Kansas City Women's Heritage Trail: Kansas City Kansas to Overland Park
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Description
This tour is a work in progress
1. The Conley Sisters and Wyandot National Burying Ground
This section of the cemetery contains the graves of the Eliza, Helena, and Ida Conley, their parents, and other members of the Conley family. Without the three Conley sisters, this cemetery would have surely been lost as developers sought to acquire this land for commercial real estate projects over many decades. Starting in 1906, Eliza "Lyda" Burton Conley and her two sisters, Helena and Ida worked to prevent this from happening. At a critical moment, they armed themselves and occupied a small fort at the cemetery, warning all would-be developers from disturbing burial grounds. At critical moments, the Conley Sisters used techniques ranging from legal strategies to physical resistance to prevent the removal of graves or the sale of the cemetery. The three sisters shared Wyandot lineage and are buried here among their kin. According to local stories, Helena Conley's final resting place even displays a warning about a "curse" that will befall anyone who harms the sanctity of the cemetery, perpetuating the sisters' preservationist crusade to the present. The three sisters passed away in the 1940s and 1950s, and this cemetery is a monument to their perseverance. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and became a National Historic Landmark in 2016.
2. Rebecca L. Bloodworth, Sumner High School
Rebecca L. Bloodworth, born and raised in Bethpage, Tennessee, was an influential educator who contributed to education in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Equipped with a bachelor's degree from Atlanta University and a master's degree from Columbia University, Bloodworth started her teaching career at Northeast Junior High School in Kansas City, Kansas. She would later join the staff of Sumner High School, a traditionally Black high school. Although high schools in Kansas state had been desegregated since the 1870s, due to racial hostility, segregation in high schools was re-established in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1905. Sumner, originally labeled the Manual Training High School until members of the African American community and the School Board chose a more appropriate name, provided education to Black students. In 1978, Kansas City, Kansas, desegregated their high schools once again, and Sumner High School was re-envisioned as the Sumner Academy of Arts and Science.
3. Kansas Speedway, Mayor Carol Marinovich
In 1989, Carol Marinovich was the first woman elected to the Kansas City, Kansas City Council, and in 1995, she became the first female mayor of Kansas City, Kansas. As mayor, she lobbied for the consolidation of the Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County governments, which went into effect in October of 1997. She was subsequently elected the first Mayor-CEO of the newly unified city and county governments, holding the position until 2005. Under her leadership, Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County experienced less government scandals, an improved relationship with the state government, and economic growth. A tourist district, as well as improved housing developments, greatly improved the city's economy. After the end of her mayoralty in 2005, she became partner and Vice President of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., a public relations firm. Marinovaich was awarded the prestigious Kansas Citian of the Year award from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce in 2005, and was inducted into the Starr Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.
4. Corinthian Clay Nutter, Walker Elementary School Historical Marker
Corinthian Clay Nutter, born in 1906, served as an influential educator in Merriam, Kansas. Earning her Kansas teaching certificate in 1938, she would continue her education at Emporia State University in pursuit of a Master's degree. She later accepted a teaching position at Walker Elementary School, a segregated school in Merriam, Kansas, for African American students. The school lacked funds and was in disrepair due to the racial segregation of schools at the time. When a new school was built in the district, but restricted Black students from attending, parents and activists in the area boycotted the Walker Elementary school. Nutter provided tutoring and classes outside of Walker Elementary during the boycott, using church basements or personal living rooms to conduct class. Esther Swirk Brown, a local activist, organized a legal case to challenge the segregation of the newly established school in the district, which eventually reached the Kansas Supreme Court, entitled Webb v. School District No. 90. After the case granted African American students attendance to the new school, Nutter would move to Olathe, Kansas, to teach and later become the principal at Westview Elementary School. Corinthian Clay Nutter passed away on February 10, 2004.
5. Sonia Warshawski, Holocaust Survivor
Sonia Warshawski is one of about 100 Holocaust survivors that resided in Kansas City. Her harrowing story of survival and perseverance is difficult for anyone to hear, but necessary. From growing up in Poland to surviving three separate death camps to her move to Kansas City with her husband, Sonia demonstrated bravery and determination. With only herself and her younger sister out of her immediate family surviving the Holocaust, her story demonstrates the sheer devastation that Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime wreaked throughout World War II. Sonia's continuing work of spreading awareness of the Holocaust offers the Kansas City area with a warning against hatred and bigotry, and she hopes she could be a factor in preventing similar events from occurring ever again.
