Nicodemus National Historic Site

Nicodemus National Historic Site, located in Nicodemus, Kansas, United States, preserves, protects and interprets the only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the American Civil War. The town of Nicodemus is symbolic of the pioneer spirit of African Americans who dared to leave the only region they had been familiar with to seek personal freedom and the opportunity to develop their talents and capabilities. The site was named, at least in part, for a legendary African-American slave featured in abolitionist Henry Clay Work's "Wake, Nicodemus (1864)." It is a mystical story of an old slave died away and buried in a hollow tree who had asked to be awakened on the Day of Jubilee.

Buildings

The historic site contains five buildings:
* Township Hall (now home to a temporary visitor center)
* African Methodist Episcopal Church
* First Baptist Church
* St. Francis Hotel
* Nicodemus School District #1 Schoolhouse

History

Nicodemus was founded in 1877, led by Rev. W.H. Smith, a black minister, and W.R. Hill, a white land developer, and five other black men who formed the Nicodemus Town Company and began visiting churches in Kentucky to encourage people to move to Kansas.
Kansas was a free state, part of the Underground Railroad and home to abolitionist John Brown. Handbills and flyers distributed by the company called Nicodemus a place for "African Americans to establish a black self-government."

By the mid-1880s Nicodemus was a small, bustling town. There were two newspapers, three general stores and at least three churches. The town had a number of small hotels, an ice cream parlor, bank, livery and a number of homes. The population was an estimated 700 at the town's heyday.

To ensure growth the town needed the railroad. The residents of Nicodemus made several attempts to reach out to various railroad companies in an attempt to attract a rail line to Nicodemus, but it was all to no avail. The railroad passed to the south. Over time people moved closer to the railway and established a new town called Bogue. Bogue has a population of 173 today.

Perhaps one of Nicodemus's most famous residents is Veryl Switzer. Switzer was an All-American football player for Kansas State in 1951, 1952 and 1953. He went on to play two seasons for the National Football League Green Bay Packers, before taking leave to serve in the U.S. Air Force. He resumed his professional career with the Packers after 2½ years in the military. He later went on to play for the Calgary Stampeders and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League before retiring.

Switzer is now farming , in Nicodemus, and is one of the top investors in the creation of a flour mill there. A co-op was formed in 1999; and, while "Promised Land Flour" and "Nicodemus Pancake Mix" are being marketed, the flour mill has not yet been built.

The site is still home to several descendants of the original settlers. It was designated a National Historic Site by an Act of Congress in 1996.

Sources: The Kansas Guidebook by Marci Penner, Copy. 2005 and The Associated Press

File:St Francis Hotel P7260407.JPG, St Francis Hotel
File:NICO African Methodist Episcopal Church.JPG, African Methodist Episcopal Church
File:NICO Nicodemus Township School.JPG, Nicodemus Township School
File:NICO First Baptist Church.JPG, First Baptist Church
File:Township Hall P7260403.JPG, Township Hall

Further reading

* Kansas State Historical Society, Historic Sites Survey. ''Historic Preservation in Kansas. Black History Sites, A Beginning Point''. Topeka: Kansas State Historical Society, 1977.
* The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers by Marci Penner, copyright 2005
* Associated Press report "Former football star returns to help save dying town," August, 2006.

See also

* History of African Americans in Kansas

References

External links

* National Park Service
official site
* Kansas State Historical Societybr>Nicodemus Portrait
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{{authority control

1996 establishments in Kansas
African-American museums in Kansas
History museums in Kansas
History of Kansas
Museums in Graham County, Kansas
National Historic Landmarks in Kansas
National Historic Sites in Kansas
Open-air museums in Kansas
Protected areas established in 1996
Protected areas of Graham County, Kansas
Reconstruction Era
Recreational areas in Kansas
Historic American Buildings Survey in Kansas
National Register of Historic Places in Graham County, Kansas