Franklin, Douglas County, Kansas

Last updated

Franklin, Kansas
Ghost town
Coordinates: 38°56′15″N95°11′07″W / 38.93750°N 95.18528°W / 38.93750; -95.18528 [1]
Country United States
State Kansas
County Douglas
Founded1853
Incorporated 1857
Elevation
[1]
835 ft (255 m)
Population
 • Total0
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code 785
GNIS ID 481879 [1]

Franklin is a ghost town in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. [1] Established as a proslavery stronghold, the town played a key role in the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict that troubled the territory in the 1850s.

Contents

Establishment

Franklin was founded in October 1853, making it one of the oldest towns to have been established in Douglas County. The settlement initially served as trading post, enabling Westerners to trade goods with the indigenous peoples in the area. When Kansas was officially opened up to western settlement after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Franklin found itself inundated with settlers, most—if not all—of whom were from the nation's south. [2] These settlers championed the pro-slavery cause and desired to see Kansas admitted into the Union as a slave state. By late 1855 Franklin had about a dozen homes and businesses and a post office. It soon became a center devoted to the expansion of slavery into Kansas. [3]

Sheriff Samuel J. Jones headquartered himself and his cause in Franklin by spring 1856. While Jones was partially disabled by a sniper at that time, Franklin grew as a center for the pro-slavery cause in Kansas. By May 1856 three forts were built in Douglas County and a blockhouse, Franklin's Fort, was built inside Franklin. The blockhouse was used to store arms and a cannon seized during an attack on Lawrence on May 21. The blockhouse was built to be defended in the event of attack by free-state forces. [3] [4]

Free-State attacks on Franklin

The "Old Sacramento" cannon was captured by free state partisans during the Second Battle of Franklin on August 12, 1856. Liberty-canon.jpg
The "Old Sacramento" cannon was captured by free state partisans during the Second Battle of Franklin on August 12, 1856.

Two attacks were made on Franklin's Fort in 1856 during the summer. [5] Free Staters during that time desired to rid the area of southern-oriented fortifications. The first attack was made on June 4 by about fifteen members of the Lawrence Stubbs, a free-state militia based in Lawrence. The free staters entered town after dark to search for "Old Sacramento," a cannon taken during a southern raid on Lawrence. Some defenders at the fort were aroused and what was termed the First Battle of Franklin erupted. During this battle the cannon was fired once and persons began firing at the free staters from houses in town, forcing their retreat. One Franklin man was fatally shot and a small number of persons were wounded. Some Franklin men may have been captured by the Lawrence men. [4] [6]

After this attack, Franklin's defenses were strengthened. The fort itself was made more defensible. On August 12 the Second Battle of Franklin took place. This time possibly two companies, at least 75 men, left Lawrence after dark to attack the town and fort. They were led by free-state leader James H. Lane. Apparently only about 20 men were defending Franklin. For several hours the opposing forces fired upon each other in the dark. Not much damage was done to either side at this point, but several free staters were wounded, as was one fort defender. One free stater was killed. [7]

At some point a man was sent to travel to a company of U.S. cavalry camped approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) away and seek help. The cavalry could not reach Franklin until just before dawn. In the meantime things went badly for the fort's defenders, who had fought determinedly. The Lawrence attackers finally made progress when they set a wagon loaded with hay alight and moved it to the front door of the fort. The heat and light scared the defenders of the fort, who fled into the night. [7] The free-staters then ransacked the fort, making away with weapons (including the "Old Sacramento Cannon"), food, and prisoners. [8] After the battle, the fort was left, but this ended its use as a town defense, and it was converted into a residence soon after. [9]

