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The museum collection includes over three thousand works from American Indian artists, including the largest collection of works by artist Blackbear Bosin who was one of the museum's founders and also designed the Keeper of the Plains statue. The museum's current location opened in 1976 and is located near the city's iconic landmark and symbol, the "Keeper of the Plains" statue. Between the statue and the museum, one can tour the Outdoor Learning Center which includes a variety of exhibits such as tipis and other shelters and signage about native plants. Together, these exhibits show how Plains Indians communities lived while the works of art in the museum demonstrate aspects of Native cultures.

The Mid-America All-Indian Center was founded in 1969.

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The Kansa Indians: A History of the Wind People, 1673-1873 

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Established n 1969, the Mid-America All-Indian Center works to preserve and share the culture and history of Native Americans, as well as the role they play in society today. The museum features a collection of 3,000 artifacts; these are rotated in new exhibits throughout the year. The museum also features activities and attractions outside, including a tipi, travois (a drag sled for horses and dogs), a wildlife learning center, and a medicinal garden. Events held at the museum include powwows and community nights. Educational programs are also offered including arts and craft classes and field trips.

Mid-America All-Indian Center

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What does American democracy look like?  This tour explores how Kansans have memorialized democracy through statues, monuments, and civic architecture and examines contemporary stories of civic engagement through public art and public spaces that reflect an ever-changing nation. Kansans value their democracy, and you can see it in every town square, city hall, public library, and more.  But where else can you see the stories –  and visions  – of democracy in our hometowns?
 
This Clio tour was created by Humanities Kansas, the sponsor for the exclusive Kansas tour of the  “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America” Smithsonian traveling exhibition. The exhibit explores the dynamic history of American democracy. The tour is made possible through the Museum on Main Street program. Visit humanitieskansas.org for an overview of the Voices and Votes tour.


The museum tries to offer something for everyone, from popular "Old West" displays about guns and saloon culture to exhibits about family life, agriculture, business, religion, and life for women and children. There are also a handful of exhibits that detail the history of some Native American tribes and individuals. For those who truly wish to study history, the museum's research library is open to the public and includes over 60,000 objects, photographs, and documents, most of which come from the first settlers and residents of Dodge City.

A combination living history and local history museum, this complex features a number of historic and recreated buildings (including a Santa Fe Railroad Depot, a one-room schoolhouse, and a carriage/Blacksmith's shop), Old West tours and performances, tourist attractions, and museum exhibits. The museum thrills visitors with recreations of the sensationalized gunfights that were featured in the fictional accounts of the era's "dime novels," but also offers exhibits and events that offer a more authentic, if less dramatic, view of life for residents of the Kansas frontier. The museum was founded in 1964.See the Smithsonian traveling exhibition "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America" and local exhibit "Respectfully, WB Masterson" at the Boot Hill Museum March 25 through May 7, 2023. For exhibition and event details, contact the Boot Hill Museum directly. Visit humanitieskansas.org for overview of the Kansas tour.

Boot Hill Museum

Wyatt Earp was born on March 19, 1848 in Monmouth, Illinois. The fourth of eight children, he grew up in Illinois and Iowa before his family moved to San Bernadino, California in 1864. When he was 17, he started to work for Union Pacific Railroad laying down railroad tracks. He moved back with his family, most of whom had moved to Lamar, Missouri, in 1869. He became constable after his father retired from the position and got married in 1870. Tragically, his wife, who was pregnant at the time, contracted typhus and died.Earp left Lamar for good and never really settled down again. In the coming years, he had a number of run-ins with the law, including being arrested for stealing horses in Arkansas (he managed to escape his jail cell and was never punished). He also worked as a bouncer at various brothels and saloons around the frontier. In the mid-1870s, one of his brothers opened a brothel in Wichita, Kansas. Earp moved there and again worked as a bouncer (he was also arrested a number of times) but later became a part-time police officer. Working as a lawman appealed to him and he became City Marshal of Dodge City in 1876. It was during these years that Earp befriended two other famous western figures, Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson.In 1879, Earp, along with Doc Holliday and his brothers Virgil and Morgan, moved to Tombstone, Arizona, where someone had found silver. Unfortunately, the brothers never made it rich and Earp once again became a lawman. In 1881, Earp, his brothers, and Holliday were searching for a band of outlaw cowboys who robbed a stagecoach. They finally met each other on October 26th near an enclosure at the edge of town called the O.K. Corral. During the 30-second gunfight, three of the outlaws were killed and Virgil, Morgan, and Holliday were wounded (Wyatt was uninjured). Later, one of the outlaws wounded Virgil and killing Morgan. In revenge, Earp and a group of others including Holliday chased after the outlaws and killed at least two of them. The stories of these incidents were heard around the country; some condemned Earp and his men but others applauded their efforts to seek justice.In his later years, Earp ran saloons in Nome, Alaska, and in a few places in California including Los Angeles where he and his female companion, Josephine Marcus, settled down. Still in search of recognition and concerned about his legacy, Earp helped author Stuart Lee with the book Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal. Earp passed away on January 13, 1929 before the book was published in 1931. The book, and the subsequent films made portraying his life, did finally bring Earp the recognition he wanted.

This statue depicts one of the most famous historical figures of American Western history, Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), who was a frontiersman, saloonkeeper, gambler, and lawman. He served as a lawman here in Dodge City in the late 1870s. Earp is perhaps best known for participating in what is probably the most famous gunfight in American history—the gunfight at O.K. Corral, which occurred on October 26, 1881 in the historic town of Tombstone, Arizona. The statue depicts Earp walking at a quick pace, looking to the right and holding his revolver in his right hand and holding his hat in his left hand. The political unrest of early Dodge City is the stuff legends are made of, and Wyatt Earp's contributions to frontier justice continues to entertain our collective imagination.

Wyatt Earp Statue

Doc Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia on August 14, 1851. His father, Henry, who fought in the Mexican-American and Civil Wars, taught Doc how to shoot. Sadly, Doc's mother died of tuberculosis in 1866, the same disease that would ultimately claim his life as well. He attended college in Philadelphia where he studied the classics and earned a degree in dental surgery in 1872. He started to work in a practice in Atlanta, but soon he began to show symptoms of tuberculosis. Eventually, his coughing attacks forced him to stop working as a dentist and his doctors recommended he move out West. Doc started to gamble to make a living and quickly became very good at it. Perhaps because he knew that he likely did not have very long life ahead of him, Doc had a no-nonsense temperament—a trait that sometimes got him into trouble. It is believed he got into a few confrontations here in Dodge City but there are no records of him killing anyone. Doc met Wyatt Earp in 1877. Earp was searching for outlaws who had robbed a railroad construction camp in Kansas. They happened to meet at a saloon in Dodge City and Doc told Earp that he heard the outlaws were going to back to Kansas. With this information, they were indeed captured, and the two men became friends. In 1881, Doc joined Earp and a few other lawmen as they were chasing another group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys. The two groups fought each other in Tombstone, Arizona in a short but deadly 30-second gunfight. Three of the Cowboys were killed and Doc and Earp were wounded. The gunfight eventually came to symbolize the lawless period of the Wild West.As Doc got older, the tuberculosis became worse. He traveled to Colorado to try to get some relief from his illness, hoping that hot springs and sulfur vapors would help. He died in Glenwood Springs in his hotel room on November 8, 1887.

Located next to the Boothill Museum is a statue depicting one of the most famous figures of the American West, John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887). The statue portrays Holiday sitting at table playing cards with three empty chairs that visitors can sit on. Trained as a dentist, which is how he got his nickname, Holliday was also a skilled gambler, gunfighter, and was a close friend of another famous westerner, U.S. Deputy Marshal Wyatt Earp. Holliday, who was ill-tempered, got into a number of fire fights and is known to have killed at least one or two men. The most famous of these confrontations was the gunfight at O.K. Corral (see below), which occurred on October 26, 1881 in the historic city of Tombstone, Arizona. 

Doc Holliday Statue

In the fall of 1915, the Roe Indian Institute (later renamed the American Indian Institute in 1920) opened in Wichita as the first all-Indian high school in the United States. The school was established by Henry Roe Cloud (c. 1884–1950) of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Nebraska. Originally named Wohnaxilayhungah, Roe Cloud attended government run vocational schools before attending Yale University—the first Native American to do so. He graduated from Yale in 1910 earning a bachelor’s degree and a divinity degree in theology from the Auburn Theological Seminary. In 1914 at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Society of American Indians (SAI) held in Madison, Wisconsin, Roe Cloud met is future wife, Elizabeth Bender (Ojibwa). Both were young and enthusiastic advocates for civil rights for Indigenous people—including access to higher educational opportunities. Roe Cloud believed that education was necessary for Native Americans to succeed in American society, so he created the Roe Indian Institute in Wichita, designed as a college preparatory school for Native Americans. Roe Cloud selected Wichita as the location for the preparatory school in part because of the centralized location among Native Americans in the United States. In 1916, Bender and Roe Cloud married, and she left her own teaching career to join Roe Cloud in Wichita to help run the American Indian Institute (A.I.I.).The A.I.I. was in operation from 1915 to 1935 and was at the time the only college preparatory school ran by and for Native Americans. Students were encouraged to speak their tribal languages and decorate their living quarters with Indigenous art and reminders of their cultural heritage. The school was in sharp contrast to the Bureau of Indian Affairs which denied educational opportunities for students beyond the eighth grade. Most education for young indigenous peoples centered on skill making, like cooking for girls and carpentry for boys, rather than college prep. Most students enrolled at A.I.I. were from Oklahoma. The school’s enrollment reached its peak in 1921 with 46 students. Once established, funding came from Indigenous patrons, Wichita donors, the Kansas Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and various churches. The Roe Clouds were popular with students, promoted Indigenous voices and points of view, and often volunteered or were recruited to participate in national Native American educational and civil and voting rights movements. Finding themselves increasingly busy on the national stage, the Roe Clouds decided to hand control of A.I.I. to the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church in 1927 and in 1933 couple moved to Lawrence, where he became the first Indigenous President of Haskell Institute, now known as Haskell Indian Nations University. With the onset of the Great Depression and the loss of the charismatic Cloud family, enrollment declined, and A.I.I.’s doors closed in 1939. The former institute property in Wichita went by the wayside over the years until only the dormitory building remained. It was demolished in the 1990s and replaced with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house, now standing at the corner of 21st and Bluff. The Cloud family's name lives on in the community in Henry Roe Cloud Elementary School on 25th Street, built in 1953.

The Roe Indian Institute, later renamed the American Indian Institute, was the first all-Indian high school in the United States. The school was established by Henry Roe Cloud (Wohnaxilayhungah) (c.1884–1950) of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Nebraska. Roe Cloud believed that education was necessary for Native Americans to succeed in American society, so he created the Roe Indian Institute in Wichita. Designed as a college preparatory school for Native Americans, it was in operation from 1915 to 1935 and, at the time, was the only college preparatory school ran by and for Native Americans.

American Indian Institute (The Roe Indian Institute)

The Keeper of the Plains was commissioned in 1974 by the city to mark the United States Bicentennial. The 45-foot steel sculpture was created by Kiowa-Comanche artist Francis Blackbear Bosin (1921-1980) also known by his Kiowa name Tsate Kongia (meaning “black bear”). Blackbear Bosin was a self-taught artist and sculptor. His early works comprise of representations of early Indian life while his later works became increasingly complex depicting a combination of recognizable and surrealist elements in vivid paint colors.Created as part of a $20-million riverfront restoration project and dedicated in 1974, The Keeper of the Plains has become the symbol of the city of Wichita. The striking sculpture stands at the junction of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers and adjacent to the Mid-America All-Indian Museum. The sculpture depicts a man who stands “…with hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit.” The plaza where the sculpture is situated also includes elements that represent the four elements that make up life: earth, air, fire and water. Surrounding the base of the statue are multiple displays which describe the local tribes that used to inhabit this area, as well as several fire pits which sometimes light up to illuminate the statue at night.Visitors to the city should consider watching the nightly lighting of the "Ring of Fire" around this platform, which burns nightly at 7p.m. from November to March and 9 p.m. from March to November. The fire pits, which are known as the Rings of Fire, are lit mannually for public safety and run in 15 minute increments. They are generally lit once a night around 9 pm during the summer and sunset during the winter.

Created as part of a $20-million riverfront restoration project and dedicated in 1974, The Keeper of the Plains has become the symbol of the city of Wichita. The 45-foot steel sculpture by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin stands at the junction of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. The sculpture stands on a 30-foot tall platform adjacent to the Mid-America All-Indian Center. The sculpture depicts a man who stands “…with hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit.” The statue acts as a visual reminder of the local tribes that inhabit the area (past and present) and the significant roles Indigenous people played in American history.

The Keeper of the Plains

From Kansas’s earliest days of statehood in the 1850s, African American involvement has shaped the state. African American history is Kansas history, and nowhere is that history more thoroughly documented and celebrated than at the Kansas African American Museum in Wichita. Founded in 1998, the museum found its home in the former Calvary Baptist Church, which was itself constructed by church leaders in 1917. The historic church was a mainstay in the thriving Wichita Black community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the African American population swelled after the Civil War. When the church relocated in 1975, the First National Black Historical Society was created as a civic movement to safeguard the building during a time when urban renewal was displacing many Black families and communities in Wichita and across the United States. In 1993, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to rotating exhibitions related to art, music, culture, and history, the Kansas African American Museum displays a large permanent collection of African American contemporary art and African art and artifacts, united by the theme of “Africa to Kansas.” The museum also features displays of African Americans who have made significant contributions to Kansas and the United States, including George Washington Carver, Gordon Parks, and Hattie McDaniel. Many of these figures have made crucial contributions to African American civil rights, and the museum displays shed light on their importance to American society and democracy. The museum is currently fundraising to relocate to a new space in downtown Wichita.

With a mission of making “the Kansas African American experience resonant with EVERY Kansan,” the Kansas African American Museum features exhibitions on the history, culture, art, and civic impacts of the Black community of Kansas.

The Kansas African American Museum

Founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson heavily influenced the architecture of American democracy when they chose the classical style for the new nation's capital and important structures. They knew their decision to infuse governmental architecture with a classical style would forever link the city stylistically and ideally to the principles of republican Rome and democratic Athens therefore imbuing it with a sense of power and prestige. Classicism has been the dominant style for federal and civic government architecture—from the White House to post offices to courthouses.Although, the classical style dominated civic architecture for 150 years, various revival styles also remained in fashion until the birth of modernism in the 20th century. Wichita architect W.R. McPherson designed the six-story Old Sedgwick County Courthouse in the Victorian Renaissance style, an architectural revival style named after Queen Victoria. The courthouse was beautifully executed in native limestone with steeply pitched roofed towers and the large windows characteristic of the style. The courthouse was constructed in 1888 and completed in 1889 for $197,329. After seventy-one years of service as the county's seat of government, a new eleven-story courthouse was constructed in 1956 and is situated across the street from the Old Sedgwick County Courthouse.Sedgwick County was established as a county on February 26, 1867, and sits on the traditional homelands of the Osage and Wichita and Affiliated Indian tribes (Wichita Proper, Waco, Taovaya, Tawakoni and Kichai). The county received its name in honor of John Sedgwick, a general of the Union Army who died during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in 1864.

The six-story Old Sedgwick County Courthouse was designed by Wichita architect W.R. McPherson in the Victorian Renaissance style beautifully executed in native limestone and characterized by the steeply pitched roofed towers and the large windows. The courthouse was first constructed in 1888 and completed in 1889 for $197,329. The courthouse served as the seat of county government until a new eleven-story building was completed directly across Main Street in 1959. The Old Sedgwick County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and remains an impressive reminder of civic architecture.

Old Sedgwick County Courthouse 

Civil Rights activist Ron Walters once called his Wichita hometown the “Mississippi of the North.” He had good reason to think so. During the 1950s Walters lived in a Wichita that denied the black population the right to swim in the municipal pool and admittance to the city parks. The local hospital forced blacks to be treated in a separated wing, and ninety percent of Wichita’s African American population lived in seven census tracts. Children attended segregated schools through the eighth grade, and hotels, restaurants, and movie theaters did not serve black patrons unless the movie theater had a balcony for blacks to sit or unless a restaurant was black-owned.The latter proved to be the final indignity for Walters and his cousin Carol Parks. Parks recalled the humiliation of standing at a lunch counter waiting to be served food which she was forced to eat elsewhere solely because of the color of her skin. “We never knew what it was to just sit there and have a glass and dishes,” she remembered. This treatment sparked Parks and Walters, members of the NAACP youth group, to plan a sustained sit-in of a family-owned drugstore chain in downtown Wichita—Dockum Drugs.The carefully planned protest began on a hot and humid Thursday evening in July 1958. A dozen young people quietly walked into the downtown location at the corner of Broadway and Douglas late in the afternoon and asked to be served. Parks seated herself first and was about to be handed a coke when the waitress noticed her companions and said, “you are not colored are you dear?” When Parks answered yes, the waitress cited store policy and refused to serve her and her fellow protestors. The young people, ages 15-22, quietly sat facing forward as if expecting to be served until the store closed later that evening while anxious parents watched from across the street. That day a movement began.The group organized the sit-ins for three days a week—Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The strategy, recalled Walters years later was to “shut off the flow of dollars.” The youth group committed themselves to returning to the drugstore for as long as it took to be served. They received the support of the Wichita NAACP, but not that of the national office, which cited that direct action was against policy. The national office preferred litigation.Walters knew the sit-in hurt Dockum’s business when protestors took to the lunch counter stools because the manager occasionally closed the counter as a way to refrain from serving the black students. Other times white patrons walked into the store and immediately left without making a purchase once they noticed the protesters.Nearly three weeks after the protest began on the afternoon of August 11, the owner of the Dockum chain walked into the store and saw Parks sitting at the counter. He threw up his hands and called to his store manager, “serve them—I’m losing too much money.” Shortly thereafter all the Dockum stores in the city were integrated.Walters finally received an award from the NAACP in 2006 to honor his role in organizing the protest. He continued to work as an activist and eventually became a teacher, author, and television commentator. He passed away in 2010.

