Constitution Hall in Topeka was built by brothers Loring and John Farnsworth, two of Topeka's earliest entrepreneurs.
Construction began in April 1855 but stalled when Loring left Topeka to fight in free-state skirmishes and John left Topeka to return to New Hampshire. Constitution Hall languished until city fathers agreed to plaster the stone walls so delegates could meet there. The two-story hall was completed in time for the Constitutional Convention in October 1855.
From then on, Constitution Hall would serve as part of the temporary Capitol, house Topekans, store loot stolen from pro-slavery supporters in Tecumseh and Oskaloosa and be the site for meetings, businesses and churches of several denominations.
It was the first stone structure built in Topeka and was in the 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue on the street's west side.
Beyond that, a group seeking to preserve 427 and 429 S. Kansas Ave. as Constitution Hall and others who question that location as the hall site agree on little else.
Other than the slavery question that divided territorial Kansas in 1855, Constitution Hall's location in the 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue is perhaps the biggest controversy to touch the structure.
Don Chubb, director of the Shawnee County Historical Society, past county historical society president and a member of the board of directors of the Kansas State Historical Society, said he isn't sure whether 427 and 429 Kansas Ave. is the Constitution Hall site.
John W. Farnsworth built Constitution Hall in 1855 with the help of his brother, Loring Farnsworth, not pictured. The hall was the meeting place for the Topeka Constitutional Convention.
Photographs courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society
Chris Meinhardt, vice president for Friends of the Free State Capitol Inc., is just as sure it is. He is among those who say Constitution Hall is one building divided by a wall into the 427 and 429 Kansas Ave. addresses. Friends of the Free State Capitol seeks to preserve and restore the building.
"There's no doubt among experts that, indeed, is the historic building," he said.
Meinhardt points to what he says is evidence that it is the original structure:
Old-style lime mortar in the stone walls.
Long horizontal beams that were hand-hewn in the basement of 429 S. Kansas Ave. and other beams cut by a steam-powered saw mill.
Several joints in the twin-pitched roof that are recycled wooden corn planters.
A sketch of the proposed Constitution Hall.
Photographs courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society
Meinhardt said the north and south walls of 427 and 429 S. Kansas Ave. have load-bearing ledges that face outward, indicating it was a free-standing building that the Farnsworths intended to expand. The distance from the north wall of 427 S. Kansas Ave. to the south wall of 429 S. Kansas Ave. is 44 feet, the same dimension as Constitution Hall, Meinhardt said.
Buildings in the 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue have burned, had different fronts put on them, been gutted and replaced, he said.
"I challenge you, unless you can find a beam in the basement, to show me an original piece of anything," Chubb said.
As for the hand-cut beams in the basement, they could be recycled from a torn-down building because in early-day Topeka no one wasted lumber, he said.
Chubb likens the current-day buildings to a Model A Ford that has had its body replaced with a Thunderbird body, its engine replaced with a Mercedes engine and its frame replaced with a Plymouth frame.
"You can still call it a Model A, but there's no Model A there even though that's what you started with," he said.
Chubb cites a 1998 report by the Kansas State Historical Society that said Constitution Hall was at 425 S. Kansas Ave., not 427 and 429 S. Kansas Ave. However, a report issued in February 1998 by Ramon Powers, then-executive director of the state historical society, said the temporary state Capitol from 1864 to 1869 included 427 and 429 S. Kansas Ave.
On July 4, 1903, the Daughters of the American Revolution chapter dedicated an iron plaque on the curb in front of Constitution Hall to mark the dispersal of the free-state Legislature on July 4, 1856, by federal troops.
Dedication spectators included wives and daughters of Topeka Constitution delegates. Wouldn't they know the location of Constitution Hall?
Virtual reality tour
The rear of Constitution Hall
The basement of Constitution Hall
Don Chubb, Topeka historian
Town founders were moving west
The green curtain ladies
We're going to be the capital
Becoming the seat of Shawnee County
Didn't follow the Oregon Trail
The Farnsworth brothers, Constitution Hall
Our Town: Topeka
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Chubb said research showed the plaque originally was in the sidewalk in the 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue, where pedestrian traffic was wearing it down. A decision was made to mount it on a wall, and Cy Cohen, owner of Topeka Cutlery Shop, 429 S. Kansas Ave., volunteered to have it placed outside his business.
In support of 427 and 429 S. Kansas Ave. as Constitution Hall, Meinhardt said:
The National Park Service in 2001 added the two addresses to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped fugitive slaves reach sanctuary in free states or Canada.
In October 2002, the park service awarded a $7,500 planning grant to Friends of the Free State Capitol to develop historic interpretations of the building.
The city of Topeka awarded a $27,000 Community Development Block Grant to Free State Capitol Inc. to upgrade the hall's roof. Bids for the work are being obtained now.
Friends of the Free State Capitol plans to submit an application later this year to have the building added to the National Register of Historic Places, opening the way for the site to get grants.
The last businesses at the two addresses were Topeka Cutlery Shop and Dean's Books, 427 S. Kansas Ave. The cutlery shop closed shortly after Cohen was murdered in 1986 inside the shop. Dean's Books moved to 1426 S. Kansas Ave. and remains open.
Steve Fry can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or email@example.com.
Constitution Hall chronology
April to October 1855: Constitution Hall is built in 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue
Fall 1855: Topeka Constitutional Convention meets. The constitution wasn't adopted, but parts became the eventual state constitution
July 4, 1856: U.S. Army troops disperse free-state Legislature on orders of President Franklin Pierce, who was pro-slavery
1864 to 1869: Constitution Hall and other buildings in that block serve as the temporary Capitol
Dec. 25, 1869: State government moves to the first wing of the current Capitol
After 1869: Businesses in the 400 block of S. Kansas Avenue included the gun shop, undertaker, used-book shop, drug store, jewelry store, furniture store, cutlery shop, dry-goods store, restaurants, offices and an apartment complex
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