Decline and abandonment

Although Franklin was incorporated in 1857, its importance to the southern cause had been greatly diminished. In the late 1850s and early 1860s, the town's political leanings changed; according to Daniel Fitzgerald, "[By 1861] Franklin residents who were adamant in their proslavery sentiments kept it to themselves, for the spirit of the community was decidedly antislavery." [10] With this shift in politics came a shift in demographics, and in time, many African Americans came to live in the town. When the American Civil War broke out, Franklin mustered up 60 union recruits to serve in the war. [7] On August 21, 1863, William C. Quantrill and about 400 guerrillas and Confederate Army recruits passed through Franklin on their way to raid Lawrence. One of the guerrilla leaders said a few soldiers in Union uniforms could be seen in town. One resident, Dr. R. L. Williams (who happened to have moved into the old fort in 1857), said he thought Quantrill's men were Union soldiers and no one took much notice of them, as they quickly passed through. [11]

After Lawrence was attacked, many houses were moved from Franklin to Lawrence to help rebuild the burnt city. Bereft of dwellings, Franklin quickly faded away. [12] The settlement's post office officially closed in 1867, and around this time a number of imposing structures, such as a hotel and a sawmill, were carted off elsewhere. [7] The old stone fort (which served as Dr. Williams residence for a number of years) remained for a long while the most prominent remnant of the settlement. [13] [14] By 1900, those living in the area had to exert "considerable labor" to fill up derelict wells and exposed cellar pits from the houses that had once stood on the site. Around 1912, the stone fort was finally razed, [7] [12] and on October 30, 1927, the Kansas City Journal-Post wrote that "only fertile fields mark [the] spot where [the] famous Kansas town stood." [7]

Today, the area once occupied by Franklin is within the city limits of Lawrence and, as Legends of Kansas notes, is but a suburb of the latter city. [15] A road in this general area is also known as "Franklin Road". [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence, Kansas</span> City and county seat in Kansas, United States

Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 94,934. Lawrence is a college town and the home to both the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleeding Kansas</span> Violent slavery-related confrontations in Kansas territory in latter half of 1850s

Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the legality of slavery in the proposed state of Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quantrill's Raiders</span> Pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas in the American Civil War

Quantrill's Raiders were the best-known of the pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas who fought in the American Civil War. Their leader was William Quantrill and they included Jesse James and his brother Frank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Quantrill</span> American Confederate guerrilla leader (1837–1865)

William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Massacre</span> Raid in the American Civil War

The Lawrence Massacre was an attack during the American Civil War (1861–65) by Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing around 150 unarmed men and boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Border ruffian</span> Proslavery Missourian raiders within Kansas Territory

Border ruffians were proslavery raiders who crossed into the Kansas Territory from Missouri during the mid-19th century to help ensure the territory entered the United States as a slave state. Their activities formed a major part of a series of violent civil confrontations known as "Bleeding Kansas", which peaked from 1854 to 1858. Crimes committed by border ruffians included electoral fraud, intimidation, assault, property damage and murder; many border ruffians took pride in their reputation as criminals. After the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, many border ruffians fought on the side of the Confederate States of America as irregular bushwhackers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacking of Lawrence</span> 1856 destruction of the Kansas Territory town

The sacking of Lawrence occurred on May 21, 1856, when pro-slavery settlers, led by Douglas County Sheriff Samuel J. Jones, attacked and ransacked Lawrence, Kansas, a town that had been founded by anti-slavery settlers from Massachusetts who were hoping to make Kansas a free state. The incident fueled the irregular conflict in Kansas Territory that later became known as Bleeding Kansas.

The Wakarusa War was an armed standoff that took place in the Kansas Territory during November and December 1855. It is often cited by historians as the first instance of violence during the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution Hall (Lecompton, Kansas)</span> United States historic place

Lecompton Constitution Hall, also known as Constitution Hall, is a building in Lecompton, Kansas, that played an important role in the long-running Bleeding Kansas crisis over slavery in Kansas. It is operated by the Kansas Historical Society as Constitution Hall State Historic Site.

Fort Baxter, also known as Fort Blair, was a small US Army post located in the southeast corner of Kansas near present-day Baxter Springs. This area was known as the Cherokee Strip. It was one of a few Kansas forts attacked by Confederate forces during the American Civil War. At one point the Confederate government claimed authority over the Neutral Lands. Both Union and Confederate troops operated in the area, as did guerrilla forces and militias prevalent in the Kansas-Missouri border area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Dexter Lecompte</span> American jurist (1814–1888)

Samuel Dexter Lecompte was an American jurist best known for his extreme pro-slavery views, his involvement in the events of Bleeding Kansas, and for being the founder and namesake of Lecompton, the erstwhile capital of the Kansas Territory.