Seeking racial equity and an end to segregation, Wichita's Black students organized and staged a sit-in on July 19, 1958, at Wichita's Dockum Drugstore, a location now home to the Ambassador Hotel. Long denied entry into the city's movie theaters and restaurants, students exercised their right to peacefully protest over a three-week period at the popular lunch counter. It was one of the first organized sit-ins in the country. A group of young people led by Ron Walters, the president of the Wichita NAACP Youth Council at the time, decided to start the protest. The sit-in was successful after the owner finally relented because the protest was hurting business. Other businesses in Wichita soon followed suit, leading to desegregation throughout the city. Protests like the Dockum Drugstore Sit-In transformed the struggle for racial equity in America and inspired similar protests in Oklahoma City and Greensboro, North Carolina, which took place soon after. A monument honoring the sit-in was erected at this location and later placed in storage with plans to install it one block east within a dedicated urban park.

Dockum Drug Store Sit-In

Urban renewal projects swept the United States in the second half of the 20th century, targeting urban decay and “blighted” areas that lacked access to adequate housing and public infrastructure. These projects involved clearing out urban areas and demolishing old buildings, and then redeveloping them, often connecting the areas to new stretches of highway. In many cases, urban redevelopment targeted Black communities and communities of color, displacing these residents and destroying their landmarks and historical artifacts. The Calvary Baptist Church in Wichita nearly met this same fate, but it was rescued through the efforts of Doris Kerr Larkins and other community members, who fought back against urban redevelopment and won.The Calvary Baptist Church congregation was established in 1878 to serve as a spiritual center of the Black community in Wichita. In 1913, the congregation built a permanent church building in the downtown area. In a blow to the congregation, the original building was deemed a fire hazard not long after, but the members raised money and rebuilt the church themselves. Nearly everyone involved in constructing the new church was African American, including the architect, and the building is considered a monument to Wichita’s Black community.For decades, the church building served not only as a church but as a center of life in the downtown area where many of Wichita’s Black-owned businesses were concentrated, providing a sense of hope and community. Many of Wichita’s civil rights leaders were baptized in the church, including Wichita’s first Black mayor, A. Price Woodard.Over the years, the demographics of Wichita began to shift, and much of the African American community moved farther north of downtown. The church moved to a new location in 1972, and the Wichita Urban Renewal Agency purchased the historic church building and others in the neighborhood, with plans to flatten them and construct a parking lot or a highway loop in their place.Some members of the community, however, recognized the importance of preserving the building that had been a cultural and spiritual anchor of the community. Doris Kerr Larkins, who had grown up as a member of the Calvary Baptist Church congregation, was committed to preserving the history of the church and its role in the African American story of Wichita. Beginning in 1972, Larkins gathered support from friends and church members, pushing back against the city’s downtown renewal plans. Finally, in 1973, the building was purchased by the Sedgwick County Commission, saving it from demolition. The following year, Larkins helped to establish the First National Black Historical Society of Kansas, a group that took on the next battle: fighting through all of the bureaucratic red tape required to turn the old church into a museum. At the same time, the society began accumulating archival materials and artifacts that told the stories of African Americans in Wichita and Kansas.In 1993, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1996, the Kansas African American Museum opened in the former Calvary Baptist Church building. Today, the historic building not only serves an invaluable educational function but also stands as a testament to the power of community-led action and the crucial role it plays in American democracy.

The Calvary Baptist Church was once a cornerstone of the Black community in Wichita. When urban renewal plans threatened it with demolition, community members banded together to save it and convert it into a museum of the history and culture of African Americans in Kansas.

Calvary Baptist Church

Susanna Madora (Kinsey) Salter was born in Ohio in 1860 and moved with her parents to a farm in Kansas in 1872. She entered Kansas State Agriculture College in 1878 but was forced to drop out due to illness just six weeks shy of graduation. In 1880, Salter married Lewis Allison Salter, and they moved to Argonia, where they were soon joined by Salter’s parents. When Argonia incorporated in 1885, Salter’s father, Oliver Kinsey, was elected the town’s first mayor, and her husband was the first city clerk. Two years later, in 1887, women in Kansas won the right to vote in municipal elections.Women’s suffrage in Kansas had been preceded and accompanied by increased political involvement. Salter herself was an officer in the local Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a group that lobbied for prohibition and other issues. The growing involvement of women in politics was perceived as a threat by some men in Argonia, and in an attempt to put the women of WCTU in their place, they decided to play a trick during a local election. The group of men printed ballots listing Salter as a candidate for mayor, assuming that the town’s men would not vote for a woman and that Salter and the WCTU would be humiliated by receiving so few votes. When the trick was discovered on election day, Salter agreed that if she were elected, she would accept the office.Salter received a two-thirds majority of votes, and Salter served her one-year term, presiding over the all-male town council. Salter also became a media sensation, with newspapers all over the nation debating whether women ought to be elected mayor. Although she was often the object of editorial jokes, some newspaper stories described her presiding over council meetings with great dignity and decorum and declared her to be a fine representative for suffragists. The following year, several other Kansas towns elected women to public office, making dramatic inroads into politics despite fervent resistance from those who opposed women’s suffrage.After her first term as mayor, Salter did not run again, and the family eventually moved to Oklahoma, where Salter lived to be 101 years old and remained keenly interested in political and religious affairs all her life.Susanna Madora Salter’s house in Argonia was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is now a museum containing antiques and personal artifacts that belonged to Salter. Visitors can also see the graves of Salter and her husband in the Argonia Cemetery.

Today, Argonia is a small town of about 456 people located under an hour’s drive from Wichita, but it holds a big place in the history of Kansas and the United States. It was in Argonia that the first woman in the United States was elected mayor, and she cleared a path for other women to be elected to public office in Kansas soon after.

Salter House Museum

For many African Americans in the South at the time, migration to Kansas was their way of achieving their own personal American Dream. African Americans at the time saw Kansas as a state where they could “exercise their rights as American citizens, gain true political freedom, and have the opportunity to achieve economic self-sufficiency” (Davis 2017).    In 1869, Benjamin Singleton began recruiting African Americans from Tennessee to settle in Kansas (Davis 2017). By 1880, the number of Black settlers living in Kansas had increased to 43,107. The community suffered when railroad executives chose to bypass Nicodemus in favor of other area settlements--a decision that made it nearly impossible to operate a commercially successful farm. As of 2015, the community's permanent population was less than 40 individuals (“Nicodemus” 2015).    The abrupt Black migration was an issue of national concern: white Americans were unaware of why the migration was happening, and how it should be addressed (Davis 2017). White Southerners accused their Northern counterparts of encouraging the mass migration for political motives, while white Northerners blamed the migration on the oppression of African Americans by white Southerners (Davis 2017). Many members of the educated African American elite also opposed the Exodus movement, because the elite believed that the ignorance of many uneducated African Americans left them vulnerable to deception and exploitation (Davis 2017).       Since, its demise in the late 1800s, the town has been designated a National Historic Site by the National Park Service (“Nicodemus” 2015). The town hosts a group of five buildings which represent various aspects of African American life on the frontier. These aspects include home, business, church, government, and education. Nowadays, school children can come to Nicodemus to learn about the role of Black settlers in the West (“Nicodemus” 2015). A community center, built in 1938, hosts a National Park Service ranger, historical displays discussing Nicodemus and the African Americans who helped settle the West, and a gift shop (“Nicodemus” 2015).     Although many see Nicodemus as a dying town that is important to Kansas’ history, but not its present, a small, but determined, group of individuals are determined to keep the town alive through the town’s annual homecoming celebrations (Smith 2015). Many descendants of the town’s original residents still feel a sense of community within Nicodemus, despite having never lived there themselves (Smith 2015). Although the town itself will never be restored to its full population, some are trying to recreate a living community in the town (Smith 2015). One such individual is Dr. JohnElla Holmes, a professor of history, who recently moved into Nicodemus and runs a summer camp for underprivileged minority youth (Smith 2015).    Nicodemus was not the only all-Black community formed during reconstruction, nor was it the only one in Kansas, but it remains a defining example of the Black migration and the Exoduster movement (Davis 2017). For some, the town of Nicodemus is an important reminder of the past, and for others it continues to be a step towards a brighter future. Whatever interpretation an individual brings to Nicodemus, the inherent value of the town cannot be contested.

Nicodemus National Historic Site preserves the history of the earliest town established west of the Mississippi River, by African Americans. Nicodemus was named for the first Black man to purchase his freedom, and within a biblical context, has the double-meaning of rebirth. After it became clear that the end of slavery would not lead to economic liberation, the town came to represent hope for many Black Southerners. Many African American religious leaders worked with both white and Black entrepreneurs to establish the town of Nicodemus. Seeking the opportunity to purchase land and secure the independence of land ownership, the original settlers of Nicodemus arrived from the South in 1877, just two years prior to the wave of approximately 20,000 “Exodusters” who abandoned the South for Kansas and other Midwestern states, between 1879 and 1880. The town grew rapidly, but after Nicodemus was bypassed by the railroad expansion, it became difficult to maintain an agricultural community. Still, for many generations, families in the town persisted, and Nicodemus remains the oldest Black town west of the Mississippi.See the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America and local exhibit Nicodemus Politicians presented by the Nicodemus Historical Society July 1 - August 13, 2023. For exhibition and event details, contact the Nicodemus Historical Society directly. Visit humanitieskansas.org for overview of the Kansas tour.

Nicodemus National Historic Site

Formerly enslaved African Americans left the south at the end of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period in hopes of a better life in the “Promised Land” of Kansas. Some migrated to Nicodemus where they faced many hardships on the Kansas frontier. When Black settlers traveled to the nearest town of Stockton for supplies, they needed a place to stay overnight on the way home. Local laws prevented Blacks from staying in public hotels, so a stone dugout, built in the side of an embankment accommodated them. The Dugout is located on privately owned land. It is visible from the highway only on the north side as you round the curve nearing Stockton (From Nicodemus, 16 miles east of U.S. 24; mile marker 149 and 150). Although the structure is inaccessible today, the history of places like the stone dugout is a stark reminder of the discrimination and hardships placed on emancipated African Americans.

Stone Dugout 

When formerly enslaved African Americans migrated to the Midwest during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, they faced many hardships. With little supplies to build stable housing, initial shelters consisted of burrows—a dwelling dug in the side of a small hill or bank. Sod dugouts and wooden structures eventually replaced the burrows. In June 1879 School District No. 1 was established in Nicodemus by Zacharias and Francis Fletcher. Francis taught forty-five pupils in her dugout home until 1887 when a formal four room structure was erected. The establishment of District No.1 School demonstrated the desire for freedom and education of the early homesteaders of Nicodemus.The original school was later destroyed in a fire. A new structure, the one we see today, was built on the same site in 1918. The school closed in the 1950s.

District No. 1 School

For many African Americans in the South at the time, migration to Kansas was their way of achieving their own personal American Dream. African Americans at the time saw Kansas as a state where they could “exercise their rights as American citizens, gain true political freedom, and have the opportunity to achieve economic self-sufficiency” (Davis 2017). In 1869, Benjamin Singleton began recruiting African Americans from Tennessee to settle in Kansas (Davis 2017). By 1880, the number of Black settlers living in Kansas had increased to 43,107. The community suffered when railroad executives chose to bypass Nicodemus in favor of other area settlements--a decision that made it nearly impossible to operate a commercially successful farm. As of 2015, the community's permanent population was less than 40 individuals (“Nicodemus” 2015). The abrupt Black migration was an issue of national concern: white Americans were unaware of why the migration was happening, and how it should be addressed (Davis 2017). White Southerners accused their Northern counterparts of encouraging the mass migration for political motives, while white Northerners blamed the migration on the oppression of African Americans by white Southerners (Davis 2017). Many members of the educated African American elite also opposed the Exodus movement, because the elite believed that the ignorance of many uneducated African Americans left them vulnerable to deception and exploitation (Davis 2017). Since, its demise in the late 1800s, the town has been designated a National Historic Site by the National Park Service (“Nicodemus” 2015). The town hosts a group of five buildings which represent various aspects of African American life on the frontier. These aspects include home, business, church, government, and education. Nowadays, school children can come to Nicodemus to learn about the role of Black settlers in the West (“Nicodemus” 2015). A community center, built in 1938, hosts a National Park Service ranger, historical displays discussing Nicodemus and the African Americans who helped settle the West, and a gift shop (“Nicodemus” 2015). Although many see Nicodemus as a dying town that is important to Kansas’ history, but not its present, a small, but determined, group of individuals are determined to keep the town alive through the town’s annual homecoming celebrations (Smith 2015). Many descendants of the town’s original residents still feel a sense of community within Nicodemus, despite having never lived there themselves (Smith 2015). Although the town itself will never be restored to its full population, some are trying to recreate a living community in the town (Smith 2015). One such individual is Dr. JohnElla Holmes, a professor of history, who recently moved into Nicodemus and runs a summer camp for underprivileged minority youth (Smith 2015). Nicodemus was not the only all-Black community formed during reconstruction, nor was it the only one in Kansas, but it remains a defining example of the Black migration and the Exoduster movement (Davis 2017). For some, the town of Nicodemus is an important reminder of the past, and for others it continues to be a step towards a brighter future. Whatever interpretation an individual brings to Nicodemus, the inherent value of the town cannot be contested.

The Nicodemus Emancipation and Homecoming Celebration is held annually the last weekend in July to celebrate the history and heritage of Nicodemus, an unincorporated community in Graham County, Kansas, and the only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi. The celebration commemorates the abolishment of slavery in the United States and the founding of the town. The Emancipation and Homecoming Celebration has taken place every year since 1878. Participants enjoy a variety of activities, such as a parade, wagon and horse rides, a Buffalo Soldiers demonstration, food and craft vendors, dances, church services, and gospel music.

Nicodemus Emancipation and Homecoming Celebration

In 1868, the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston (LL&amp;G) became the first railroad to reach Ottawa, Kansas. Shortly thereafter, the line was sold to the Southern Kansas, who hired architect George Washburn to design the depot that still stands today. The building's stone was quarried in Cowley County, which is in southeast Kansas.After its construction in 1888, the Santa Fe bought the Southern Kansas line and the depot became a Santa Fe Division Headquarters. The depot included a 13-stall roundhouse where engines were repaired, a freight depot, and a Railway Express Agency (an express shipping service). Unfortunately, before the levy system was installed, the depot was at the mercy of the Marais des Cygnes River, which flooded frequently. As the need for passenger service declined, the 1888 depot fell out of use, and passenger service moved to a smaller building north of town before being discontinued entirely.In 1962, the depot was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society, which reopened the depot's doors in 1963 as the Old Depot Museum. In 1996, the Franklin County Historical Society received an ISTEA grant, and the building underwent major rehabilitation before reopening in 1999. The two-story museum includes exhibits on Native American tribes, the Pottawatomie Massacre, the exaggerated photography of William "Dad" Martin, local industry, and historic examples of daily life in Franklin County (a turn-of-the-century general store, farm kitchen, Victorian parlor, soda fountain). One entire room is dedicated to an HO-scale model railroad layout designed to replicate the sites of 1950s Franklin County. Our one-room school exhibit also serves as the setting for our One-Room School Program, where students are invited to dress in pinafores and suspenders and experience a day in school--complete with academic, behavioral, and recreational expectations--just as a child would have in 1915.Just outside the depot is a 1940s caboose, which was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society in 2012. Old Depot Museum staff members can unlock the caboose for visitors when weather permits.The large first-floor gallery features temporary exhibits. Recent exhibits have included historic Franklin County photographers, Franklin County's contribution to World War I, Fred Harvey and the history of the Harvey Houses, historic textiles, and the founding of Ottawa. In 2016, featured exhibits will include local quilts, the history of local baseball, and the history of fraternal organizations and secret societies in Franklin County.The depot also hosts numerous events throughout the year. Most events are free and open to the public.The museum is a member of Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area.

