Vinland is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 118,785, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kansas. The county ...
, United States.
It is located south of
Lawrence and north of
Baldwin City.
History
The first settlement was made at Vinland in 1854.
In the earliest days of the community, some called it "Coal Creek", due to deposits of the sedimentary rock in a nearby waterway.
The settlement eventually earned the name "Vineland" (after the orchard of one of the first settlers, William Barnes), which later evolved into "Vinland" after a
clerical error. Most of the settlers of the early community were
abolitionists
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
or
Free-Staters from
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, and consequently, they opposed the extension of
slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
into
Kansas Territory
The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
.
In 1859, Annie Soule and Martha Cutter helped found a
library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
(and an associated
book club), in the hopes that it "would contribute to the 'moral, social, and intellectual improvement of
he settlement'smembers";
specifically, they hoped "to prevent dancing from becoming the only amusement in the community."
The library initially boasted a collection 10 books (which eventually grew to over 2,000), and residents of the small town were allowed to check them out if they contributed an annual fee of 50 cents.
The building that currently holds the collection was constructed in 1900 when the community's book supply grew too large.
[ Today, Coal Creek Library is considered the oldest subscription library in the state.]plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted until the 1860s. A post office was opened in Vinland in 1868, and remained in operation until 1954. In 1912, the population of the settlement was 75, and it housed "a fine agricultural district ... ndexpress and telegraph facilities".[ Today, the Vinland Grange Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.]
Education
The community is served by Baldwin City USD 348 public school district.
On December 13, 2010, the Board of Education voted to close Vinland Elementary in Vinland and Marion Springs Elementary in Worden by a 5-2 vote.
References
Further reading
External links
* Douglas County maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT
{{Authority control
Unincorporated communities in Douglas County, Kansas
Unincorporated communities in Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
1854 establishments in Kansas Territory