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History · Lawrence Township

The history of Lawrence Township

Below: 10 old photos and papers and maps from 1893 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lawrence Township’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Lawrence Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18933 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1985. Watch Lawrence Township change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Lawrence Township on the map, 1893 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrence Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lawrence Township on the 1893 USGS mapLawrence Township on the 1961 USGS mapLawrence Township on the 1985 USGS map1893Smith Center sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lawrence Township.

The story so far

Lawrence Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lawrence Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lawrence Township is a township in Osborne County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 30 in 2010, 30 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lawrence Township, 1856 to 1902

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856In the archiveHo! For the Kansas plains
  3. 1860In the archiveJames W. Perrine, young clerk killed
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1894In the archiveSpooner Library, University of Kansas
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902In the archiveHaskell Indian baseball boy
By decade

Lawrence Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1890s5 items
Ho! For the Kansas plains1856Ho! For the Kansas plainsJames W. Perrine, young clerk killed1860James W. Perrine, young clerk killedThe ruins of Lawrence, Kansas1863The ruins of Lawrence, KansasThe destruction of the city of Lawrence, Kansas, and the massacre of its inhabitants by the Rebel guerrillas, August 21…1863The destruction of the city of Lawrence, Kansas, and …Spooner Library, University of Kansas1894Spooner Library, University of Kansas
1900s5 items
Haskell Indian baseball boy1902Haskell Indian baseball boyIn the university museum Lawrence, Kansas1903In the university museum Lawrence, KansasThe "old windmill" used as a grist-mill by the early settlers Lawrence, Kansas1903The "old windmill" used as a grist-mill by the early …Wrecked bridge, the flood1903Wrecked bridge, the flood"Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home," the flood1903"Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home," …
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ho! For the Kansas plains
Retake this viewHo! For the Kansas plains, 1856

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lawrence Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Lawrence Township

Nobody well known was born in Lawrence Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Roscoe ArbuckleAmerican actor, director and comedian · b. 1887
B
Bruce GoffAmerican architect · b. 1904
E
Edward L. KesselAmerican biologist · b. 1904
Elsie Lincoln BenedictAmerican psychologist · b. 1885
Joe MillerAmerican politician in Alaska · b. 1967
Kevin SaundersAmerican paralympian · b. 1955
Help out

Finish Lawrence Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHo! For the Kansas plains: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bethany TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHawkeye TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTilden TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPenn TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHarlan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Lawrence Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (10), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.