HAUNTED LAWRENCE

Miller’s Hall (not to be confused with Miller Scholarship Hall, located on
the KU campus) is a somewhat inconspicuous brick structure found
on the west side of Massachusetts Street, just south of the Eldridge Hotel.
Named after the well-known Free Stater and early Lawrence resident Josiah
Miller, the structure is notable for being one of only two buildings to have
survived Quantrill’s Raid. Why the building escaped the flames, no one is
quite sure. However, it has been speculated that David Prager (who ran a
jewelry store out of the hall in the early 1860s) was selling stolen goods to
Quantrill and thus earned the bushwhacker’s protection.
Although the structure looks as if it were constructed in one piece, what
many do not realize is that various sections and whole floors were added
onto to the building gradually between the years of 1856 and 1863.
According to the Kansas Historical Society, Miller’s Hall initially housed
the aforementioned jewelry store and a grocer’s shop run by the building’s
namesake. During the hall’s expansion phase (when two additional levels
were added), the third floor became a sort of de facto town hall.
Citizens of the early town made heavy use of this level in particular,
and in the nineteenth century it housed several publishers, the Territorial
Legislature, the Free State Party and the Grand Army of the Republic. It
was also used by various groups (like the Turnverein German immigrant
organization, the Freemasons and the Presbyterian Church) as a gathering
place. In 1867, the hall was the site of the State Temperance Convention,
and consequently, it hosted several influential prohibitionists, such as Carrie
H AUNTED LAWRENCE
94
Nation, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Others who attended
meetings in the hall included James Lane (one of Kansas’s first two senators)
and the famous (or infamous, depending on whom you ask) John Brown.
In the middle of 1870, Josiah Miller was involved in a wagon incident,
resulting in one of his legs being infected with gangrene. Although doctors
had tried to rid his body of the disease by amputating his leg, it was to no
avail, and he died on July 7, 1870. Following his death, the building was
rented out by several grocery stores and was owned by Josiah’s heirs until
around the turn of the century. After that, an assortment of new businesses
began to occupy the store, and today it serves as the home for Nomads
Boutique and Goldmaker’s Jewelry.
As one of the oldest buildings in the downtown area, it might not be
surprising to learn that some believe the hall to be haunted. When the
Street-front view of Miller’s Hall. Author’s collection.
H AUNTED L AWRENCE
95
Bohemian Modern boutique was located in the first-floor space now
occupied by the clothing store Nomads, staff members reported that one
morning they found that some objects had been re-arranged and others
had mysteriously fallen onto the floor. Relatedly, an employee at Nomads
revealed that once a door slammed shut and locked itself, seemingly on its
own accord.
An employee at Goldmaker’s said that she and her co-workers jokingly
attribute the bizarre occurrences to the ghost of John Brown. On the other
hand, author Beth Cooper more seriously speculates that the source of
this commotion may very well be the spirit of Josiah Miller, still trying to
straighten his old store from beyond the grave.
Miller’s Hall is located at 723–25 Massachusetts Street. Nomads
Boutique (open from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 12:00
p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Sundays) occupies the southern part of the building,
and Goldmaker’s Jewelry (open 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on weekdays)
occupies the northern part.