Historic Lecompton, KS

Chris and I had talked for some time about visiting Lecompton to check out the historical sites. Today was the day; with high temperatures predicted to reach 70 we couldn’t resist the urge to RIDE!

We took off around 11:00 and rode east through Bonner Springs and Lawrence to Lecompton. It was 64 degrees when we departed and in the 70’s when we arrived. It was a beautiful day.

Lecompton definitely has historic significance. It was the territorial capital of Kansas and was in the national spotlight just before the Civil War. The “Lecompton Constitution”, for the admittance of Kansas into the union as a pro-slavery state, was written in Constitution Hall.IMG_0212

Lane University was in Lecompton from 1865 to 1902. President Dwight Eisenhower’s parents were students at Lane and were married in Lecompton in 1885. We visited the former location of Lane University, which is now the Territorial Capital Museum.old Kansas Territorial Capital; Lecompton, KS

We enjoyed lunch at Aunt Netter’s Café (just down the road from Constitution Hall), where we enjoyed some very good chicken fingers, onion rings, fries and a piece of LARRAPIN good apple-caramel-pecan pie.lunch in Lecompton, KS

Leaving Lecompton we rode north across the Kansas River and hopped on Hwy 24 east at Perry, KS. Between Perry and Lawrence eastbound traffic was backed up and numerous emergency vehicle flashing lights were seen far ahead. A motorcyclist, who had been way ahead of us in line, came by us headed the opposite direction and told us the highway would be closed for about an hour and a half.

We rode back to Lecompton and returned home by a different route. Our ride was a very enjoyable 115 miles in fantastic (January?) weather.

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6109533454065030689?authkey=CJHMwaGwu96RLg

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