Lecompton, Kansas

Lecompton (pronounced /lɪˈkɒmptən/) is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. In 2020, there were 588 people there. Lecompton had a big historical role in pre-Civil War America as the territorial capital of Kansas from 1855 to 1861. This time period was known as Bleeding Kansas.

Lecompton, Kansas
City
1857 Constitution Hall (2009)
Location within Douglas County and Kansas
KDOT map of Douglas County (legend)
Coordinates: 39°2′40″N 95°23′41″W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Douglas
Founded	1854
Incorporated	1855
Named for	Samuel Dexter Lecompte
Area
• Total	1.76 sq mi (4.57 km2)
• Land	1.76 sq mi (4.55 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)
Elevation	925 ft (282 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	588
• Density	330/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	66050
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-39150
GNIS ID	2395667
Website	lecompton.org

History

Lecompton was founded in 1854 on a bluff on the south side of the Kansas River. At first, the city's name was "Bald Eagle", but the name was changed to Lecompton in honor of Samuel Lecompte, the chief justice of the territorial supreme court. In the spring of 1855, the town became the capital of the Kansas Territory. President James Buchanan chose a governor and officials to create government offices in Lecompton. The first post office in Lecompton was created in September 1855.

In the fall of 1857 a convention met in Constitution Hall. They drafted the famous Lecompton Constitution, which would have made Kansas become a slave state. The constitution was rejected after angry national debate and was one of the main ideas of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The controversy added to the growing fight that became the civil war. The Lecompton Constitution failed, in part, because the antislavery people had control of the territorial legislature in the election of 1857. The new legislature met at Constitution Hall and quickly started to get rid of the pro-slavery laws.

The free-staters shortly tried to move the territorial capital to Minneola, Franklin County, Kansas through a vote, but the resulting bill was later rejected by Kansas territorial governor James W. Denver, and was made void by Jeremiah S. Black, Attorney General of the United States. As such, Lecompton remained the de jure territorial capital. This was until Topeka became the capital when Kansas became a state on January 29, 1861. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861.

Geography

Lecompton is at 39°2′35″N 95°23′42″W (39.042927, -95.395039). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.76 square miles (4.57 km²), of which, 1.76 square miles (4.55 km²) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km²) is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Lecompton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	284		—
1890	450		58.5%
1900	408		−9.3%
1910	386		−5.4%
1920	310		−19.7%
1930	288		−7.1%
1940	250		−13.2%
1950	263		5.2%
1960	304		15.6%
1970	434		42.8%
1980	576		32.7%
1990	619		7.5%
2000	608		−1.8%
2010	625		2.8%
2020	588		−5.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

Lecompton is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

In 2020, there were 588 people, 247 households, and 166 families living in Zurich. Of the households, 74.5% owned their home and 25.5% rented their home.

The median age was 40.6 years. Of the people, 86.4% were White, 2.4% were Native American, 1.2% were Black, 0.5% were Asian, 2.0% were from some other race, and 7.5% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the people.