Grover Barn

Grover Barn, built in 1858 in Lawrence, Kansas by abolitionists Emily and Joel Grover, played a big part in the Underground Railroad. The area of the Kansas Territory was a massive state in terms of being used in the fight against and for slavery. Many people in the state were fighting for slavery and many others in the state were fighting against slavery. 

Grover Barn sits in the city of Lawrence and was built in 1858 by abolitionists named Emily and Joel Grover. Joel Grover came to the Kansas Territory from the New England area in 1854. Emily was originally Emily Jane Hunt and was the daughter of George W. Hunt who was an anti-slavery pioneer who arrived in Kansas. Joel and Emily met in 1857 and they began to build a barn originally for their own personal reasons but would soon use the barn to hide Freedom Seekers. The barn was even used on John Brown’s last trip to Kansas.

           In 1859, John Brown led a group of abolitionists to free a group of Freedom Seekers and bring them through Lawrence KS on their way north. John Brown first did a trial run to submit their plans into bringing these freed slaves through Lawrence KS and have them stay in Grover Barn. In January of that year, the abolitionists carried out these plans and snuck the Freedom Seekers into Lawrence KS, and they settled at Grover Barn and that was where they stayed before they headed north. From there, John Brown met with other abolitionists and went to Topeka KS. On their way north, they ran into a group of proslavery men. This led to a battle which is known as the Battle of the Spurs. Right after the battle, they then went up into Nebraska  and further north to their freedom. This marked John Brown's last visit to Kansas. This barn is still standing today in Lawrence KS. The barn was farmed on by the family until the 1950s and then was later bought by the city of Lawrence and used as a fire station until 2006. It is now used as a storage facility for the city.

            There is a group that guards the barn they are known as the guardians of Grover barn. These people look after the barn every day and use the latest ways of information to help the people who visit understand what is going on there like informational kiosks. They also use this barn as a memory of what life was like and why the country needed to change its ways during that time. So much of the world has changed since that time and many people don’t know the history of many random structures in the world. Everywhere you look there may be a random barn or an old building with some vines growing on it but no one knows the background. Much like Grover barn in Lawrence, Kansas. 

Kansapedia. Underground Railroad. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/underground-railroad/16721#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20years%20of,was%20dubbed%20the%20Underground%20Railroad.

Kansas Memory. Kansasmemory. https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/208856.

Guardians of Grover Barn. Guardians of Grover Barn. Last modified July 27, 2022. https://guardiansofgroverbarn.com/.