Here, and for the next 300 miles west, Highway 56 roughly follows the old Santa Fe Trail, and frequently crosses it. White settlement began in this area in 1854, the year Kansas became a territory, and in 1855 the town of Palmyra was founded. When Baker University was established on the outskirts in 1858 a new town sprang up. It was named for John Baldwin, an Ohio capitalist, who in 1857 hauled a steam sawmill in over the trail. By 1863, Palmyra has merged with Baldwin.
Local settlers were "Free-State" in the fight over slavery; several were captured in a Proslavery raid of 1856. Among Free State leaders was Dr. Andrew T. Still, founder of osteopathy, whose theory of healing developed here.
Baker University, named for Methodist Bishop Osmon Baker, is the state's oldest 4-year college. It houses the famous Bishop Quayle Bible Collection and its first building, the "Old Castle", is now a museum.
Erected by the Kansas State Historical Society and State Highway Commission
Address: U.S. Highway 56 just east of High Street
Come visit us in Baldwin City, Kansas
Stone markers can be seen where this trail crosses the north-south country roads. The Butterfield Overland Despatch followed ...
The pioneer 1883 jail on Allen Street can be seen by appointment. ...
3-min ute video highlights of the dedication of a new 9-foot statue of Arcadia founder Lucky Baldwin and a History Lives Here historical marker by Arcadia Hi...
Jason King was honored for replacing a damaged historical marker for the Trail of Death in Independence.
The Bancroft Ranch House, listed on plaque as 656 but in the California list it is 626, is considered the first adobe house built in east San Diego by a whit...
The South Omaha People history marker and historic photos at Metropolitan Community College, 27th and Q streets in Omaha, Nebraska, honors the history of the...
Historical Marker Dedication of the Secession Convention on January 19, 2011. The marker is located on Greene Street in front of GMC gates.
