Unitarian settlers from Massachusetts established one of the first churches in the newly-settled town of Lawrence, Kansas in 1855; they also erected the first church building in the town. By 1891 this structure had fallen into disrepair and was abandoned; a new church was built in 1893.

The church celebrated its 50th and 75th anniversaries in this second building but was by the Great Depression of the 1930s beginning to struggle. By 1945 any remaining Unitarians in Lawrence had found other churches in which to practice their religion. The building was first turned over as a nursery school for the children of employed mothers; after the war, the building was purchased by other Christian denominations, served as a men's dormitory by the University of Kansas, and was eventually razed to make way for a Catholic school for St. John the Evangelist's congregation.

Ministers who tended the early Lawrence Unitarian Society included Ephraim Nute, John S. Brown, Clark G. Howland, Frederick Marsh (F.M.) Bennett, Wilson M. Backus, Charles Engvall, H. Lee Jones, and Homer A. Jack, amongst others.

Soon after this first Society disbanded, the American Unitarian Association (AUA) began a program organizing smaller groups of individuals in communities throughout the United States without a Unitarian church into fellowship units. Munroe Husbands, director of the Fellowship Units for the association, included Lawrence in these endeavors.

By late 1957 there was enough interest in the community that a new Lawrence Unitarian Fellowship was formed. The membership led a peripatetic life in its early years, moving from location to location for its programs for both adults and children. By 1960 the fellowship's need for a space of its own was overwhelming, and the membership bought property that had been the Pleasant Valley School. After a great deal of renovation and construction, the fellowship dedicated its new space in December 1961.

The fellowship has held together through the following decades despite ongoing financial struggles and structural issues with their new meeting house. The group has continued to place great importance on civic involvement and has relied on volunteering from its membership to accomplish a great deal. By 2008 the fellowship was able to build a new wing on its meeting house.