The Kansas Constitution Hall

Winter had frozen the landscape just weeks after Topeka formed in late 1854. In the thaw of March 1855, stone-by-stone, hand-dug from the ravine that is now under Jacskon Avenue, Topeka's first building was begun.

Well-documented, highly significant events of national importance following the landmark Kansas Nebraska Act took place here in 1855 and 1856 and continuing in early statehood.

The building is to appear much as it did when the Free State Topeka Legislature met here on the Fourth of July in 1856. Among work needed:

"Quartermaster's Depot" on the Lane Trail

The cellar rooms were the base of operations for keeping free trade and aiding escapes by those fleeing slavery in "Bleeding Kansas."

West and South Walls

Entry stoops and stairs, and second floor door and window are un-funded.

Independence Day Park

The open yard around Constitution Hall will resemble the landscape when Topeka was formed just outside the nation's frontier border.

First Floor

The Hall of the House of Representatives will interpret the Free State Topeka Constitution and the critical role of the nation in Topeka.

Second Floor

The Assembly Room will be restored as funding allows. This was also the Kansas Senate chamber from 1863-1869.

Replication of the 1855 Stone Facade

Using widely published historic views, the Kansas Avenue front will appear as it did from 1855 to 1863 on the Kansas Territory.