Built in 1888, this stone depot was designed by local architect George Washburn and built by the Southern Kansas Railroad, who almost immediately sold it to the Santa Fe. The depot became a division headquarters and once included a 13-stall roundhouse, freight depot, and Railway Express Agency. After seven decades of service, the depot was donated to the Franklin County Historical Society, who uses the building to share the history of Franklin County and the story of railroads in small towns.See the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America and local exhibit Barely Made It: The Naked Voters and Other Franklin County Stories of Democracy at the Old Depot Museum August 19 - October 1, 2023. For exhibition and event details, contact the Franklin County Historical Society directly. Visit humanitieskansas.org for overview of the Kansas tour.

Old Depot Museum

Located at 605 College in Winfield, KS on the historic Baden Square, the Winfield Public Library has had the honor of serving the local community for over 110 years, since January 1913. Dedicated to providing materials and opportunities for life-long learning, the library offers a wide range of programs and services.Winfield Public Library believe the circle of learning starts with parents teaching babies and comes full circle with us all learning together from each other. Through the circle of learning we build a stronger community for all of us.See the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America and local exhibit Chautauqua" "The Most American Thing in America" presented by the Winfield Public Library October 7 - November 19, 2023. For exhibition and event details, contact the Winfield Public Library directly. Visit humanitieskansas.org for overview of the Kansas tour.

Winfield Public Library

Civic architecture like city halls, public parks, and pavilions offer evidence of democratic places that support local culture and economic life. These structures often convey civic culture and identity, and act as physical evidence to help us understand local democracy, public participation, and civic values. Today, the Winfield City Hall hosts several important offices, including the City Clerk’s office, Customer Service, Utility Billing, Public Information, Human Resources, Accounting, City Manager’s Office, and Community Development.

Winfield City Hall

Founded as adult educational lectures in Lake Chautauqua, New York, in 1874, Chautauqua was a place where people could gather to discuss political, social, and cultural topics. “WE ARE ALL ONE on these Grounds,” proclaimed Chautauqua co-founder Lewis Miller. “No matter to what denomination you belong; no matter what creed, no matter to what political party of the country. You are welcome here, whether high or low.” The Chautauqua movement caught on and caught fire across the nation, notably in Kansas where Winfield, Ottawa, Cawker City, and other communities hosted long-running summer Chautauqua assemblies. By 1886, the Chautauquanproclaimed that Kansas carried “the banner for the largest number of new circles in any state west of the Mississippi.”Winfield’s Island Park was home to summer Chautauqua from 1887 to 1924. “There is no spot more beautiful than Island Park,” effused The Daily Courier in 1892. “Its winding water course, stately trees, handsome carpet of green with winds making music in the boughs and branches overhead and blue canopy of Heaven covering all.” Winfield’s local Chautauqua association partnered with the city to build a Hall of Philanthropy and a Tabernacle that could seat 3,500. Crowds of up to 10,000 swelled the park to see popular orator and three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan on one of his four visits. Families would travel by rail and wagon to attend Chautauqua, taking advantage of the educational opportunities for the “common man.” “Chautauqua is a great university whose students are scattered in homes, on farms, in shops and factories, in towns and mining camps, in cars and ships, wherever a human soul carries the love of learning,” proclaimed the program for the 1896 Ottawa Chautauqua Assembly. “Then once a year they flock to the great assembly to study under competent professors to round up the year’s work, to receive diplomas, to form new classes, and to go back to life’s duties refreshed and inspired.”This democratic approach to education had an enormous impact on women. One of the lasting legacies of Chautauqua is the way that it engaged women – primarily white, middle-class women – in the pursuit of studies at a time when educational opportunities were limited. The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle offered a four-year correspondence course which women could pursue at home. In 1907, The Winfield Tribune declared “The most important department of the Chautauqua is the Chautauqua Ladies Social Circle department under the direction of Miss Elinor Hayes. The Chautauqua Ladies Social Circle has encouraged and secured hundreds of readers of the home reading course that has been a lasting benefit to the participants and in this work the record of the Winfield Assembly is second to none.” Women also lectured on the Chautauqua circuit on topics including temperance, religion, literature, and eventually, women’s suffrage. The Winfield Chautauqua welcomed Rev. Dr. Anna Howard Shaw to Island Park in the summer of 1892. Shaw was an ordained Methodist minister and chair of the Franchise Department of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She traveled extensively to support women’s voting rights believing that women’s access to the ballot would result in the election of more temperance candidates. “The subject of this brief sketch may be considered one of the brightest stars on the lecture platform,” wrote the Winfield Monthly Herald. “She asks this very pertinent question: ‘Why is it that so few monuments are built in honor of noble, heroic women?’...Women do not merely ask for pockets and pocket books. They can earn a living. There are no laws preventing them from engaging in any business enterprise they please, but they do ask that when the voice of the people is to speak, that women shall be counted with the people.”

Island Park is located on 200 Main St. and was the site of Winfield’s Chautauquas from 1887 to 1913. The Chautauqua included a number of different intellectuals who spoke to the public during the summer months. Characterized by the large tents and open fields, Chautauqua was created by co-founder John C. Vincent in western New York, and the movement quickly spread across the country. Chautauqua was one of the most notable nontraditional educational opportunities for adults to learn about the arts, religion, and social movements. Specifically notable is its impact on the women’s rights movement. Chautauqua provided an educational opportunity for rural women (usually exclusive to white women) whose social roles centered on family life only. Through Chautauqua, women were able to continuously learn while remaining in the family sphere. Island Park was a permanent Chautauqua location during its active years. The park is now open to the public with playground equipment for children, a garden, and a waterfall.

Island Park

The Republic County Historical Society Museum is dedicated to remembering, preserving and sharing the efforts of the pioneers settlers and homesteaders who came to our county, beginning in the 1860's. We of course include those of the Pawnee tribal affiliation who were living in Republic County long before European settlers and are pleased to display some of their life in Republic County in our museum. With over 40,000 artifacts in our collection, we offer insight into early agriculture, business and professions in the history of Republic County. Thousands of photographs, documents and objects help create a panoramic view of early life on the Plains. The Historical Museum proudly has on our grounds a rare pioneer log cabin, a rural school, a country church, a vintage barn, a smokehouse and a display building of early agriculture implements to help represent our rural heritage. We also display a Rock Island caboose to represent the importance of trains in settling our area and the fact that the Rock Island Railroad was a very major employer in Republic County for decades.We also proudly display our diverse heritage in Republic County. The east side of our county was settled by Czechs, Slovaks and Morovians primarily. Come see the beautiful examples of Czech glass, Czech language books and clothing. Our county's west side had a heavily Swedish settling, with a company organized to bring Swedish people (and some other Scandinavians) to Republic County. You will enjoy seeing their heritage artifacts at the Museum to preserve the massive influence the Swedish people had and still have on Republic County. So much to see and do!See the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Voices and Votes: Democracy in America and local exhibit A.Q. Miller: Lobbying for Early Roads in Kansas at the Republic County Historical Society Museum November 25, 2023 - January 7, 2024. For exhibition and event details, contact the RCHSM directly. Visit humanitieskansas.org for overview of the Kansas tour.

Republic County Historical Society Museum

The current Republic County courthouse was built following the accidental burning of the first courthouse in 1938. The original structure was built in 1885 and composed of brick. Following its destruction, the Commissioners of Republic County received funds ($250,000) from the Public Works Administration (PWA) for the construction of a new courthouse. As it stands today, the Republic County Courthouse is a mix of art deco and early European Modern styles. The unique structure was designed by Mann and Company from Hutchinson, Kansas. Standing at three and a half stories tall, the current building houses offices on the ground floor, public services offices on the second, court functions on the third level, and a jail for the fourth. The interior of the courthouse is furnished with metal stair railings, contemporary lighting, and marble.

Bright white, uniform in design, and three and a half stories tall, the Republic County Courthouse is hard to miss. The words "Republic County Courthouse" in all caps is centered above the front entrance's floor to ceiling art deco windows. Situated at the center of the town square, the courthouse occupies a block all of its own, perhaps a reminder that at the heart of Belleville is a community invested in its civic health.

Belleville Municipal Courthouse

The New Deal was a series of public projects designed to provide federally funded jobs for millions of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression. Enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New Deal provided jobs for tens of thousands of people, including artists, musicians, actors, dancers, writers, photographers, painters, and sculptors. Often mistaken for Works Progress Administration (WPA) art, post office murals were actually executed by artists working for the Section of Fine Arts, commonly known as "the Section." The Section was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department. Headed by Edward Bruce, a former lawyer and entrepreneur, the Section's main function was to select art of high quality to decorate public buildings.By providing decoration in public buildings, the art was made accessible to all people. Post offices were located in virtually every community and available for viewing by all postal patrons—which made post office murals a truly democratic art form. The TSFA commissioned more than 1,400 murals in post offices nationwide. Murals were commissioned through competitions open to all artists in the United States. Artists were given little guidance on the subject matter; however, they were encouraged to depict recognizable, uplifting scenes. Kansas Stream depicts a scene along the Republican River near Scandia, KS, in Republic County.

In 1939, Swedish-born artist Birger Sandzen painted Kansas Stream inside the Belleville Post Office with funding from the Treasury Section of Fine Arts (TSFA). Sandzen, a professor at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS, was best known for his colorful, dynamic landscapes of his adopted state. The Belleville Post Office mural depicts an idyllic pastoral scene of four horses gathered near a riverbank.

Belleville Post Office New Deal Mural

Today, Haskell Indian Nations University is a bustling institution of higher education with more than 1,000 students enrolled each semester. These students represent membership in diverse tribes from across the United States, and while students can select from a variety of programs of study, American Indian/Alaska Native culture is infused into the curricula. But despite the current role it plays in the study and enrichment of Native cultures, Haskell has a shadowed history.Haskell was founded in 1884 as the United States Industrial Training School, later renamed Haskell Institute, where young children were educated in trades such as blacksmithing, farming, sewing, and wagon-making. In addition to teaching trades, the school was intended to assimilate the children into Euro-American culture by separating them from their families and tribes. Work, study, and exercise routines were militantly strict, and corporal punishment was rampant; children were punished for such infractions as speaking their home languages instead of English. There was even a jail cell on campus to lock away those who broke school rules.Over the years, the school’s curriculum evolved, adding a teacher training program and a business training program, high school classes, and industrial training programs. Haskell became famous for its football teams, becoming known as the “Powerhouse of the West.” In 1970, Haskell transitioned into a junior college, and in 1994 it became a Land-Grant Institution.The Land-Grant Institutions are 35 tribally controlled colleges and universities that gained land-grant status through the Equity in Education Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. These institutions are crucial centers for Native education, research, career opportunities, and cultural preservation.In the 21st century, Haskell is home to 12 buildings designated as National Historic Landmarks, as well as the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, and the Indian Leader, the oldest Native student newspaper in the United States. It also hosts events such as the Haskell Indian Art Market and the annual Haskell Commencement and Powwow, providing educational and cultural enrichment opportunities for Native and non-Native communities.

Located in Lawrence, KS, Haskell Indian Nations University is a vibrant and diverse education institution that centers American Indian/Alaska Native culture. While today it is a tribally controlled institution, it also reckons with its past as a boarding school intended to assimilate Native youth.

Haskell Indian Nations University

Haskell Institute, now known as Haskell Indian Nations University, was home to several prominent Native American athletes and their football team was one of the best in the nation in the early 1900s. This stadium was dedicated in 1926 thanks to donations of many Native people throughout the United States. The 1926 dedication ceremony was a celebration of the a new football stadium and its grand memorial arch. The stadium was largely built by the physical labor of Haskell Institute students. To honor this accomplishment a celebration was planned for 27-30 October. Well known Native American athletes and Haskell students, Jim Thorpe and John Levi participated in the celebration. Thorpe kicked while Levi threw passes, one of which reportedly traveled an astonishing 83 yards. The weekend included cultural celebrations related to Native American tribes including a powwow, Buffalo feast, and a Hiawatha performance by Haskell students. The celebration concluded with a football match against Bucknell University from Pennsylvania.Haskell was home to several prominent Native American athletes and fielded one of the most prolific football teams in the early 20th century. The 1903 Haskell Fighting Indians defeated Kansas and Missouri but lost to Nebraska. However, the following year the team defeated Nebraska. Eli Stover played for Haskell and earned all-conference in 1914 and 1915 and earned All American Honorable Mention. The 1915 team played powerful schools like Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, and LSU. The apex of the team's success came in the 1920s. In 1922, Haskell scored 287 points and held opponents to 69 points in seven games in a season that saw Haskell defeat national powerhouse Baylor in front of 4200 fans. In 1926, Haskell seemed poised to continue their success with the dedication of this new football stadium that could hold 10,500 people. Haskell alumni and other Native people donated much of the funds needed to complete this $250,000 stadium which opened with a Homecoming victory over Bucknell by a score of 36-0. However, the team's success did not continue owing to a lack of funding and the university discontinued the football program in the 1930s. The program was later revived and today, Haskell competes against area junior colleges. Jim Thorpe, part of Sac, Fox and Potawatomi nations, attended Haskell for several years and many still consider him to be the most influential and well-known athlete of his era. He might also be the most versatile athlete in American history as he not only played in the National Football League but also set many records in track and field. He won the Olympic Decathlon and also played professional baseball and basketball.John Levi, of the Arapaho tribe attended Haskell in the 1920s where he won All-American Football honors as a fullback. After being recruited by the New York Yankees he returned to Haskell to coach. "I got homesick, Levi explained when discussing his decision to return to Kansas. "I had to return to my people."Billy Mills, of the Oglala tribe, became a runner while attending Haskell. In 1964, he received Olympic Gold Metal for the 10,000 meter run in the Tokyo Olympics and to date is currently the only American to have won the gold in that event. Mills is the spokesman for the Running Strong for American Indian Youth program.

In 1926, the Haskell Institute dedicated to their new football stadium and arch that had been built largely by Haskell students. With funds raised by Native American donors from all over the country and labor provided students who came to Haskell from dozens of tribes, Native Americans around the nation viewed the stadium with great pride. The size and grandeur of the stadium also represented the prominence of Haskell and several other Native American schools in the college football world during the 1920s. Some of the greatest American athletes attended Haskell including John Levi, Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills.

Haskell Memorial Stadium 

While Haskell Indian Nations University is known today for its educational opportunities and research in American Indian/Alaska Native studies, in the early 1900s through the 1930s it was perhaps best known for its football team. Haskell’s Fighting Indians football team was called the “Powerhouse of the West” and played games against teams like Harvard and Yale.Construction of a stadium to house this winning football team was completed in October 1926, and the jubilant dedication ceremony recognized many firsts and bests: the first stadium built for Native American football, the first lighted stadium in the Midwest, and the largest multi-tribal gathering of the 20th century so far. But the stadium wasn’t the only structure dedicated on that October day in 1926. The festivities also commemorated the completion of the Memorial Arch, the first tribal WWI memorial. The Memorial Arch was funded entirely by two Quapaw women, Agnes Quapaw-Hoffman, and Alice Beaver-Hallam. The Arch memorializes the 415 Haskellites who served in WWI and sheds light on Native contributions to the war effort. Within the first six months of the United States’ entry into the war, more than 12,000 Native Americans had registered for military service. At this time, one-third of Natives were still unrecognized as U.S. citizens, and some soldiers expected the government to reward their service with citizenship. Although Native communities were divided on the issue of citizenship, with many voicing concerns that citizenship would threaten tribal sovereignty, Congress finally granted citizenship with the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. In front of Haskell’s Cultural Center &amp; Museum, visitors can also find the Tribal Veterans Memorial Wall.

The Memorial Arch at Haskell Indian Nations University was funded through the efforts of Native American donors to honor the 415 Haskellites who served in WWI. It also welcomes visitors to the Memorial Stadium, which was created for Haskell’s powerhouse football team in 1926 and was the first-ever stadium built for Native American football.

Memorial Arch at Haskell Indian Nations University

La Yarda was a housing complex on the east side of Lawrence that housed railway workers and their families from the 1920s until the Kansas (Kaw) River flood of 1951 destroyed the complex. Railroad companies like the Santa Fe Railway relied heavily on the labor of Mexican immigrants and migrant workers, many of whom would come to the United States seasonally to work on the railroads, and then return home to their families in Mexico. In order to keep these workers in town to continue work on the railroad, La Yarda was built as a housing complex in the vicinity of 8th Street and New Jersey Street.La Yarda consisted of several housing units surrounding a courtyard area with a pump to supply water to the residents. There was a strong sense of community at the complex: the children of La Yarda would play together in the grassy area between the buildings, and families would eat together in the shade beneath a large walnut tree. Families also kept chickens and grew their own vegetables.In the documentary Searching for La Yarda, former residents recall the tight bonds between community members and a sense of separation from the rest of Lawrence. These Mexican American families faced prejudice in many places around town. The children were berated by their teachers for speaking Spanish instead of English at home, and many children found that their names were anglicized at school. Some of those children, when they grew up and had families of their own, didn’t teach their children Spanish to protect them from the discrimination they faced themselves.Segregation around Lawrence could be unpredictable. Mexican Americans might be allowed into the movie theater, for instance, but they were not allowed in the public pool. As a result, many children would swim in the river to escape the summer heat, and several children drowned.In 1951, the Kansas River overflowed its banks and swept through La Yarda. Families had time to pack a few essentials before fleeing, and when they returned, the houses were unsalvageable. Water had risen as high as the roof and, when it receded, left behind mountains of mud and irreparable water damage.The physical structures of La Yarda are gone now, with only the concrete foundation remaining, and it takes a short hike through the woods to reach the area. However, many of the families who lived at La Yarda still reside in Lawrence and make up an essential part of the Mexican American community. Mexican Americans have a long history in Kansas and make up a large and growing portion of the population in the United States; understanding their stories is crucial to ensuring that democracy in the United States includes all of its people.