Two structures in Lawrence have been known as the Lawrence Armory - the Civil War era armory and the Lawrence Kansas Army National Guard Armory.

Little is known about Fort Wakarusa, which was built by free-state partisans between 1855 and 1857. Historian William E. Connelley drew a map in the 1920s that located the fort on the north side of the Wakarusa River, at Blue Jacket's Crossing. The town of Sebastian, Kansas, was on the south side of the river. Considering that the area is very flat and that there are some meander scars showing that the river has changed course various times, the site of Fort Wakarusa may today be on the south side of the river. The fort was located about midway between Lawrence, Kansas, and Eudora, Kansas.

Franklin's Fort was a small fortification that had been erected in Franklin, Douglas County, Kansas by pro-slavery settlers. During the "Bleeding Kansas" period, the fort was the site of two minor battles between pro- and anti-slavery factions.

Rev. John E. Stewart, a free stater, moved about four miles southeast of Lawrence, Kansas, about 1859. Stewart made a land claim on the south side of the Wakarusa River, at a horseshoe bend. Here he built a fortress home, which became known as Stewart's Fort. Not much is known about the fort, other than it was surrounded by brush and was secluded and it had some sort of defensive walls surrounding it.

The Battle of Fort Titus occurred during conflicts in the Kansas Territory between abolitionist and pro-slavery militias prior to the American Civil War. The era is known as Bleeding Kansas.

William Elsey Connelley was an American writer, historian and school teacher. He is best known for a series of books that document the history of Kansas, the Civil War, and the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel J. Jones</span> American frontier settler

Samuel Jefferson Jones was a pro-slavery settler who held the position of Douglas County sheriff in Kansas Territory from late 1855 until early 1857. He helped found the territorial capital of Lecompton and played a prominent role in the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Eugene Learnard</span> American politician

Oscar Eugene Learnard was a campaigner for Free State Kansas, a Republican organizer, a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War, a railroad official, a two-term Kansas State Senator, and a school administrator.

Newell W. Spicer was a Union Army lieutenant colonel of volunteers during the American Civil War and a commander of the 1st Regiment Kansas Volunteer Infantry. He was also a leader of pro-abolitionist forces during Bleeding Kansas, a violent period in the history of Kansas when factions fought over proposals to abolish slavery in that state.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) details for Franklin, Kansas; United States Geological Survey (USGS); July 1, 1984.
  2. ↑ Fitzgerald (1994), 73.
  3. 1 2 Litteer (1987), p. 32.
  4. 1 2 Davis (1976), p. 59.
  5. ↑ Cleland, Nora (June 12, 1961). "Only few of 45 county settlements left". Lawrence Journal-World . pp. 13A. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ Bickerton (1881), p. 218.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Only Fertile Fields Mark Where Famous Kansas Town Stood". Kansas City Journal-Post . October 30, 1927. p. 5.
  8. ↑ Butler, Maria. "Old Sacramento: Cannon of Crisis, Cannon of Freedom" (PDF). Douglas County Historical Society Newsletter . 27 (3): 2, 4.
  9. ↑ "The Capture of Franklin". The Lawrence Journal-World . October 10, 1929. p. 1. Hist. supplement.
  10. ↑ Fitzgerald (1988), p. 76.
  11. ↑ Connelley (1910), pp. 327–28
  12. 1 2 Fitzgerald (1988), p. 77.
  13. ↑ Litteer (1987), p. 59.
  14. ↑ Smith (1928), pp. 559–60.
  15. ↑ Weiser, Kathy (March 2017). "Extinct Towns in Doulas County". Legends of Kansas. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ City of Lawrence, KS. City of Lawrence Map (PDF) (Map). Retrieved July 13, 2018.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.