Lawrence Free State High School are known as the "Firebirds". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. Lawrence Free State was established in 1997 in response to overcrowding at Lawrence High School, the only public high school in Lawrence at the time. The College Board recognized Free State High with the 2007-08 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement participation and performance. One high school in each state receives this honor and a $1,000 grant for math and science education. The Firebirds compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas
Mississippi State Penitentiary a railroad spur called "Gordon Station". The state of Mississippi purchased land in Sunflower County in January 1901 to establish a state prison. In 1901 four stockades were constructed, and the state moved prisoners to begin clearing land for crop cultivation. The land was undeveloped Mississippi Delta bottomland and forest, fertile but dense with undergrowth and trees. Around the time the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP) opened, Sunflower County residents objected to having executions performed at the prison. They feared that the county would be stigmatized as a "death county". Mississippi originally performed executions of condemned criminals in their counties of