Constitution Hall, in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, is a significant building in the history of Kansas Territory and the state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. The two-story native stone building, with basement, was begun by Loring and John Farnsworth in the spring of 1855. By summer, the Topeka Town Association had agreed to complete the building in exchange for holding the Topeka Constitutional Convention there in the fall. From October 23 to November 11, 1855, the Topeka Constitutional Convention met in the building and produced the antislavery Topeka Constitution. The proposed

Topeka Constitution The Topeka Constitutional Convention met from October 23 to November 11, 1855 in Topeka, Kansas Territory, in a building afterwards called Constitution Hall. It drafted the Topeka Constitution, which banned slavery in Kansas, though it would also ...

would have brought Kansas into the Union as a free state. The

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

approved this constitution in July 1856, but the Southern-dominated Senate failed to fully consider the document. Parts of the Topeka Constitution were incorporated in the

Constitution of Kansas The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the ...

(the

Wyandotte Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...

) drafted in 1859. Constitution Hall became the Free State, Kansas Territorial era capitol. The Topeka Legislature that occupied the building drew the wrath of Southerners in Congress. On July 4, 1856, President Franklin Pierce allowed federal troops led by Col. Edwin V. Sumner to disperse the Topeka Legislature. The Free State Kansas Territorial government continued to meet at Constitution Hall, which basement was also used as a storehouse for supplies to sustain antislavery settlement during pro slavery enforced trade embargo, and for Underground Railroad operations on the Jim Lane Trail.

Capitol of Kansas, 1864-1869

Constitution Hall, Topeka, Kansas, about 1855

While a permanent state capitol building was being planned, Constitution Hall was used as a part of the Temporary State Capitol from 1864 to 1869. In an 1870s photo in the archives of the

Kansas Historical Society The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, Kan ...

, the Temporary Capitol is distinguishable from other nearby structures.

Commercial uses, 1869-1997

After the state government moved into the new East Wing of the present Capitol, on December 25, 1869, Constitution Hall held commercial uses and later, residential apartments on the second floor. On July 4, 1903, the Topeka Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) placed a commemorative plaque in the sidewalk, at 427-429 S. Kansas Avenue, to mark the location of Constitution Hall. In 1976, the Topeka Chapter relocated the plaque to the façade of Constitution Hall.

Official recognition

In 2001, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

listed Constitution Hall in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Independent formal investigation of the building, by architectural historian William Seale, PhD, which was funded by the National Park Service in 2003, led to the July 15, 2008 listing of Constitution Hall on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Restoration efforts increased in 2011 and will continue as funding becomes available.

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline Buildings and structures in Topeka, Kansas Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Former state capitols in the United States Populated places on the Underground Railroad National Register of Historic Places in Topeka, Kansas Tourist attractions in Topeka, Kansas Capitols of Kansas