NICODEMUS.
Day 370 – We spent the morning hanging out and relaxing in the RV. After lunch we took a drive, first to Nicodemus National Historic Site, and then we drove gravel farm roads around the opposite side of the Reservoir, the side across from our campground.
It was partly cloudy and a little windy, with a high of 65 degrees. Nicodemus was ten miles west of the campground. It was an interesting visit. This historic site was similar to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Earlimart, California where we stayed in March of this year for a few days. That Park had been a thriving city until the railroad was rerouted around it and they subsequently ran out of water. The buildings remained and it was turned into a State Historic Park.
From two National Park Service brochures – Nicodemus and Nicodemus Walking Tour. The story of Nicodemus: “This northwestern Kansas town – barely a few dozen buildings – tells us first-hand stories of the African American experience on the Great Plains. Founded in 1877, it was the first western town built by and for black settlers. For black farmers in the region, it was the economic and cultural hub for many decades.
Rampant racism experienced by free blacks after the Civil War left little faith that the promise of freedom could ever be realized. Blacks in the South found that the political and economic gains of Reconstruction were being violently stripped away. It is no surprise that many took land promoters up on their proposal to settle an all-black town in the free lands of Kansas.”
“In the Spring of 1877, 300 determined people made the trek westward from Georgetown, Kentucky. Two other groups followed shortly thereafter. Like their white counterparts elsewhere on the frontier, they lived in primitive conditions. Newcomers were shaken by the spectacle of homes dug into the ground. Although the land appeared to offer little to these first settlers – sixty people returned to the railhead in Ellis to live and some traveled all the way back to Kentucky – it was the vision and tenacious spirit of those who remained that made Nicodemus a home where real freedom could be experienced.”
“Despite hardships and fueled by shared dreams, Nicodemus thrived. Although the early years were rough, with residents living in dugouts, sod homes, and few stone structures, Nicodemus continued to draw more settlers.
By the mid-1880’s, the town boasted a commercial district that included general stores, a bank, millinery shop, newspapers, a blacksmith, law and land offices, a literary society and many social and fraternal organizations. This gained the attention of the railroads, which were scouting for new routes.”
“Despite the best efforts of the town, promises from the railroad and $16,000 paid by the town to the railroad, the railroad chose an alternate route south of the Solomon River. A new town was created, Bogue, five miles southwest of Nicodemus, and many businesses relocated there. In a three-month period in 1888, the town experienced a mass exodus by those in search of greater prosperity connected to the railroad. The Great Depression, and the drought of the dust bowl years, prolonged the long downward spiral of out-migration.”
“Today the population at Nicodemus remains at around twenty. However, descendants that live across the nation number in the thousands. The five historic buildings of Nicodemus are physical expressions of the five pillars that continue to anchor African American communities today: church, self-government, education, home, and business. They illustrate the individual and collective strength of character and desire for freedom of the early pioneers who established Nicodemus in 1877. Nicodemus National Historic Site represents the only remaining all black town established at the end of Reconstruction, and is symbolic of the pioneer spirit of the black people who settled there.”
After leaving Nicodemus, we drove around the Reservoir on gravel farm roads. The State Park is extensive and we drove through day use areas which were awesome – right on the beach by the lake with a windbreak over a picnic table and a fire pit. Campsites in that area were completely empty, yet they were really nice sites on the water. We saw White Pelicans on the lake, a juvenile Bald Eagle flying over, and several Northern Harriers were also flying over looking for something to eat. We will come back here again for sure, if we happen by this area of Kansas again.
Tomorrow we leave here and drive to Salina, KS to stay for a one-night stopover at a KOA Campground. That will be the first of several one-night stays as we make our way to Missouri and Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, one of our favorites that we always try to visit.
For more detailed information about Webster State Park, Hilltop Campground, Stockton, KS, click here.