Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Baldwin City, KS

Baldwin City is a city in Palmyra Township, Douglas County, about 12 miles south of Lawrence in eastern Kansas.

Baldwin City began as Palmyra, a trail stop on the Santa Fe Trail with a harness shop, blacksmith, hotel, lawyer, drug store, two doctors and a tavern; its first post office opened in June 1857.

In 1858, a group of Methodist ministers gathered at Kibbee Cabin in Palmyra and founded Baker University, the oldest four-year university in Kansas.

The community bought land south of Palmyra for the university and the surrounding town, and Baldwin City was incorporated on September 22, 1870.

The Battle of Black Jack — fought on June 2, 1856 and sometimes called the first battle of the Civil War — took place just three miles east of present-day Baldwin City.

As of the 2020 census, Baldwin City had a population of 4,826 people, up 6.9% from 4,515 in 2010, spread over about 2.7 square miles.

Every year since 1957, Baldwin City has hosted the Maple Leaf Festival on the third full weekend of October, a fall celebration of harvest and foliage that draws crowds of 30,000 or more — over six times the town's own population.

The festival features a parade, arts and crafts, a quilt show, theatrical performances, history tours, train rides and live music, and is the largest fall family event in the area.

Baldwin City is part of the Lawrence Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Baker University's enrollment gives the small city an unusually young median age.

Baker University's Old Castle, the first building constructed for the university, now serves as the Old Castle Museum on campus.