La Yarda is a piece of Lawrence history that was nearly washed away by the Kansas River flood of 1951. In recent years, scholars, filmmakers, and local residents have collaborated to recover the story of this Mexican American community. Their stories highlight the diversity of American democracy and show that the civil rights of Mexican Americans have come a long way in recent decades—though there’s still work to be done.

La Yarda

In 1966, faced with the familiar problem of fitting a growing student body into a limited amount of space, the University of Kansas procured $1.9 million in federal grant money and paired it with $3.9 million in state funding to construct a new building. KU hired Wichita firm Woodman and Van Doren to design a structure which would house the scattered humanities departments. Woodman and Van Doren proposed a grandiose vision for Wescoe hall.The Wichita firm’s plan was a towering complex 25-stories high with attached five-story wings, all accompanied with a parking garage to fit 150 cars (hence the popular legend that Wescoe is a refurbished parking garage). Woodman and Van Doren’s vision was grand, but the University couldn’t afford the cost. The firm’s design did not attract a bid lower than $7 million, substantially above the $5.8 million KU had allocated towards the project. Facing a looming expiration of federal funds, the University pivoted towards a shrunken down 15-story building.By December of 1968 KU had lost access to time sensitive federal funds, the only marker of progress being an excavated foundation which students would name “Wescoe Hole.” As the 1969 school year came around, it was clear that more space was necessary, and the University pursued a scaled down construction of Wescoe at all costs. Topeka Architecture firm Horst, Terrill, and Karst were hired and presented the Wescoe of today, a dramatically scaled down four story building which would cost $8 million, a million more than the highest bids for the original 25-story plan. Despite the disappointment and financial pain associated with the Topeka firm’s plan, the University desperately needed space and began construction.Facing a pressing need for additional funding, the University turned towards its students to help complete Wescoe Hall. On February 18, 1970 the Student Senate approved $7.50 in additional student fees for all those enrolled. Though unpopular by a near 2-1 count of the student body, the fees would raise $1.6 million for the construction of Wescoe Hall. Classes began in Wescoe in April of 1973, prior to its April 20, 1974 dedication, and prior even to the building's total completion.Perhaps the student body have never quite forgiven the raise in fees, but since its construction Wescoe Hall remains a favorite target of mockery. Despite the many insults hurled at its concrete walls, Wescoe is integral as the home for humanities, and as the advertising board for student life. Wescoe Beach, the ironically named concrete front yard of the hall, is constantly in use during the Fall and Spring semesters. The Beach is a popular spot for tabling, Greek life recruiting, and anyone else looking to accost innocent passerby. Though Wescoe is teased, those whose academic careers push them into its walls earn a deep love for the building, and recognize it as a linchpin for the University of Kansas.

Dedicated on April 20, 1974, and named in honor of Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe, who led the University of Kansas from 1960 to 1969, Wescoe Hall is the central hub for the humanities on the KU campus. Originally planned to be a 25-story skyscraper, the modernist concrete structure has inspired many campus legends and remains a center of campus activity. The contrast between the ambitious original plans and the modest four-story building reminds many of the transition seen at many American universities from an education centered on the liberal arts to investment in other fields. The building's location and design have led many to believe it was intended to be a parking garage, while others assume its Cold War-era origins suggest it was intended to double as a bomb shelter. The building replaced the original Haworth Hall and Robinson Gymnasium, which were demolished in 1969.

Wescoe Hall, University of Kansas

On February 14, 1866, Governor Samuel Crawford signed House Bill 34 "An Act Providing for the Erection of the Statehouse" into law. The statehouse committee chose Kansas resident, John G. Haskell, as the architect for the new undertaking, and work began within the year. On October 17, 1866, builders laid the cornerstone for the East Wing of the statehouse.Unfortunately, one initial problem Haskell had was finding appropriately hard limestone. The original cornerstone and foundations did not harden sufficient, and a harsh winter in 1867 led to the total destruction of the cornerstone and foundation. Thankfully harder limestone from Geary County was found to replace the original, and all future limestone used was a harder variety that could stand up against the winters.Even while construction took nearly forty years to complete, the building was in use by lawmakers and the governor for most of that time. Starting in 1869, state offices were moved into the unfinished east wing, and the legislature held its first sessions in the new capitol in 1870. The east wing was finished in 1873 (with three years of lawmakers enduring the sounds of construction while they worked). After that, construction moved to the west wing, which was completed in 1881. The north and south ends, as well as the dome and entire capitol, were finally completed in 1903, at a total staggering cost of $3,200,588.92.The statue of the Kaw warrior, which can be seen on top of the dome today, was not added until 2002. It took over a century of debate to determine what statue ought to stand on top of the dome and to appropriate the funds for the statue. The original 1889 plan of placing a bronze sculpture of the Roman goddess Ceres on top changed in 1984, when the budget for finally providing for a statute, stipulated that the statue could not be a god or goddess. Finally, in the late 1980s, after a fierce competition, the Kansa warrior design was chosen to commemorate Kansas' Native American heritage and was given the name "Ad Astra," which comes from the state motto: "Ad astra per aspera" or ""to the stars through difficulties."

As an architectural landmark that took more than 30 years to complete and cost $3,200,588.92 over a century ago, the Kansas State Capitol stands out even among state capitols. The beautiful copper dome (which is taller than the dome of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.) and the Ad Astra statue, which stands atop the dome, are visible even from distances in Topeka. Built between 1866 and 1903, visitors to the statehouse will find both a window into the past and a chance to see the current state government at work.

Kansas State Capitol

Tragic Prelude is a striking mural painted by John Steuart Curry from 1937 to 1940. It depicts John Brown, armed with a Bible and a rifle, standing in front of Union and Confederate soldiers while a tornado and a prairie fire approach from behind. The mural is rife with symbolism and so large that it is difficult to fully capture in a photo, measuring 33 feet by 11.5 feet. The title refers to the Bleeding Kansas period as a prelude to the Civil War.Although the mural became Curry’s most famous work, it was highly controversial at its time of completion. Curry had been hired to portray the story of Kansas on the second floor of the building, which entailed many large murals, but Curry left the project in disgust, incomplete, after his work was hindered by the controversy. There were complaints from many members of the public over using John Brown as a focal point of one of the murals, as well as smaller details like colors and the length of a woman’s skirt. The Kansas Council of Women issued the statement, “The murals do not portray the true Kansas. Rather than revealing a law-abiding progressive state, the artist has emphasized the freaks in its history - the tornadoes, and John Brown, who did not follow legal procedure.” The Kansas Legislature passed a resolution that effectively ended Curry’s work before it was complete, so several of the murals planned to accompany Tragic Prelude on the second floor of the statehouse were never painted.Although there were complaints about many aspects of Curry’s work, the primary cause for disagreement was its inclusion of the controversial abolitionist John Brown. Brown was raised as a Calvinist in Ohio, where as an adult he became a stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in 1854, allowing settlers the right to decide whether their states would allow slavery, Brown’s sons soon left for Kansas. Brown did not join his sons in Kansas until 1855, when pro-slavery forces took control of the legislature. In response, Brown gathered his weapons and went to Kansas, where he led violent raids against pro-slavery forces.Although he left behind a violent legacy, it is in part due to Brown’s actions that Kansas voted to become a free state. Today, Curry’s mural hangs in the State Capitol to pay tribute to Brown’s spirit and the importance of the abolishment of slavery in progressing democracy in the United States.

The mural Tragic Prelude in the Kansas State Capitol was controversial for featuring a wild-eyed, larger-than-life John Brown when it was first painted in 1940, but today it hangs in the statehouse as an unforgettable part of Kansas history.

“Tragic Prelude” Mural

The Topeka Council of Colored Women’s Clubs (TCCWC) was founded in 1923 by Beatrice Childs, president of the Kansas Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, to bring Black women together for community engagement work. The TCCWC consisted of seven different clubs, and these clubs were a staple of African American community leadership, with involvement in voter registration, suffrage and civil rights movements, and the Brown v. Board of Education case, among many other causes and activities. In 1931, TCCWC members purchased their clubhouse at 1149 SW Lincoln St. Prior to the purchase of the clubhouse, club members hosted meetings and events at their homes or churches on a rotating basis, so the establishment of an official clubhouse gave members a sense of accomplishment and purpose. The clubhouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, and visitors can find inspiration from the leadership and community engagement exemplified by the clubs.

Starting in 1931, the white frame house at 1149 SW Lincoln was the headquarters of the Topeka Association of Colored Women and Girls. Black women began organizing in the 1880s and 1890s, a time of escalating racial tension that saw the proliferation of both formal and informal racial segregation throughout America. The Kansas Association of Colored Women's Clubs was founded in 1896 and chartered in 1906. In addition to taking an interest in popular Victorian ideals of self-expression and morality, Black women who were members of clubs throughout Topeka and beyond fought for economic opportunities, political equality, and civil rights for their entire race. Black clubwomen worked to help other Black women who worked outside the home - the majority of whom were employed as domestics in this era. The women's clubs worked to establish childcare and kindergartens to help working women. In 1917, eight separate organizations were members of the Council of Colored Women’s Clubs. The African American women’s clubs were important institutions in the development of organization, unity, and leadership within the Black community.  The building was later acquired by a local organization known as The Living the Dream Foundation. Among their goals is a historic landmark designation for the building and more education about the experiences of African American women during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Topeka Council of Colored Women’s Clubs (1931)

History of Mariachi Estrella de TopekaMariachi music is a folk music that comes from Mexico, and upon hearing its trumpets, violins, and guitars, it is instantly recognizable. This genre dates back to before the arrival of the Spanish, though the modern incarnation of mariachi is associated with the early 20th century. It was first introduced in Mexico City in 1905, and in the 1920s, the music was broadcast throughout the country through several radio networks. The first mariachi groups in the United States came from California in the late 1950s and 1960s. Up until the appearance of Mariachi Estrella de Topeka, the music genre was heavily related to machismo culture, particularly in terms of drinking tequila and womanizing.1 In the later 1970s in Topeka, at the request of a Guatemalan priest who was asking for livelier music in the church choir, seven women joined together to form the first all-female mariachi group, “Mariachi Estrella de Topeka”. These women brought the typical mariachi instruments from Mexico to Topeka and began playing at Topeka’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. The group consisted of Teresa Cuevas, Connie Alcala, Isabel Gonzalez, Rachel Galvan Sangalang, Dolores Galvan, Dolores Carmona and Linda Scurlock, and prior to playing at the church, they had little mariachi experience. They learned quickly, however, as they practiced the traditional mariachi instruments in a self-taught atmosphere. After attending a mariachi conference in San Antonio in 1980, the women had caught mariachi fever and cemented their goal to play mariachi on a broader scale. The self-taught musicians returned to Topeka after the conference, practiced diligently, and even had women’s mariachi regalia tailored for them. Soon enough, the seven women were playing across the Kansas State and garnering widespread popularity.2The Walkway Collapse at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas CityMariachi Estrella de Topeka had a gig to play at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City on July 17th, 1981. Unfortunately, they never played due to one of the worst structural disasters in United States history (it was unsurpassed until the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001). That evening, around 1,600 people stood in the atrium as well as on the fourth-floor and second-floor walkways watching a tea dance. The members of Mariachi Estrella de Topeka were about to perform for the Fuller Brush company, and with their outfits on, they were traversing the skywalk when the walkway collapsed. The fourth-floor walkway (the skywalk) crashed into the second-floor walkway, and then both walkways fell into the lobby below. In total, 114 people died and 219 were injured. Four of these deaths included Linda Scurlock, Dolores Galvan, Connie Alcala and Dolores Carmona. Only Rachel Galvan Sangalang and Teresa Cuevas survived the fall. The seventh member, Isabel "Bolie" Gonzales, was not at the Hyatt Regency that fateful day. This marked the virtual end of the first all-female mariachi group, but they immediately became legendary, almost mythic figures in Kansas’s Latino community. In fact, they have served as an inspiration to thousands of girls in the state, showing them that when you have a passion for something, you can go out and do it.According to Cuevas, “We kept at it, the girls and me. We had a lot of fun when we played. I think when you’re doing something that you’re doing yourself, you feel very fortunate. It gives me a lot of peace. It has been a very good thing in my life.”3Memorial UnveilingIn 2006, the one-of-a-kind monument was unveiled at the Topeka Performing Arts Center, memorializing and paying tribute to the mariachi group. The eight-foot tall memorial standing on a two-foot pedestal was designed by the Denver-born sculptor Emmanuel Martinez. The statue features a woman in a traditional mariachi costume, and she holds her right arm in the sky while holding a sombrero against her leg. The base relief of the statue features the four women who died in 1981.4 Inscription on the MemorialIn 1977, seven women from Kansas banded together to share with America, the traditions, culture and music of Mexico - and Mariachi Estrella de Topeka was born. Originally a choir of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the group rose to become regional performing artists. In the male-dominated world of mariachi, these pioneering women became the first all-female mariachi in Kansas and one of the first groups of its kind in the U.S. Their success, however, was cut short on July 17, 1981, when four members lost their lives in a tragic accident.[Relief](l-r), Dolores Galvan, Connie "Chae" Alcala, Dolores Carmona, Linda Rokey ScurlockAnd their music lived on through mariachi members left behindTeresa Cuevas, Rachel Galvan, Isabel "Bolie" GonzalesThis Mariachi Estrella de Topeka Musical Tribute ensures that the story and the music of these seven women will forever be heard.Dedicated July 12, 2006Sculptor: Emanuel Martinez5

Topeka has long been renowned for its contributions to music in every genre. However, throughout the history of the United States as well as Kansas, few musical groups have been as influential as Mariachi Estrella de Topeka. Consisting of seven women, Mariachi Estrella de Topeka rose to Kansas statewide prominence throughout the 1970s and especially in 1980 and 1981. More importantly, this group was the first all-female mariachi group (a musical genre typically dominated by males) in not only Kansas, but quite possibly the United States. Just as the group was taking off, they met a horrible tragedy in 1981 when the walkways at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City collapsed, killing four members and 110 other people. An eight-foot bronze statue of a female mariachi player rests in front of the Topeka Performing Arts Center, memorializing the musical pioneers. This story captures the importance of preserving Kansas’s Mexican American communities and culture, which are a crucial part of democracy in the United States.

Mariachi Divina! - Mariachi Estrella de Topeka Musical Tribute

This historical marker indicates the location of the state's first capitol building, constructed between 1857-1858. It wasn't built purposely to house the state capitol offices; these were established in the building in 1861. The building was called the Ritchie Block. Just a few years later, the current capitol building was constructed. Fidelity Bank has been located here since 1922. The present structure was built in 1967.

Historical Marker: Site of the First State Capitol

On October 1855, 40 Free State delegates elected from across Kansas Territory gathered to write a document now known as "the Topeka Constitution" which prohibited slavery. While this document passed the U.S. House of Representatives, pro-slavery forces prevented the vote in the Senate. On July 4, 1856, 400 U.S. Army troops on horseback assembled in front of Constitution Hall. Calling it the most painful duty of his life, Col. Edwin V. Sumner dispersed the legislators. The Northern-dominated House of Representatives still approved the Topeka legislature's request to recognize the state constitution they drafted and submitted to voters. The Topeka Constitution, in contrast to the one passed by the pro-slavery government in Lecompton, barred slavery. Southerners in the Senate were able to block the admission of Kansas as a free state in 1856.&nbsp; Despite overwhelming evidence that the pro-slavery faction in Lecompton did not represent the sovereign will of the people of Kansas, then-President Franklin Pierce supported the pro-slavery government in Lecompton and actually declared that the Free Soilers who met in Kansas represented an&nbsp;insurrection&nbsp;against law and order. As a result, Kansas was denied statehood until after Lincoln's victory in the Presidential Election of 1860. As&nbsp;Southern Congressmen left Washington in protest, Congress approved a new&nbsp;anti-slavery state constitution, known as the&nbsp;Wyandotte Constitution, and admitted&nbsp;Kansas as a state on January 29, 1861.&nbsp; In&nbsp;remembrance&nbsp;of Pierce's&nbsp;opposition,&nbsp;Topeka skipped Pierce in its section of city&nbsp;streets named in honor of American presidents. In his place, Topeka has a street named after&nbsp;Henry Clay-a moderate on the issue of slavery's western extension and a&nbsp;political rival of Pierce who never served as President.&nbsp;

Constitution Hall was the first stone building in the city of Topeka and served as the headquarters of protest government formed by anti-slavery settlers in the early years of the Kansas Territory. Between the creation of the territory in 1854 and the start of the Civil War, Congress recognized a pro-slavery government based out of Lecompton as the legitimate government of the territory. In response, settlers representing the majority of Kansans who opposed the extension of slavery into their territory created their own government which was headquartered at this location. After statehood was granted in 1861 (without slavery) this building also served as the official meeting place of the new state government during construction of the East Wing of the Statehouse, five blocks to the south.

