Lecompton

History

Lecompton was founded in 1854, on a bluff on the south bank of the Kansas River. It was originally called Bald Eagle, and was renamed Lecompton in honor of Samuel Dexter Lecompte, the chief justice of the territorial Supreme Court. In August 1855, the city became the capital of the Kansas Territory after President Franklin Pierce appointed Andrew Horatio Reeder as governor and charged him and his officials with establishing government offices in Lecompton. The city soon became a stronghold of pro-slavery politics and Southern sympathy, which put it in conflict with nearby Lawrence, which had been founded by Free-Staters from Massachusetts. The first post office in Lecompton was established in September 1855. The city served as the seat of Douglas County, until 1858, when it was moved to Lawrence. In late 1857, a convention met in Constitution Hall and drafted the Lecompton Constitution, under which Kansas would have been a slave state. The constitution was rejected by Congress after intense national debate and was one of the prime topics of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The controversy contributed to the growing dispute soon to erupt in civil war. The Lecompton Constitution failed, in part, because the antislavery party won control of the territorial legislature in the election of 1857. The new legislature met at Constitution Hall and immediately began to abolish the pro-slavery laws of what they called the Bogus Legislature, the territory's pro-slavery lawmakers since July 1855. The free-staters briefly attempted to move the territorial capital to Minneola through a vote, although the resulting bill was later vetoed by Kansas territorial governor James W. Denver, and ruled void by U.S. Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black. As such, Lecompton remained the de jure…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The climate is characterized by hot, humid summers, and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lecompton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,414
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  14,039
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,953
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,767
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,298
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,194
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,151
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,043

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 3.1 — 2007-03-23
  5 km N of Nortonville, Kansas