aintained by the constitution. In Washington President Buchanan urged Congress to accept the Lecopton Constitution while senators such as Stephen led the fight against ratification. Passage of the docuent would have seen aditted as a slave state and debate over it sybolized the growing sectional conflict in the country. In August 1858 the people of rejected the constitution nearly 6-1 in a proposition to vote for or against it. The third territorial legislature, doinated by free-staters, et in Lecopton Deceber 7, 1857, and again January 4, 1858, in special session. Once doination of the legislature by Free-Staters was assured, eeting at Lecopton becae a ere forality since it was required by law. Instead, legislators would shortly adjourn to Lawrence where general accoodations were in greater supply. GPO