Constitution Hall-The Free State Capitol

At the time of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling in 1954, Monroe Elementary was one of four all-Black schools in Topeka. It was established on land that belonged to abolitionist John Ritchie, who welcomed freed African Americans to build homes on his property after the Civil War. The first school on this site was a rented building used from 1868 to 1874, when a larger permanent structure was built. The Topeka Board of Education purchased the school after Ritchie’s death in 1877. The school building visitors see at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site today was built in 1926 and designed by local architect Thomas W. Williamson. The story of Monroe Elementary and its connection to the landmark Brown v. Board decision holds both local and national significance, which reveal the complex nature of segregation and race in the United States. From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, segregation permeated American society. Laws affecting segregation on the city, state, and national level, including the heavily restrictive Jim Crow laws of the South, were justified by the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896, which declared segregation constitutional as long as facilities for Blacks and whites were “separate but equal” in quality. Underlying these laws were entrenched racial prejudices and hostility toward Blacks and other people of color. Segregation laws controlled various aspects of African American life, including where they could live, enter buildings, sit in public spaces, use public facilities, and attend schools. Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” doctrine upheld school segregation into the 1950s, claiming separate schools were constitutional as long as they were equal. In reality, however, Black public schools were deeply underfunded, lacking basic resources such as buildings and textbooks. This meant that schools were not only deprived of tangible resources but also the opportunity to enrich young minds. In response, African American communities were forced to raise their own funds to build schools. Philanthropic projects such as Rosenwald Schools, Black schools organized by Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, also offered an alternative to public schools. By the 1950s, most states had laws that dictated whether schools were segregated or not. All southern states required school segregation, though a number of court cases in the early twentieth century granted persons of color admission to white schools. In Kansas, school segregation was not mandated, but an 1879 state law did permit segregation in certain cities like Topeka. Monroe Elementary and the three other Black schools, Buchanan, McKinley, and Washington, were constructed in the late 1920s as part of a larger effort to revamp the Topeka public school system in light of a rapidly growing student population. This meant that unlike most segregated school systems, Topeka’s new facilities actually were “separate but equal." Topeka attempted to integrate their schools in the 1930s and 1940s, resulting in court rulings and school board decisions that junior high schools would desegregate while elementary schools like Monroe would remain “separate but equal.” African Americans in the city were split over segregation; some parents and teachers argued the children were receiving quality educations at the Black schools and benefited from being in a Black community, while others, especially members of the Topeka NAACP, argued integration was necessary for equality. In 1950, the Topeka NAACP joined forces with thirteen Black parents to challenge these segregated schools. The parents attempted to enroll their children in their neighborhood schools but were refused. In turn, the parents filed a lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education. Oliver L. Brown, a local minister whose daughter attended Monroe Elementary, was named the lead plaintiff in the case. The case made it to the Supreme Court, where it was combined with four other NAACP-sponsored cases from Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Thurgood Marshall, director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, served as chief council. As the case was heard in D.C., the public schools of Topeka began gradually desegregating in September 1953 before the landmark ruling.On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate schools, effectively overturning the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. The ruling was a major step in the long march toward equality. Still, it would take time and a great deal of struggle for schools to integrate. Some criticized the Brown v. Board decision as an assault on the states’ rights to coordinate their own school systems. Governors, school boards, and members of the public resisted integration by shutting down schools, protesting, and making it difficult for Black students to enter all-white schools; the hostility toward nine Black students admitted to Little Rock Central High School epitomizes this resistance to integration. Subsequent laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and court decisions continued to dismantle the structure of segregation within American society. In fact, some schools have remained segregated into the new millennium, such as a school in Mississippi that was ordered to integrate in 2015, fifty years after a case was filed in 1964. Despite its connection to Brown v. Board, Monroe Elementary has only recently gained national recognition as a place of historical significance. The school closed in 1975 and passed through several hands until 1990 when it went up for auction. The Brown Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to remembering the history of Brown v. Board, informed the owner of its significance and began planning a way to acquire the site. It was an important moment, as one of the other original schools had been demolished and the other two were, and still are, in private hands. The Brown Foundation connected with preservation groups and the National Park Service, which assessed the site and designated it a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The designation acknowledged the site’s national significance but did not establish it as a National Park. This required passing legislation through Congress, which was approved in 1992 and signed by President George Bush as Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.Guided tours are given daily from 9:00-5:00 excluding major holidays. This site hosts many special events, exhibits, and educational programs. They also host several special events during February in honor of African American History month. For more information and details on planning a trip, check the first website listed below or call 1-785-354-4273.

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site commemorates the history of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and violated the equality of citizens under the 14th Amendment. Members of the local NAACP and thirteen parents representing twenty children filed the lawsuit against the Topeka Board of Education in 1951. Some of these children attended Monroe Elementary, one of the four Black schools at the time. Monroe Elementary is now the headquarters National Historic Site, established in 1992. As part of the National Park Service, the site offers programs and exhibits that explore the legal and social history of Brown v. Board.

Monroe Elementary, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site

The Brown v. Board mural sits across the street from the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site and commemorates the landmark Supreme Court case which ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.The idea for the mural was first conceived by Sarah Fizell, executive director of ARTSConnect, a Topeka non-profit that develops programs and activities to support the creation of art. Fizell shared her idea with National Historic Site and Michael Toombs, a Kansas City based artist and art educator. The mural was a collaborative work, spearheaded Toombs and executed by the Living Dream youth artists and community members. Larry Hill, owner of the Hill Co. plumbing supply building across the street from the historic site, donated the side of his family owned business for the project.Eye-catching motifs painted in brilliant colors permeate the large 130' x 30' wall. Toward the center of the mural are two small children holding hands walking toward the horizon between a pair of open hands and the phrases "And the children shall lead” and “A New Day.” Other motifs include portraits of notable figures who championed civil and human rights including Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi, Winnie Mandela, Cesar Chavez, and Thurgood Marshall, the attorney for the plaintiff of the Brown v. Board case and later the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.Images of two schools also appear in the mural. On the left is the Monroe Elementary School for African American Students (the school at the heart of the Brown v. Board case) and on the right is Sumner Elementary School (a school that was originally only for white students). In 1950, Linda Brown attempted to enroll at Sumner Elementary because it was closer to her home. Brown’s application, along with those of 19 other students, was rejected by the Topeka Board of Education. In 1951 the Topeka NAACP joined a national class-action lawsuit that was eventually named after Linda Brown’s father, Oliver.Mural TeamC. Dylan Barker, Blake Benton, Hector A. Bernal, Jordan E. Brooks, Cathy Burchett, Robert Tapley Bustamante, Alessandra Chavez, Daisy Escamilla, Estefana Garcia, Xavier Gayden, Jason Hanna, Dar Hosseini, Bryan Kincade, Christina Klein-Tross, Felix Maull, B.J. McBride, Oshara Meesha, Sara Myer, Justin Newhouse, Andrea Nix, Asha Rae Slack, Timothy Steward, Michael Toombs, Chloe Thompson, Lois Visser-Ulrich, Eric Underwood, Andy Valdivia, Yesenia Villarreal, Jandy Wills, Woody Woodward, Diane WurzerStudent ArtistsLillyan Adkins, Karlyn Bowman, Adyson Cashman, Lemi Del Real, Kate Eckert, Gavin Grady, Adriania Havens, Erica Knight, Camp LeDuc, Mackenzie Miles, Brianna Pledger, Skylar Pokphanh, Alexandria Poling, Jalec Rodriguez, Levi Shows, Alejandra Solis, Am'agyn Spencer, Hayley Woodyard

Across the street from the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is a new mural to commemorate the landmark Supreme Court case which ruled racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. The mural, brilliant and colorful, depicts themes of diversity, equality, and justice through the eyes of a new generation.

Brown v. Board Mural

When Edward P. McCabe stepped off the train in Ellis, Kansas, hefted his bag, and set out on a 35-mile walk to the fledgling new town of Nicodemus with his friend, he was a man filled with aspirations and ideas. He was also taking the first steps to a political career that would shape the young state of Kansas.Born in New York in 1850, McCabe and his family moved frequently throughout the Northeast – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine – during the pre-Civil War and Civil War years and when his father died, McCabe set his sights on New York City and began working as a clerk for the Shreve, Kendrick &amp; Co. law firm on Wall Street. A few years later he headed west to Chicago and secured a job clerking for business tycoon and hotel magnate, Potter Palmer. By 1872, educated and connected, McCabe was appointed to the Cook County office of the federal treasury in Chicago as a clerk. His political career was in motion. Six years later, at the age of 28, McCabe was stirred by stories of Black migration and decided to take advantage of the free land made available through the Homestead Act and move west. In 1878 McCabe and his friend and political ally Abram T. Hall, Jr., who was the city editor of the Chicago Conservator newspaper, moved to the brand-new, all-Black town of Nicodemus. The two men set up a law office, specializing in real estate and land location. McCabe and his family had not been enslaved, and he had an interest in helping those who were building a free life on the high, arid plains of western Kansas. The business had the potential to be lucrative and further his political aspirations.  Nicodemus, located in Graham County, was a town with purpose and promise. Founded by formerly enslaved people in 1877, Nicodemus was seen as a refuge – a safe place for African Americans to build new lives. It was the very first Black community west of the Mississippi River and is the only predominantly Black community west of the Mississippi that remains a living community today. With the forced removal of thousands of Indigenous people living in the area between the 1850s and 1870s, Kansas became a destination for Black farmers, families, entrepreneurs, activists, and businessmen wanting a fresh start and a fair shake. Earlier in the decade, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed and Kansas was the 25th state to ratify it. The amendment made it illegal to deny U.S. citizens the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” But African Americans knew that although amendments may allow for rights, they do not ensure them. Voices and votes – advocacy and civic engagement – were critical to the success of this town and others like it, and McCabe and Hall immediately got involved. Given his experience in such matters and his interest in politics, McCabe was elected secretary of the Nicodemus Town Company, while Hall petitioned to make Graham County an official county in Kansas. The growing number of white settlers in the area had other ideas. Kansas Governor John Pierce St. John acknowledged the validity of Hall’s petition for county status and appointed him to complete the requisite census. In doing so, Hall became the first African American census taker in the United States. Between 1878 and 1880, Hall continued his work as a journalist and established himself as the official correspondent from Graham County. He sent letters and wrote persuasive columns to newspapers throughout Kansas. His skillful writing is credited with helping to shape Kansans’ favorable perception of the Nicodemus colony. Meanwhile, their land office became prosperous and, with frequent trips to Topeka, the two men became acquainted with African American politicians in eastern Kansas, and they soon became influential in state politics. In 1880, Hall departed Nicodemus for St. Louis while McCabe had a banner year in Kansas. He was elected to be the county clerk in Graham County, selected by the Kansas Republican Party to be a delegate-at-large from Kansas to the Chicago convention of the Republican Party, and he married Sarah Bryant, a friend from his days in Chicago. McCabe had linked his future and his fortunes on the success of Black settlements. The African American population in Kansas had grown from 17,700 in 1870 to 43,000 a decade later but it remained less than five percent of the state’s total population. McCabe wanted it larger.By his 32nd birthday, McCabe was elected to the post of state auditor, making him the first African American in Kansas to hold state office. The position was important and a key function of state government. State auditors were authorized to inspect all records of all departments and institutions of state government and to investigate any misuse in the disbursement of public funds. His election to this high-ranking position was impressive. He had only been in Kansas for five years. McCabe held this position for two terms between 1883 and 1887 before losing for re-election the third time.  After the loss, McCabe became the federal representative of the Oklahoma Immigration Society, a group of African Americans from Kansas who organized a real estate venture and moved to the new territory. McCabe ultimately went on to help establish approximately 20 towns in both Kansas and Oklahoma populated with Exodusters.Edward P. McCabe died in Chicago in 1920, survived by his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Lenore. McCabe and his wife are buried in the Topeka Cemetery.  A celebration of the life of Edward P. McCabe took place on 1990 with the display of a portrait of McCabe in the Oklahoma State Capitol Building. Today, the portrait hangs in the East wing of the second floor.

E. P. McCabe was an influential member of the Nicodemus community. Born on October 10, 1850, in Troy, New York, he worked for a Wall Street firm before moving to Chicago to work at the Cook County Courthouse in the Treasurer’s Office. In 1878, McCabe arrived in Nicodemus with his friend Abraham T. Hall after joining the Exoduster movement. There McCabe served as secretary of the Nicodemus Town Company, and then County Clerk in 1881 before serving two terms as State Auditor, making him the first African American to hold a statewide office in Kansas. After losing the nomination for the third term, he was appointed Washington Representative of the Oklahoma Immigrant Association, which required him to move from Kansas to Guthrie, Oklahoma where he attained other political posts and fought against segregation, especially in railway coaches and waiting rooms. One of his most profound ideas included making Oklahoma an All-Black state, beginning with the founding of the city of Langston. He died on March 12, 1920, in Chicago but is buried in at the Historic Topeka Cemetery. Today, McCabe is remembered as one of the most important and influential Kansas figures. He is buried in Section 82 of the Historic Topeka Cemetery.

Gravesite of Edward P. McCabe 

Charles Curtis was the 31st vice president of the United States and the first member of an Indigenous tribe to hold this position.Curtis was born January 25, 1860, in Topeka, Kansas, to Oren Arms and Ellen (Pappan) Curtis. His mother was of Kansa, Osage, and Potawatomi decent, and his father was of white European decent. Curtis's mother died when he was a toddler and spent most of his early life on the Kansa Indian Reservation with his maternal grandmother. In 1868 he moved to Topeka to live with his paternal grandmother where he later attended Topeka High School for several years without graduating. While living in Topeka, Curtis held various occupations including working as a successful horse jockey and as a law clerk for attorney A.H. Case.After passing the bar exam in 1881, Case made Curtis a partner at his law firm. Several years later, Curtis married Anna Baird with whom he had three children with and started his first campaign for public office as a Shawnee County prosecuting attorney. It wasn't until 1892 that Curtis rose to political prominence when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1906 he was elected to the Senate and served in that position until 1929 when he became Vice President of the United States under Herbert Hoover.During his time in office, Curtis championed women's rights supporting the 19th Amendment and sponsoring an Equal Rights Amendment. However, during his political career, Curtis's Indigenous heritage did not always lead him to advocate for or sponsor policy that was in the best interest of Indigenous people. In 1898, Curtis sponsored an amendment to the Dawes Severalty Act which allowed the federal government to confiscate and redistribute tribal reservations and lands. The purpose of the Dawes Act was to assimilate native peoples into mainstream U.S. society. Through the Dawes Act, tribal lands were parceled out into individual plots. Only those Native Americans who accepted the individual plots of land were allowed to become US citizens. The remainder of the unsold land was then sold to non-native settlers. The amended Dawes Act greatly impacted Indigenous peoples, destroying systems of tribal governments, social cohesion between tribes, and accelerating the loss of native languages.Curtis died of a heart attack on February 8, 1936. Thousands of mourners traveled to Topeka to honor the former senator and vice president. He is buried in Section 8 of the Historic Topeka Cemetery.

Charles Curtis was the 31st vice president of the United States and the first member of an Indigenous tribe to hold this position. Curtis served as President Herbert Hoover’s vice president from 1929 to 1933, during a time when prejudice towards Native Americans was intense and widespread.

