Lecompton Historical Society

About Us

Learn more about Lecompton – the political birthplace of the American Civil War – by visiting our two museums, Constitution Hall, Lane University, plus other historic sites, restaurants and shops.

Lecompton was founded in 1854 on a 640-acre Wyandotte Indian land claim on the south bank of the Kansas River. The town, which was originally named Bald Eagle because of the many eagles that nested along the river, was renamed later that year to honor Judge Samuel D. Lecompte, the chief justice of the Kansas territorial supreme court. In 1855, the territorial legislature chose Lecompton to be the only official and permanent capital of the Kansas Territory.