Constitution Hall is neat but didn’t really require much time. It has a good amount of exhibits on the days of 1850s. It is neat as a building because it is all original. You get to stand on the very wooden floors that the legislature stood on in 1855. You get to stand in the small rooms that they used. I love standing exactly where history happened and this is a beautiful spot to do it.
Originally there was a staircase on the outside of the building at the back (left side of the picture). It is now inside.
A copy of the Kansas constitution that was written on the second floor of Constitution Hall. You can see the original floor boards under the display case.
The original exposed studs.
A collage of the men who wrote the constitution. This is a remarkably large group considering the size of the room they worked in (next picture).
Then we went to the Territorial Capital Museum. It is also interesting but functions more as a city history museum than a Civil War era history museum. There are all sorts of other exhibits that the 1850s is just a small part of the collection.
In the basement is this display of a school history fair from 2003. The displays are still there. It was neat to see the work the students did.
Somehow I forgot to take a picture of the Territorial Capitol. This view shows what it was supposed to look like. The money ran out early in the project so it was only finished to the bottom of the first floor windows. It was later finished but it is missing the columns and the fancy roof treatment. I guess I have to go there again to get that one picture.
This diorama shows the town. The Territorial Capitol is the large building in the right center. If you click on the picture the larger version will reveal a #1 on the building. Constitution Hall has a #2 on it and is the white building directly to the left of the Territorial Capitol. It is two streets to the left, the street to the left of the street that goes to the bridge.
I’m glad I went to Lecompton but I doubt I’d go back unless I heard about some new exhibits or something similar. Or to get that one missing picture.
This diorama shows the town. The Territorial Capitol is the large building in the right center. If you click on the picture the larger version will reveal a #1 on the building. Constitution Hall has a #2 on it and is the white building directly to the left of the Territorial Capitol. It is two streets to the left, the street to the left of the street that goes to the bridge.
I’m glad I went to Lecompton but I doubt I’d go back unless I heard about some new exhibits or something similar. Or to get that one missing picture.
Interesting information on Lecompton. I have never been there, but it would be worth a stop.
ReplyDeleteI need to work on my persuasion skills as I have not mastered being able to talk the family into side trips such as these.
I tried to talk them into letting me continue driving south, we could have been at Shiloh with only a few more hours of driving. But that idea got voted down.
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