Gravesite of Vice President Charles Curtis

Gordon Parks was a Renaissance Man –  an internationally known photographer, filmmaker, writer and musician who discovered a passion and appreciation for photography while working as a waiter for the railroad in the 1930s. While on a work break, Parks became mesmerized with photographs in a magazine taken by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), including Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. These images in the magazine and a chance visit to the Chicago Art Institute during a railroad layover cemented a lasting admiration of photographers and fueled Parks’ hunger, focus, and determination to become a photographer himself. During another railroad layover in Seattle, Parks made a purchase at a pawn shop that would forever change his life and launched his quest to fight against racism, discrimination, and poverty with his weapon of choice: a $12.50 camera.In Parks’ early career as a photographer, he often took photographs of fashion models but in 1942, while working for the FSA, he took the photograph that helped introduce the world to his fight against social and economic injustices. This photograph titled American Gothic uses the same name of the well-known Grant Wood painting of the stoic man holding a pitchfork beside a woman in front of a farmhouse. In Parks’ version, the photograph features Ella Watson, a charwoman – a part-time janitor in today’s language – while she was working late one night at the office of the FSA in Washington D.C. She is shown standing in front of the American flag holding a broom and a mop. The images Parks took during the civil rights movement and in the segregated south showed the world the true realities of his subject matters. The photographs are striking, harsh reminders of the struggle for freedom and equality and leave a lasting impression in hopes history is not repeated. Parks was a champion in fighting against social injustice and racism worldwide. Yet Parks’ photographs capture astonishing images of beauty as well. “The camera is not meant to just show misery,” said Parks. “You can show beauty with it; you can show things you like about the universe, things you hate about the universe. It’s capable of doing both.”In 2004, Gordon Parks attended the first ever Gordon Parks Celebration where he gifted the Gordon Parks Center with 30 of his photographs. This spectacular group includes many of his iconic works such as American Gothic, Tuskegee Airmen, Flavio, Ali Sweating, Ingrid Bergman on Stromboli and many others.In 2006, after his death, his personal effects and other memorabilia, per Gordon’s wishes, were given to the Museum. This valuable collection included many of his awards and medals, personal photos, paintings and drawings of Gordon, plaques, certificates, diplomas and honorary doctorates, selected books and articles, clothing, record player, tennis racquet, magazine articles, his collection of Life magazines and much more. At that time, the Gordon Parks Center was fortunate to acquire his writing desk from a donation given by Bill and Camille Cosby.Since that time, more gifts have been given by his family and friends such as his camera, gifted by his daughter Toni Parks; his film camera and tripod, donated by his son David Parks; a collection of photographs of Gordon donated by Patricia DuBose Duncan, and much more. These gifts have made this collection substantive and significant and we are proud of Gordon’s faith in us to preserve and protect his legacy.

The Gordon Parks Museum, located on the campus of Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, offers a collection of photographs and other artifacts related to the life of internationally known photographer, filmmaker, writer, and musician, Gordon Parks. The museum also offers programming related to the life and legacy of the former Fort Scott resident. The center also shares Parks' life story of his family's poverty and bigotry while in southeast Kansas and how the experience shaped his work.

Gordon Parks Museum/Center

The Carver League Building in Pittsburg, Kansas, was purchased by the Carver Social League in 1951 and turned into a community center for Black students and local residents. People would gather at the building for holiday events, game nights, charity activities, and more. It held a cherished place in the community during a time in which the only other place for Black community members to freely gather together was at Black churches. As a result, the building was a locus of civic engagement for the local African American community.Over the years, however, the Carver League Building fell into disrepair. The county was planning to sell the building when community members intervened. A team of volunteers put together a plan for donor-supported renovations that preserved the original structure, helmed by a team from Pittsburg State University’s School of Construction.  The Carver League Building represents a cornerstone of Black history in Pittsburg, and it will continue to serve as a gathering place, a reminder of the past, and a call for continued community and civic engagement. Community members have formed a board to guide the building through the next phase of its existence as a staple of the Southeast Kansas Black community.

The historic Carver League Building has long been a staple of the Black community in Pittsburg, Kansas, but it has faced many challenges in recent years that have threatened its continued existence. Thanks to community efforts, it has received a new lease on life.

Carver League Building

Crawford County Kansas, known as the Little Balkans, was home to immigrants from more than 50 nations, all drawn by the promise of jobs in the mines. At the time, southeast Kansas produced a third of the nation’s coal supply, but conditions were hazardous and the pay was minimal. In 1920, in response to bitter strikes nationwide, the Kansas legislature made strikes illegal by passing the Kansas Industrial Relations Act. But in September 1921, a southeast Kansas strike was called. As families continued to suffer from the cold and hunger, the women of the area decided to do something about the situation. A few women organized a march to the mines in the area to dissuade any workers from continuing, calling on them to join the strike. What began as a smaller group soon grew to thousands of marchers. In 1921, thousands of wives, daughters, mothers, sisters and sweethearts of striking coal miners in Southeast Kansas marched in protest against unfair labor practices in the local coal mines. The women's march made headlines across the nation and the New York Times christened them the "Amazon Army." The women's efforts were effective and halted work in the mines for three days. The Kansas governor ordered troops to the area to ‘preserve the peace’ and break up the march, and deputies arrested 49 women on charges of unlawful assembly, assault, and disturbing the peace.Many, arrested late in the day, had to stay overnight in jail. But the next year, using their newly granted voting powers – the 19th Amendment was signed into law in August 1920 – the women of the region organized again and defeated the state’s governor and the county sheriff. In 1923, The United States Supreme Court overturned some of the Kansas Industrial Relations Act rulings and stripped it of much of its power. It was disbanded totally by the Kansas legislature in 1925.Miners Hall Museum is built on the original site of the Union Hall (shown in photo below). The Union Hall served as a meeting house for the United Mine Workers Association and was also a historic location involving the Amazon Army March.The center &amp; museum was built shortly after the tornado of 2003 which destroyed much of the community including the former Franklin Community Hall. Miners Hall Museum was founded in 2012 and began with hosting a Smithsonian Exhibit titled "The Way We Worked".

Located in Franklin, Kansas, Miners Hall Museum is built on the original site of the Union Hall where thousands of women, christened the "Amazon Army" by the New York Times, marched in protest against unfair labor practices and laws across the coalfields of Southeast Kansas. It is dedicated to preserving and sharing Southeast Kansas coal mining history and its diverse immigrant culture.

Miners Hall Museum

Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was born in 1890 in Denison, Texas, the third of seven children. A year later the Eisenhower family moved to Abilene, Kansas, where they had lived previously. Eisenhower would grow up there until he enrolled at West Point in 1911. After graduation he enlisted in the military and spent World War I overseeing a tank training center in Pennsylvania. Eisenhower rose through the ranks and had become a brigadier general by the time the United States entered World War II. In 1942 he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force and directed the invasion of North Africa. Later in 1944 he commanded the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and the final defeat of the Axis powers in Western Europe. Following the war he served as governor of the U.S. Occupied Zone in Germany, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, and the first Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.Eisenhower was hailed as a national hero in the United States for his military success, and in 1952 he was elected the 34th President. His eight-year presidency was defined by a series of milestones both foreign and domestic. He oversaw the ending of the Korean War; statehood for Alaska and Hawaii; enforced integration of schools after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision; and signed legislation establishing the Civil Rights Commission, the Interstate Highway System, and NASA. After the presidency Eisenhower spent his remaining years living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He died in 1969 and was buried in Abilene.Efforts to create a museum dedicated to Dwight Eisenhower began before he was even elected president. In 1945 admirers of the general established the Eisenhower Foundation to purchase his boyhood home in Abilene and build a museum next to it. Eisenhower’s mother, Ida, refused to sell the property. Following her death in 1946, Eisenhower and his brothers agreed to donate the home and its accompanying land to the foundation. The house was opened to the public in 1947, and a museum dedicated to Eisenhower and World War II was constructed and opened in 1954. The presidential library was opened in 1962; it was the fourth official presidential library and museum, following those built for Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. The museum building underwent renovations and restoration in 1971.The twenty-two acre Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home consists of five buildings. The Visitors Center contains a gift shop and a theater showing an informational short film. Eisenhower’s boyhood home is open for tours and is preserved to depict life during his childhood. A chapel known as the “Place of Meditation,” contains the graves of Eisenhower, his wife Mamie, and their firstborn son Doud. The presidential library, open to the public for research, contains hundreds of thousands of documents, images, and audiovisual materials on Eisenhower’s military and presidential careers. It also contains documents from over 400 of his relatives, friends, colleagues, and associates. The museum contains five galleries displaying thousands of artifacts from Eisenhower’s life and presidency, World War II, and the Cold War. In 2018 it was announced that the museum building will undergo a yearlong renovation project to update old exhibits and create new ones, incorporating interactive technology. While renovations occur, portions of the museum exhibits are on display in the library, which remains open along with the rest of the complex.

One of the leading attractions of central Kansas, the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home is dedicated to the life of President Dwight Eisenhower. It is home to hundreds of thousands of documents, artifacts, and other materials relating to Eisenhower, World War II, and the Cold War. The complex includes a museum chronicling the life of Eisenhower as well as World War II, and the extensive Eisenhower Presidential Library, which is open to the public for research. The Eisenhower family home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places has been preserved since 1947 and contains original family furnishings.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home

Robert Dole was known for crossing party lines in an effort to create the best outcome for the American people. Notably, he crossed party lines to help save social security, reduce the federal deficit, and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. He also was on the board of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonprofit focused on bringing the two major political parties together in an effort to enact effective change and work towards common goals.

Plans for developing the institute began in 1996. Following Dole’s loss in the presidential election, University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway asked Dole to donate his congressional papers to the school. Dole studied at the university before joining the military during World War II. The institute was created to foster the idea of a political career as one of service and goodwill and to encourage not only political, but also civic, participation.The institute still holds these values, as well as working to foster the promotion of civil bipartisan discussion. While the institute wishes to promote these values in the public at large, its location at the University of Kansas is centrally situated to promote these values in young people- the political leaders of our nation’s future. The institute offers a variety of programs for students, including a series called “Pizza and Politics” in which students receive free pizza and listen to lectures on a variety of topics. Recent topics include “Where no pizza has gone before: Indigenous communities in Latin America”, “How to Make it as a Young Professional”, and “Standing up for what you believe in: Advocacy for Special Education.”

Although the “Pizza and Politics” series is not currently available online, most of the institute’s programs are live streamed in an effort to make them as accessible to the public as possible. The website also contains a variety of resources related to civic engagement, including a political glossary and a link to the University of Kansas’ list of elected officials to contact in civic engagement efforts.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, more commonly referred to as the Dole Institute, is officially nonpartisan and located at the University of Kansas. The Institute pays homage to Senator Robert J. Dole, who served for Kansas in the US Senate from 1969-1996 and the House of Representatives from 1961-1969. In 1996, Dole was the Republican nominee for President and was defeated by Bill Clinton.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics

Parmenter Hall was the second building to be constructed at Baker University, after Castle Hall. The cornerstone of Parmenter Hall was laid in June 1866 but classes were not held within until the building was partially finished in 1871. The crowning finish of the bell tower wasn't added until 1882. The stone building housed a laboratory and classrooms ("recitation rooms") in the basement in 1893, according to the Sanborn fire insurance map; the first floor contained a museum and classrooms. The second story in 1893 held a library and two "society halls," while the third floor served as a gymnasium. A third campus building, Centenary Hall, was built of brick and stood southeast by the 1890s; this no-longer-standing building housed classrooms in the basement and on the first floor, and a chapel on the second floor. The building was known as "Science Hall" by 1912, as seen on the Sanborn map. The basement contained the chemistry laboratory and the other floors held classrooms. Two more buildings had been added to campus by 1912: the Case Library (still standing and a Clio entry), and a former gymnasium near a pond at Sixth and Grove Streets, Taylor Hall. Baker University operates as a private university and offers undergraduate through doctoral degrees. Currently on the first floor of Parmenter Hall is the Lincoln Kemper Parlor; this served as a student lounge when Parmenter housed the campus student union after a 1938 remodel. The building was renamed after Professor Charles Sylvester Parmenter. The student union moved to Harter Union after that building was constructed. With growing enrollment after World War II, the first floor of Parmenter Hall was converted to a male dormitory. Parmenter Hall was renovated once again in 1977. The Department of History, Culture, and Society has offices in Parmenter Hall. Parmenter Hall now houses the Holt-Russell Gallery on its second floor, featuring art by student. local, national and international artists. It hosts an annual juried art show for students. Students work at the gallery to curate and prepare exhibits. Another exhibition displays photographs taken by Baker University students studying overseas: "Wildcats Abroad." An annual art competition invites artists from local high schools to exhibit and awards college scholarships for the Baker University studio art program. The second floor of Parmenter Hall used to be a dining room. The Darby-Hope Theater is on the third floor of Parmenter Hall. Named after comedian Bob Hope and U.S. Senator Harry Darby, the theater used to be the site of theatrical productions. Bob Hope donated funds from a benefit performance to renovate the theater. The third floor originally housed the campus chapel. The uppermost level, beneath the mansard roof, is called "Parmenter Loft" and contains some art department spaces. The tower was designed to hold a bell that has since been moved since it was deemed to be structurally damaging to the building. The "Old 10 O' Clock Bell" now rests between the Osborne Chapel (moved here from England, and rebuilt, stone by stone) and the Ivan L. Boyd Center for Collaborative Science Education.

Parmenter Hall's distinctive tower above its mansard roof makes this Baker University building easy to spot from Dearborn Street, tucked behind a modern campus building. Also known as Parmenter Memorial Hall, the building was constructed from 1865 to 1871. The building's claim to fame is that President Abraham Lincoln donated $100 toward its construction; this is supposedly the only such donation Lincoln made. On display on the second floor is the Baldwin State Bank ledger from President Lincoln's donation toward the construction of the building. Parmenter Hall was listed in the National Register in 1977. The second floor is now the campus art gallery.

Parmenter Hall, Baker University

The 1970s were a time of growing awareness of environmental issues in Kansas, especially surrounding the preservation of the tallgrass prairie. More than 170 million acres were once covered in tallgrass prairie, but now only about four percent of that remains due to agricultural use of the land. Today, much of the remaining tallgrass prairie can be found in the Flint Hills, protected by the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The preserve’s existence is due to grassroots efforts by environmental activists, scientists, and concerned citizens.One of the greatest challenges in creating the Tallgrass National Preserve was a lack of awareness and excitement about the prairie. This is where artist-activist Patricia DuBose Duncan came in. Duncan’s efforts were instrumental in raising awareness about the prairie’s beauty and scientific value. She became involved in prairie preservation efforts by chance: she happened to read an article about a professor at the University of Kansas who had been trying, unsuccessfully, to start a tallgrass national prairie park. Duncan combined art and activism, creating “art with a purpose” that centered on the prairie. Her work culminated in a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition, “The Tallgrass Prairie: An American Landscape,” which toured the United States from 1976 to 1986. The exhibit stirred public interest by sharing the prairie’s natural beauty and ecological importance.Duncan’s efforts, along with those of other activists, succeeded in raising awareness about the tallgrass prairie, but there was still resistance. Ranchers in the area opposed the idea of the preserve because they believed the prairie was already being well managed by ranchers and that establishing a national preserve would bring too many visitors to the area, further damaging the prairie.These back-and-forth debates, awareness campaigns, and grassroots efforts spanned more than two decades, from the 1970s until the 1990s, when a commission brought together both advocates and opponents of the park to find a compromise.In 1996, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve opened as a public-private partnership. It is currently managed jointly by the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy. Visitors can walk on nature trails, tour the historic Spring Hill Ranch, and view exhibits in the visitor center. The preserve is also home to a herd of bison, which serves a vital role in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve protects what remains of the tallgrass prairie in Kansas, and it is a park that required decades of civic action to create. There was once a sense of public indifference to the fate of the prairie, and there were even pockets of vehement opposition to the creation of the preserve. Today’s park is the result of grassroots efforts and a compromise between public management and private ownership.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Although it's unclear when Wamego started its Fourth of July fireworks show, the show has been dazzling audiences for years. The 30-minute, free show is setup and shot by roughly 30 trained volunteer pyrotechnicians known as the Pyro Crew. The crew includes two state licensed display operators and members who have to pass exams administered by the Pyrotechnic Guild International. But it takes hundreds of volunteers to make the show a success. Spectators will witness thousands of fireworks being fired to a carefully scripted and coordinated effort synced perfectly to a curated soundtrack. Unlike most firework displays which are funded by a few major sponsors, Wamego's show is also community-based funded by hundreds of donors near and far. Roughly ninety percent of the show is funded through public donations making it a truly democratic celebration.The origins of using pyrotechnics to celebrate anniversaries and major achievements dates back centuries before the first Independence Day fireworks display in Philadelphia in 1777. During the Han Dynasty in 200 B.C., people used bamboo shoots filled with gunpowder and fire to create fireworks. These fireworks were often used to celebrate New Year Festivals and weddings. As the ingredients for gunpowder spread to the West after the Silk Road opened up trade, so did fireworks.So it's no surprise that a celebration as momentous as declaring independence included the pomp and spark of fireworks.

Each year Wamego, KS, hosts an Independence Day celebration like no other. During the three-day celebration, the small-town swells to more than triple its normal size, attracting thousands of visitors from across the globe. The celebration includes a carnival, antique car shows, an ice cream social, band concerts, and the largest and longest running Independence Day parade and firework show in the state.

