Issues, Trends, and New Directions

Abstract

There is perhaps no better example of a national park that could use some friends than Nicodemus National Historic Site. Nicodemus ought to be an important stop for visitors interested in westward expansion and the history of slavery. It is significant and symbolic because it is the last remaining post-Reconstruction western town established by African Americans. The Nicodemus Town Company was founded in 1877 by six black men and a white land developer who recruited 350 pioneer settlers from Kentucky to move to Kansas, a free state where they could start their own self-governed community. Named after a man said to have come to the US on a slave ship who bought his freedom, Nicodemus’ leaders invited “Colored People of the United States” to settle in the Great Solomon Valley of Kansas, a “Western Eden” that some considered the Promised Land. ¹ In its heyday in the 1880s, the population of Nicodemus was about 700 people, with a thriving economy that included hotels, a bank, livery stable, newspapers, and churches. The town’s leaders hoped to have the railroad come through their community, but it passed further south and some residents moved to be closer to the train line. Later, the interstate bypassed the town, too. The population was listed at 59 in 2010, according to the US Census.