Black Town In Kansas? Poem Explains Epic Story-(click on link to listen to short poem).

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=E821D9DB-ACD3-8EA3-DA70D2866131A379

After the Civil War, Black Americans left Kentucky in search of expanded freedoms in the “promised land”: Kansas. After selecting this new townsite in 1877, Nicodemus was presided over by the Black-dominated Nicodemus Town Company, and early settlers like Reverend Simon P. Roundtree and W.R. Hill touted the area as a refuge for Black Americans, actively encouraging and recruiting new residents from Kentucky. As more settlers arrived, the community grew to include schools, churches, and general stores. By 1880, the Black population in the county was between 500 and 700, while Nicodemus town was home to nearly 300 Black people and 83 white people. Today, Nicodemus is the only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River.

The park has five buildings to visit, representing different elements in the establishment of the community. There’s the Township Hall, representing self-government and home to a visitor center with exhibits and a bookstore; the St. Francis Hotel, representing business and family life; the Old First Baptist Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Church; and School District Number 1.

VIDEO DURATION: 2 minutes, 26 seconds CREDIT: NPS / David Ehrenberg

Description Montage of landscape, architectural footage and historical photos mixed with poetry.

304 Washington Ave, Bogue, KS 67625, USA

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#BlackHistoryMonth, #Kansas, #Nicodemus, #1877, #1800, #EpicpoemblacktownKansas

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