July 4th Celebration 

Before television ads, companies would often sponsor amateur basketball teams to drum up excitement for their products. When the Globe Oil &amp; Refining Company built a refinery in McPherson in 1933, it founded a basketball team composed of local players. The Globe Refiners played against other teams in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), and players earned a steady wage in the Depression era.After the Refiners’ first season, coach Gene Johnson joined the team with big plans to recruit top players and lead them to success on the national level, which would provide exposure and good publicity for the Globe Oil &amp; Refining Company and its parent company, Lario Oil &amp; Gas. Johnson’s plan worked, and the team won second place in the 1935 AAU National Tournament and then first place in 1936. Six team members went on to represent the United States at the 1936 Olympics, where the team won the first-ever gold medal in basketball.The outbreak of World War II, however, spelled the end of the Globe Refiners’ whirlwind success. The Olympics were not held again for 12 years, the players moved on to other jobs, and the dust settled. However, their story is still remembered and celebrated by the community.The Refiners’ story is not just a part of basketball history; it is inextricable from the economic, social, and political context of the 1930s, including of the effects of the Great Depression and World War II on McPherson, Kansas, and the United States as a whole. The basketball team spurred community members to take pride and engage in their community during a time of crisis, banding together instead of being split apart. The McPherson Museum &amp; Arts Foundation tells this story and more in its gallery, exhibits, and archives.

The first half of the 20th century brought profound challenges to the United States, and McPherson, Kansas, was no exception. The Great Depression of 1929 to 1939 took its toll on residents, and World War II followed quickly on the depression’s heels. But amid political, economic, and social turmoil, McPherson struck gold–or, rather, oil–with its amateur basketball team, the Globe Refiners. Visitors to the McPherson Museum &amp; Arts Foundation can view exhibits dedicated to telling this story, which holds a cherished place in the community.McPherson Museum and Arts Foundation offers many services to the public. The Museum houses a variety of artifacts: historical artifacts from the McPherson area; natural history artifacts such as meteorites, Ice Age fossils, and regional fossils; ethnic artifacts from China, Africa, and of Native Americans; and fine art, including an extensive collection of Birger Sandzen lithographs and original art pieces.

McPherson Museum & Arts Foundation

Each year Lincoln, KS, honors its namesake President Abraham Lincoln. The annual event, which has grown over the years, celebrates all things Lincoln and explores Civil War history. Celebrated close to President Lincoln's birthday, visitors can attend lectures, view exhibits, take part in community meals, and watch historic reenactments. Most notably, Lincoln Day includes a Lincoln look-alike contest where participants from all over dress to portray the Great Emancipator.

Lincoln Day in Lincoln Kansas

S. P. Dinsmoor led a storied life, serving in the Union Army as a nurse, joining the Freemasons, teaching school, and finally moving to Lucas, Kansas, to start his own farm. But it was what came after his retirement that made his name and put his tiny town on the map for more than a century to come.Dinsmoor created the Cabin Home and its surrounding Garden of Eden between 1907 and 1928. The cabin is made of lengths of limestone stacked to resemble logs, and each door and window is a different size, giving the cabin a funhouse-esque appearance. Even more fantastical is the garden, which is populated by bizarre sculptures, from religious imagery like the giant Eye of God (equipped with a blinking electric lightbulb for an iris) and a glowing horned devil to Populist political iconography inspired by the burgeoning 20th-century labor movement.The Populist statuary in the garden is no coincidence. Even before he built his eye-catching Garden of Eden, Dinsmoor was highly visible as a Populist leader in Lucas, and chief among his causes was organizing against monopolies. He even formed the United Order of Anti-Monopolies, an egalitarian secret society of men and women. Dinsmoor campaigned unsuccessfully for a seat in the Kansas house in 1898 and was an active supporter of socialist and Populist causes throughout his lifetime. While building the Garden of Eden, Dinsmoor was inspired to give his sculptures a more political edge after the 1914 Ludlow Massacre, in which National Guard troops opened fire on striking mineworkers and their families.While Dinsmoor himself claimed to be “bughouse,” his Garden of Eden was created with shrewd calculation. Built near the town train station, visitors’ eyes were inevitably caught by the property’s blinking lights and peculiar imagery. When passersby stopped outside to gawk, Dinsmoor urged them inside to pay for a tour using a speaking tube that produced sound through the mouth of an angel statue. Not only did the steady stream of visitors provide Dinsmoor’s income, but they also became an audience for Dinsmoor’s ardent political messages.After Dinsmoor’s death in 1937, the property was sold off and sat abandoned for decades. It inspired such apprehension in local residents that the cabin and gardens remained remarkably untouched beneath a layer of vines and mold, avoiding vandalism and theft.In 2012, the Kohler Foundation undertook the massive project of restoring the Cabin Home and Garden of Eden, and it now attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year. Although a crack in the glass lid of his coffin allowed in enough air and moisture to rot his head, Dinsmoor’s body remains mostly intact to enjoy the spectacle from inside a mausoleum on the property.

Considered one of the best roadside attractions in the United States, S. P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden is a bizarre collection of disturbing yet captivating statues, Biblical and political iconography, and even a mausoleum containing the (mostly) preserved body of Dinsmoor himself.

S. P. Dinsmoor’s Garden of Eden

Have you ever wondered what happens to those who run for president of the United States but aren't elected? A gallery in the First State Bank of Norton, KS, is devoted to the stories of presidential candidates who were ultimately defeated.Former president and owner of the First State Bank, William Walter Rouse, was inspired to start the gallery after receiving a book as a gift entitled They Also Ran: The Story of the Men Who Were Defeated for the Presidency written by Irving Stone. In the book Stone explores several candidates' unsuccessful runs for President of the United States from 1824 through 1940, and tries to assess whether American voters elected the "right" candidate.Rouse enjoyed the book and started collecting portraits of the defeated candidates from the Library of Congress. When the bank moved locations in 1965, Rouse turned the spacious mezzanine into a gallery space displaying his portrait collection along with information about each candidate.Since Rouse's passing in 1981, the bank and his family have carried on the tradition of adding individuals from major and minor parties to the shrine of those that were almost elected.

"They Also Ran" Gallery - First State Bank of Norton

A group of Taos Puebloan people came to Kansas in 1664 after fleeing Spanish rule in New Mexico. Settling in what is now Lake Scott State Park, the Taos Pueblos formed an alliance with the nearby Plains Apache. They built pueblos and an irrigation system to water their crops, and this settlement was referred to as El Cuartelejo (also spelled El Quartelejo) in Spanish records. However, the Taos Pueblos were ultimately forced by a Spanish expedition to return to their former territory.In 1696, a group of Picuris resettled El Cuartelejo after escaping from the Spanish, but like the Taos Pueblos, they were discovered in 1706 and forced back to New Mexico.Until 1763, the area was occupied by the Plains Apache and by French traders, but it was eventually abandoned, and its structures deteriorated and were buried.Archeologists rediscovered El Cuartelejo in 1898 and excavated the site to reveal the seven-room pueblo that visitors can see at Lake Scott State Park. In 1964, the ruins were designated a National Historic Landmark. Further information can be found at El Quartelejo Museum nearby in Scott City.The story of El Cuartelejo is an important Kansas story, and learning the history of the Native Americans who lived here before, during, and after European colonization is crucial to the work of ensuring that democracy in the United States extends to all of its people.

Although many visitors come to Lake Scott State Park for outdoor recreation, it is also home to a notable historical site: the only known pueblo in Kansas, known as El Cuartelejo. This site is a crucial part of the history of Native Americans in Kansas and highlights the effects of Spanish colonialism.

El Cuartelejo at Lake Scott State Park

The town of Quindaro was founded by abolitionists in 1856 and served as a crucial station on the Underground Railroad, helping people escape slavery after crossing the Missouri River into Kansas. The longest-standing cornerstone of Quindaro was Western University, which outlived the town by several decades and stood open until 1943. The school began with classes in the home of Presbyterian minister Eben Blachly to educate Quindaro’s children. He acquired land, and in 1865, registered a formal school known as Quindaro Freedman's School or Freedmen’s University, but struggled to keep it open. The school was then taken over by the A.M.E Church and renamed Western University in 1881. In 1915, the school became affiliated with the Fredrick Douglass Hospital, a medical facility dedicated to segregated Black American care, which the church also sponsored. Until its close, Western University was a key figure in the development of the Quindaro community, one of the largest Black American communities in the state of Kansas.Major growth of Western University came under the school's president, William Tecumesh Vernon. Influenced by Booker T. Washington, Vernon instituted a Washington Model of learning into the school. This model focused on teaching Black Americans not just traditional subjects, but vocational training as they believed it would increase their chances of succeeding economically and proving to White Americans that they were as valuable to the economy as them. Funding for Western University was both public and private. As a voice of the Republican Party, Vernon was a factor in the large support of Black American voters and in return, Governor William E. Stanley assisted in granting the university $10,000. This grant was used to build Stanley Hall, the campus’ second building, and to fund a vocational department. The department consisted of classes that taught women how to cook, sew, and type. Classes for men included blacksmithing, tailoring, and cabinet making. Through continuous efforts by Vernon to acquire more government funds, the school developed an annex to Stanley Hall, a power plant and reservoir, another dormitory, two stock barns, and Park Hall.The University’s peak success was reached around the 1920s due to its student population and programs. Sometimes regarded as the face of the school, the Jackson Jubilee singers were a product of Western University’s music school, its most famous and well-developed program. The group was led by Robert G. Jackson and they toured the nation, spreading awareness of the university and raising funds. The music school’s rigorous programs and the fame of the Jackson Jubilee Singers attracted numerous talented students, many of whom went on to illustrious careers, including Nora Douglas Holt, Eva Jessye, and Etta Moten Barnett. The school’s orchestra and band program was led by Major Nathaniel Clark Smith, who after working at Western, would eventually move to Sumner High School and develop the school’s award-winning band program. In addition to this, Western University had an influential nursing school. After Western University became affiliated with the Fredrick Douglass Hospital, it was used to serve as a training facility for students in the nursing program.The closing of the University was a result of multiple issues. In 1924, the school's dormitory, Ward Hall, was destroyed in a fire, resulting in a huge loss to the student population due to the lack of housing. The A.M.E. Church did not have enough funding to replace the lost facilities. This incident aggravated internal tensions between the university and church officials regarding administrative differences. With the onset of the Great Depression substantial state funding was withdrawn and fewer students enrolled at Western, with many prospective students choosing to attend institutions with cheaper tuition in larger urban areas. By 1931, only 182 students were enrolled at Western, and by 1943 the graduating class was comprised of 6 students. On June 30, 1943, Western University permanently closed.Currently, all that is left of Western University is the John Brown Statue that the University bestowed in 1911. With its location on a high buff, it looks over what would have been the town of Quindaro, now the ruins of an area that once was full of life. Western University was a school focused on setting up Black Americans to succeed by preparing them with vocational and academic skills. Although its music program seems to have the largest impact worldwide with alumni like the Jackson Jubilee Singers, the impact of all alumni can be found within Quindaro. The Townsite is currently managed by the Allen Chapel AME Church with ongoing efforts to preserve the site.

Known as the first historically black college established west of the Mississippi River, Western University was established in 1881 and was open for 72 years until it was forced to close in 1943 after being negatively impacted by the Great Depression. The school followed the Booker T. Washington education model and focused on teaching not just academic skills, but also vocational trades. Prior to the university’s establishment, the original building was used for the Freedman’s School, which prioritized teaching previously enslaved residents of Quindaro from 1865 to 1877. Through the efforts of the Allen Chapel AME Church, the school was turned into a university and expanded into multiple buildings. Western developed a nationally recognized music school whose graduates went on to acquire fame and create advancements in music composition. After its closure, its surviving buildings were used by the nearby Fredrick Douglass Hospital until it was also shut down and the buildings demolished.

Western University (1865-1943)

Kansas City became home to many Holocaust survivors after World War II ended thanks in part to the support of the city's Jewish community. In 1958, a group of local Holocaust survivors came together to consider ways to create a memorial and support other efforts to preserve history and strengthen the Jewish community in the Kansas City area. The group met with the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center, Sol E. Margolin, and considered a variety of ideas. The New Americans Club of the Jewish Community Center of Kansas City, otherwise known as The New Americans, was born from this meeting. The meeting also led to plans to create a memorial, originally referred to as the Warsaw Ghetto Monument in 1959. The monument would later be referred to as the Memorial to the Six Million. Demonstrating change over time, the memorial was moved to this location from its original location on Holmes Road after the Jewish Community Center followed the path of residents to suburban Overland Park.Funding for the aluminum sculpture was organized by the New Americans over the next four years The group commissioned artist Maurice Newman, a native of Lithuania working in Washington, D.C., to design the monument at a cost of $15,000 dollars ($100,000 in 2020). Kansas City resident and former President Harry S. Truman delivered the keynote address at the dedication, and the monument stood on Holmes Road until in 1988 it was relocated to the new Jewish Community Center.The memorial features many important aspects from both the Holocaust and the Warsaw Ghetto. With symbolic imagery, Newman's artistry encourages the audience to remember the Holocaust and prevent something similar from occurring again. The memorial's inclusion of a detailed map of the Warsaw Ghetto, devoid of its inhabitants, emphasizes the magnitude of the area while also providing remembrance for the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Underneath the map, the crowds of people being forcefully herded towards concentration and death camps commemorate those who suffered during the Holocaust, lest we forget how such events began and were perpetuated. The inclusion of two separate exoduses, that of the biblical exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and that of Jews leaving Europe after World War II, offer a symbol of promise and hope for new lives after enduring immense pain. The visage of a warrior within flames depicts the necessity of remembering the Holocaust. The memorial's construction, with the aluminum shaped like rocks at the base, further depicts the rise from the Warsaw Ghetto. Finally, the names engraved on the monument are the names of family members who had died during the Holocaust, further tying the memorial to the local Jewish community while honoring those who had lost their lives.The memorial is located on the grounds of the Jewish Community Center, known as "The J" to local residents, The Community Center provides many community-building activities and programs, as well as educational programs for the Jewish community in the Kansas City area.

This monument was dedicated in 1963, making it one of the first memorials in the United States to recognize the history of the Holocaust. At the end of World War II, Holocaust survivors moved around the world to rebuild their lives. Given the large Jewish community in Kansas City and global family networks, some survivors moved to the Kansas City metropolitan area. With the support of the Jewish community and others throughout Kansas City, local Holocaust survivors led the effort to raise funds to create this memorial to the six million Jews who were victims of the Holocaust. Fundraising began in the late 1950s and President Harry Truman spoke at the memorial's dedication ceremony on June 9, 1963. The monument was one of the first of its kind in the United States and originally stood on Holmes Road until the decision was made in 1988 to move to its present location on the grounds of the Jewish Community Center.

The Memorial to the Six Million; Kansas City Jewish Community Center

Former residents of the Bottoms in Topeka, an area that lay along the Kansas River, recall it fondly as a place where community ties were strong, immigrants from all walks of life lived alongside one another, and many businesses welcomed African American customers. At the same time, the Bottoms was characterized as rundown and blighted, and the area was devastated by the Kansas River flood of 1951, which forced a temporary evacuation.  At the same time, urban renewal projects were sweeping through U.S. cities, targeting so-called slums to clear and sell to private developers. These areas were often populated by Black and immigrant residents, who were displaced during and after the redevelopment process, replaced largely by more affluent white residents.  In Topeka, the Urban Renewal Agency led the redevelopment effort, despite opposition from the residents of the Bottoms, whose efforts included filing a court action seeking to halt redevelopment. Ultimately, however, the city purchased the properties in the Bottoms, moved more than 3,000 residents out, and commenced work on the project, demolishing the existing buildings to make way for real estate development, including a manufacturing plant, a department store, and a new stretch of I-70. Despite the redevelopment project, the area formerly known as the Bottoms is once again an economically depressed area. However, the Bottoms’ former residents have fond memories of their community. They still hold reunions to gather together, tell stories, and share old pictures.

The Bottoms, located in Topeka along the Kansas River, was once a tight-knit community of immigrants, African Americans, and Latinx residents, with businesses that welcomed African American customers during segregation. Urban renewal projects led to the demolition of the Bottoms in the 1950s, but former residents still fondly recall the community’s diversity and strong bonds.

