Lawrence, city in eastern Kansas, seat of Douglas County, on the Kansas River (Kaw River). Lawrence is located in a rich grain-producing area. The University of Kansas (1866) and Haskell Indian Nations University (1884) are in the city. Major products include greeting cards, pet food, chemicals, and pipe organs. The community was founded in 1854 by the antislavery New England Emigrant Aid Company and was named for Amos A. Lawrence, a New England textile manufacturer. In 1858 it was incorporated as a city. Lawrence was a noted center of abolitionist activities in the 1850s and an important stop on the Underground Railroad, a network that helped fugitive slaves escape to free states or Canada. A proslavery raid on the town in 1856 instigated the retaliatory killings by abolitionist John Brown and his sons at Pottawatomie Creek. In 1863 the city was left in ruins after a raid by the Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill during the Civil War. The city's economy revived with the coming of the railroad in 1864 and the establishment of the university. Population 52,738 (1980); 65,608 (1990); 74,244 (1998 estimate).