The Bottoms

John Brown is a noted figure in both Kansas and United States history for his role in the abolition movement and the conflict known as Bleeding Kansas. A controversial figure in his time, he is memorialized in Kansas City, Kansas, at the former site of Western University, a historically Black college that closed its doors in 1943.John Brown was born May 9, 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut. Many of his beliefs had been instilled in him at a young age by his parents, Owen and Ruth Brown, who were devout Calvinists and believed deeply in the immorality of slavery. As a young man, John Brown would frequently uproot his own large family (he would have 20 children in total), moving around to join various abolitionist communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York. He worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in 1854, granting settlers the right to decide whether their states would allow slavery, Brown’s sons soon left for Kansas. Brown gathered his weapons and joined his sons in 1855 when pro-slavery forces took control of the legislature. He became known for leading a series of armed raids against pro-slavery settlers; this conflict between pro- and anti-slavery factions was known as Bleeding Kansas. [1,2,3]Led by one of John Brown’s sons, a group called the Pottawatomie Rifles organized in order to provide armed resistance to “Border Ruffians”, that is, slavery sympathizers who were crossing the border from Missouri in order to terrorize Free State settlers. Brown and his supporters were spurred on by the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in the spring of 1856, when pro-slavery mob, led by a local sheriff, attacked various businesses in the town. In response, on May 24-25, members of the Pottawatomie Rifles went to the homes of slavery sympathizers and killed five men. Most historians agree that John Brown himself led the attack, although he was not officially part of the group.[1]In June and August, Brown led a group to defend the Free State settlements of Black Jack and Osawatomie from raiding by Border Ruffians. Although one of his sons was killed during the Battle of Osawatomie, John Brown earned national notoriety from the defense, earning him the nickname “Osowatomie Brown.” [1] By the fall of 1856, Brown left Kansas in order to raise funds in the North, and he continued his campaigns throughout the US. Most famously, in July 1859, he led the attack on a federal arms arsenal by 22 anti-slavery fighters at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He was subsequently tried and sentenced to death, becoming the first person to be hanged for treason since the founding of the US. [4] Before his death, Brown prophetically declared that the issue of slavery would not end with his death: “You may dispose of me very easily. I am nearly disposed of now. But this question is still to be settled—this Negro question, I mean; the end of that is not yet.” [4] Indeed, the guerilla skirmishes between Free State and Slave State supporters in Kansas, as well as Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry have been cited as catalysts leading up to the Civil War. [2]John Brown’s public image is still controversial today. For nearly a century, history textbooks in the US used various words like “insane”, “deranged”, “crackbrained”, and at the very least, “fanatical” to describe Brown. [4] Although he left behind a violent legacy, it is in part due to Brown’s actions that Kansas voted to become a free state in 1858. Today, many still honor him for his crusade against slavery and the way he spurred other abolitionists to take action, fueling the conflict that led to the Civil War and, ultimately, the end of slavery in the United States.The life-sized John Brown statue was carved from marble and erected in 1911 on the campus of Western University, funded entirely by donations from faculty and students. For decades, Western University educated and inspired its all-Black student body, and though only its bones remain, the statue of John Brown stands as a reminder of the legacy of abolition in Kansas and the beginnings of a more complete democracy in the United States.

John Brown was a central figure in the abolitionist movement of the pre-Civil War era, and this statue of him was erected at this site in 1911 thanks to the donations of hundreds of Kansas City residents, most of whom were members of the Black Community. Brown was chosen by leaders of the AME church and Western University who sought to honor his fight against the institution of slavery. Located on the former campus of Western University, the only historically-Black university in Kansas, the John Brown statue is a monument to Brown's efforts to end slavery by any means necessary. Brown believed that the rhetoric and peaceful tactics traditionally used by abolitionists were too weak, and he led armed resistance to protect the Free State communities of Kansas Territory and elsewhere. Brown led several campaigns during the “Bleeding Kansas” border wars between abolitionists and slavery sympathizers. In 1859, he was hanged for his raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, which sought to create a place of refuge and safety for maroon communities who could escape slavery while remaining in the American South instead of joining other communities of free people in Canada.

Statue of Abolitionist John Brown (1911)

The Rattlebone Hollow neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, now consists of blocked-off or grown-over streets, demolished buildings, and a few old community churches. It would be easy to overlook this place that has largely faded from memory, but the history of Rattlebone Hollow is being recovered as part of a larger movement to better document the stories of African Americans in Kansas. Not only does the legacy of Rattlebone Hollow live on in the people who lived there, but it’s also part of the legacy of failed urban renewal projects and environmental racism in the United States.Before Rattlebone Hollow became the site of a toxic waste dump (more on that below), it was a community established in 1879 by Exodusters who migrated to Kansas from southern states after the Civil War. Over the course of a few years, more than 40,000 Exodusters arrived in Wyandotte County on steamboats, and Rattlebone Hollow itself continued to grow into the 20th century. It was a thriving, self-sufficient community with all-Black schools and Black-owned businesses.As for its intriguing moniker, Rattlebone Hollow likely gained its name due to its proximity to a meatpacking plant that would discard certain animal parts, like pig’s feet and neck bones. These parts would be sent out on a cart, rattling over the neighborhood streets, to be claimed by locals who would use them in their cooking. Something that made this area special was how many locals owned their own land, which was a crucial part of the process for formerly enslaved Black people and their descendants to begin to accumulate generational wealth. It was all the more painful, then, when the federal government began seizing their land through eminent domain during WWII.During the war, land in Rattlebone Hollow was used to build housing for workers at a nearby B-25 facility (which at first refused to hire Black workers, despite a labor shortage). The trend continued into the 1970s, when urban redevelopment efforts often meant clearing out urban areas occupied primarily by Black residents. In Rattlebone Hollow’s case, it also meant building a landfill in close proximity to residential areas.The Model Sanitary Landfill opened in 1972, and though it was hailed as a more sanitary and environmentally friendly landfill, it was plagued with problems from the start. Reportedly poorly maintained, the site was full within two years and had begun to leak into the surrounding community. It has been noted that landfills and toxic waste sites are more likely to be placed in Black neighborhoods, and the EPA’s enforcement of cleanup efforts tends to be less stringent. This is part of the problem known as environmental racism. After the landfill closed in 1974, John Garland Park was built on top of it, named after an African American employee of the Wyandotte County Health Department who recommended the landfill’s location in Rattlebone Hollow. Designated a Superfund site, concerns about the park’s safety persisted, and the park was officially closed in the 1990s to undergo upgrades before reopening. Suspicion of the park’s safety remains, however, among some community members. While the buildings and streets of Rattlebone Hollow are mostly gone, the people who grew up in this special community still maintain strong memories of the place and connections with one another.

What remains of Rattlebone Hollow lies mostly buried beneath John Garland Park, a Superfund site where a landfill leaked toxic material into a once-vibrant Black neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas. The history of Rattlebone Hollow is gradually being recovered as an indispensable part of African American history in Kansas.

Rattlebone Hollow

Scott County's first Courthouse was housed in the Women's Christian Temperance Union building at 210 S. Main Street (Stop #11 on the Scott City Historic Walking Tour). The W.C.T.U. rented the ground level to the county for $25 a month until a new two-story frame building was built on the courthouse square in 1888. It stood northeast of where the current courthouse stands today.The land where the present courthouse stands was purchased on July 15, 1885 for $200 by Ida L. Eastman, Maria DeGeer's daughter, from the U.S. Government. A few days later, that land was then sold to the Scott City Company for $4,000. The Company dedicated block 22 of their original plat to the public as a courthouse square on September 18, 1885. The first courthouse was located on the NE corner in 1888.During a Commissioners' meeting on July 7, 1924, a petition signed by 814 legal voters of Scott County was approved, calling for the erecting of a courthouse to be built in the county sear to a cost not to exceed $100,000. Bids were to be filed by August 12, 1924. A general contract was approved from Henderson and Riggs of Larned, Kansas to build, equip and furnish the present day Scott County Courthouse for $67,250.The cornerstone was laid on November 11, 1924. A newspaper clipping from July 1925 read the following: “The old County Court House goes up for bid this week. Many tears will be shed. Not in grief for the edifice itself, but for the many memories. Particularly the jurymen who have laid on the floor, benches or what not night after night while their fellow colleagues argued with some stubborn fellow in an effort to get a verdict. Most of the offices will be moved into the new Court House by the end of this month.” Over the years, the Scott County Courthouse has housed the library, sheriff’s offices, extension office, and county welfare offices in addition to the judicial offices, county clerks, treasurer, appraisers, and county attorney office. It has undergone many renovations with the most recent restoration adding handicap accessibility.

Stop #17 on the Scott City Historic Walking Tour:  The Town Company of Scott City was organized and incorporated on September 11, 1885.  At that time Mrs. DeGeer, Mr. McLain, Mr. Swan & Mr. Sangster formed a town company.  They each donated a block for 4 separate parks; one of which was Courthouse Square where the Courthouse now stands.

Scott County Courthouse

The Boy Scots of America celebrated their 40th anniversary in 1950 with the theme of "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty." As part of the campaign, hundreds of scale replicas of the Statue of Liberty were created nationwide. The idea for the 100 inch (8 1/2-feet tall), 290-pound statues came from Kansas City business man J.P. Whitaker, the then Scout Commissioner of the Kansas City Area Council.The copper statues were manufactured by Friedley-Voshardt of Chicago, Illinois, and purchased through the Kansas City Boy Scout Office. The mass-produced statues are nearly identical to the colossal Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The original copper Statue of Liberty, designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was a gift from the people of France and made its way to America in 1885.The original statue is a figure of Libertas, a robed Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she walks forward, commemorating the recent national abolition of slavery. After its dedication, the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.Many of the replicas have been lost or destroyed, but many remain in tact. The following is a list of all the replica statues in Kansas:<ol><li>Coffeyville, in front of the high school</li><li>Colby, Fike Park, Corner of Franklin and East 8th Street</li><li>Eldorado, Butler County Historical Society Museum</li><li>Garden City, Finney County Courthouse, 8th Street side</li><li>Garnett, Courthouse Square</li><li>Harlan, Roadside Park, US 281, 5 miles from Harlan</li><li>Hays, Hays Public Library, 1205 Main</li><li>Hillsboro, Hillsboro Memorial Park, Birch Street</li><li>Independence, Penn and Locust</li><li>Kingman, Kingman Elementary and Junior High School, North Main Street</li><li>La Crosse, La Crosse City Park, South Main Street</li><li>Leavenworth, City Hall, Lawn, northeast corner of 5th and Shawnee</li><li>Lebanon, Kansas Geographical center of the lower 48 states</li><li>Liberal, Liberal Memorial Library, 519 North Kansas</li><li>Medicine Lodge, Medicine Lodge Grade School, 320 North Walnut, Northwest corner</li><li>Overland Park, Shawnee Mission North High School, 7401 Johnson Drive</li><li>Parsons, Parsons Middle School, Southwest corner, 28th and Main</li><li>Pratt, Gateway Park, Corner of East First and Stout</li><li>Russell, Lincoln Park, Corner of 4th and Lincoln Streets</li><li>St. John, City Park Square, Northeast corner, 4th and Broadway</li><li>Salina, Oakdale Park, 320 East Ash</li><li>Smith County, located in small park overlooking the North Fork of the Solomon River Valley just west of U.S. 281</li><li>Topeka, Kansas State Capitol grounds</li><li>Troy, Doniphan County Courthouse, Southwest grounds</li><li>Washington, Washington County Courthouse, C Street and 3rd</li><li>Wichita, Roosevelt Middle School, 2100 East Douglas</li></ol>

Dedicated by the Boy Scouts of America in 1950, this Replica of the Statue of Liberty is located at the entrance to Liberal Memorial Library. The replica statue commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts and represents the motto, "Strengthen the Arm of Liberty." The statue is an 8 1/2 foot version of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, which welcomes visitors, immigrants, and Americans who are returning to the United States.

Replica of the Statue of Liberty 

The present-day Cimarron National Grassland was the territory of the Comanche and other Indian tribes allied to them. The Homestead Act of 1862 brought thousands of settlers from the east out to the prairies of the Great Plains. The settlers’ farming techniques were ill-suited to the sandy prairie soil and, when prolonged drought and the Great Depression hit in the early 1930s, farmers saw their crops disappear in the great brown clouds of the Dust Bowl era. Relief began in 1932 when Congress passed laws allowing the government to purchase land from those who “wanted out”. Under the management of various agencies, and through the hard work of thousands, these purchased lands were rejuvenated. The area was renamed Cimarron National Grassland in June 1960 and are now public lands administered by the USDA Forest Service.Twenty-three miles of the Santa Fe Trail cut across the grassland. Two of the best known landmarks along the entire Santa Fe Trail are located here. Point of Rocks is a flat-topped outcrop of light gray rock that overlooks the Cimarron River Valley. Middle Spring was one of the rare reliable sources of water in this area along the overland trail. Visitors can access the "Sea of Grass" self-guided auto tour that highlights points of interest, scenery, and amenities found on the Grassland. The auto tour is approximately 30 miles long (2-3 hours).

Cimarron National Grassland consists of 108,175 acres of Great Plains and is the largest area of public land in the state of Kansas covering portions of Morton and Stevens counties. Established after the Dust Bowl to prevent further soil erosion, the Cimarron National Grassland is dominated by three ecosystems, distinguished primarily by vegetation, soil type, and groundwater availability. Each ecosystem—shortgrass prairie, sandsage prairie, and wooded riparian—requires a different management strategy to ensure healthy ecosystems. The establishment of the Cimarron National Grassland on public land, like other national parks across the United States, is for the enjoyment and benefit of all people.

Cimarron National Grassland 

In 1906, one man sought to bring quality education to the women of the Kansas prairie. Howard Barnard came from a long lineage of educators. His great-uncle, Henry Barnard, along with Horace Mann started the Common School Movement of 1820-1860 to bring uniformity to all schools across the country. And perhaps more well-known, his cousin Frederick Barnard became the president of Columbia University and while there founded Barnard College for women. It was no shock then that Howard Barnard would also find himself dedicating his life to one of teaching and service.After attending an exhibit at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, the young Howard Barnard was convinced to move to Kansas against his family's wishes. There he made his way across Kansas eventually landing in Rush Center where he performed odd jobs until he was able to pass the county teachers’ exam and began to teach in the McCracken area.After fifteen years of teaching, in 1906, Barnard received $16,000 from his father’s estate and he put all of it into make his dream for education on the prairie come true. He bought several acres of land eighteen miles outside of LaCrosse and four miles outside of McCracken. There he built the Entre Nous (among us) College. The school was made up a of a large, two-story white frame structure that contained an auditorium, central heating plant, grand piano, and a telephone!The first year only one pupil attended, but the following year ten high school students and sixty grade school students attended transforming Entre Nous into a social center on the plains. The modern college was one of the first to offer free transportation, visual education, the first “bloomer girls” basketball team, and boasted a large library collection—many of the books which were from Barnard’s own collection.In 1906 the Entre Nous School was forced to close its doors due to a quarrel among the heirs to Mr. Barnard’s father’s estate which tied up the funds for the school. Lawyers promised a renewal of the income but that never happened. The courageous and generous teacher made every effort to keep the school but to no avail.After Entre Nous closed Barnard again turned to teaching. With a passion for books, he began to accumulate a massive private library. Often, after completing the day teaching, Barnard would walk 25 miles north to Hays to buy books, returning the next morning in time to resume classes. Barnard was a rigid disciplinarian, but kind and considerate to his pupils. He had little patience with county superintendents who often did not have the same level of education as he did.When superintendents tried to have him fired, mothers of the students intervened. In 1916, he was invited to move his collection of over 3000 books to the newly-constructed La Crosse High School. Later that year, the superintendent succeeded in firing him because his found his strict library rules to be overbearing. Learning about this and discovering that Barnard was destitute and sleeping in the railroad depot, several women in the La Crosse area banded together, formed the Barnard Library Association and raised money for his living expenses. They also got him reinstated as High School librarian paying his salary through the association. Within a year, he quit the High School and began teaching in rural schools in the area. At the 1923 annual meeting of the district, citizens demanded the school board rehire Barnard. He and his books remained there until 1937.

In 1906, one man sought to bring quality education to the women of the Kansas prairie. Howard Barnard, known as the pioneer educator, would eventually open the Enter Nous College eighteen miles outside of La Crosse. The modern college was one of the first to offer free transportation, visual education, and the first “bloomer girls” basketball team, and boasted a large library collection—many of the books which were from Barnard’s own collection. When the Entre Nous School was forced to close its doors due to lack of funding in 1913, Barnard continued to teach in public schools in Rush County and eventually became the librarian at the LaCrosse High School. The Barnard Library is named in his honor and displays items pertaining to his devoted life to teaching and service.

Barnard Library

The Russell Kansas WPA (Works Progress Administration) office mural is a stunning piece of art that was created during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal program. It is a large mural which measures 22 feet in length by 4 feet in height and was painted by Stanley M. Hunter in 1941. The mural is located at the post office in Russell, Kansas, United States.The Russell Kansas WPA office mural depicts the history of the town of Russell, Kansas, with a focus on its agricultural heritage. The left side of the mural portrays the early settlers plowing the land and tending to livestock. The right side shows modern-day farmers working with machinery in the fields. In the center, there is an image of a proud farmer holding a large ear of corn.The colors used in the mural are rich and vibrant, bringing the scenes to life. The intricate detailing in the painting is impressive, as it reflects various agricultural practices such as wheat harvesting, cattle ranching, and even beekeeping. Overall, the Russell Kansas WPA office mural serves as a testament to the town's resilience and hard work during tough times. It stands as a symbol of hope and progress during the Great Depression and a reminder of the importance of art in society.

The Russell Kansas WPA (Works Progress Administration) office mural is a stunning piece of art that was created during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal program. It is a large mural which measures 22 feet in length by 4 feet in height and was painted by Stanley M. Hunter in 1941. The mural is located at the post office in Russell, Kansas, United States.

Sidewalk Civics

Mid-America All-Indian Center

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information