Posted on Oct 8, 2023
Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City, Kansas, are one step closer to National Historic Landmark status
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On Tuesday, three U.S. House representatives, two Democrats and one Republican, introduced a bill to make the site of the historic town of Quindaro in Kansas City, Kansas, a National Historic Landmark. The town was once a stop on the Underground Railroad and a thriving multicultural community.
Before local preservationists focused attention on the decaying ruins of the town of Quindaro in the 1980s, the overgrown and largely forgotten site, hidden on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, was nearly turned into a landfill. Since then, community members and legislators have pushed for official recognition and the resources that come with it.
Preservation advocates got one step closer to their goal on Tuesday. Three U.S. House representatives, two Democrats and one Republican, introduced a bill to further protect the ruins in northeast Kansas City, Kansas. Sharice Davids (D-KS), along with Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Jake LaTurner (R-KS), introduced the bill Tuesday that would make the Quindaro site one of 2,600 National Historic Landmarks across the country.
“Quindaro is a vital part of our nation's history and served as a beacon of hope and freedom for Americans fighting to end slavery in the mid-19th century," said LaTurner.
Before local preservationists focused attention on the decaying ruins of the town of Quindaro in the 1980s, the overgrown and largely forgotten site, hidden on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, was nearly turned into a landfill. Since then, community members and legislators have pushed for official recognition and the resources that come with it.
Preservation advocates got one step closer to their goal on Tuesday. Three U.S. House representatives, two Democrats and one Republican, introduced a bill to further protect the ruins in northeast Kansas City, Kansas. Sharice Davids (D-KS), along with Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Jake LaTurner (R-KS), introduced the bill Tuesday that would make the Quindaro site one of 2,600 National Historic Landmarks across the country.
“Quindaro is a vital part of our nation's history and served as a beacon of hope and freedom for Americans fighting to end slavery in the mid-19th century," said LaTurner.
Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City, Kansas, are one step closer to National Historic Landmark status
Posted from kcur.org
Kansas City
American History
Slavery
Hope
Freedom
Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Early this summer, the Kansas Historic Board of Review approved a $20,000 grant request to fund a project to elevate the Quindaro Townsite ruins in Kansas City, Kansas to National Historic Landmark status. Administered by Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the grant will be awarded to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
Although the ruins were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, National Historic Landmark is a rare designation for historic places. 2,500 historic properties have been named National Historic Landmarks, 26 of which are in Kansas. Designated as nationally significant by the Secretary of the Interior and National Park Service, the properties must possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the country’s heritage.
Founded in 1856 by abolitionist Abelard Guthrie and named for Nancy Quindaro Brown, Guthrie’s wife and a Wyandot Indian, the area was established as a safe harbor for escaped slaves crossing the Missouri River into Kansas and became a vital stop for those seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. The town’s population scattered as a result of the Civil War, and the Kansas state legislature revoked the town’s incorporation in 1862.
Later in the decade, a Presbyterian minister founded the Quindaro Freedman’s School to educate the children of the escaped slaves and other black families that were settling the area. In 1882, the school was acquired by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which became Western University in 1891. The university was the only one of its kind to ever operate in Kansas. By the early 1900s, the campus emerged as a thriving university. A statue of abolitionist icon John Brown was erected on the grounds in 1911. While the university shuttered its doors in the 1940s, the statue remains as evidence of Quindaro’s progressive history."...
"Early this summer, the Kansas Historic Board of Review approved a $20,000 grant request to fund a project to elevate the Quindaro Townsite ruins in Kansas City, Kansas to National Historic Landmark status. Administered by Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area, the grant will be awarded to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
Although the ruins were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, National Historic Landmark is a rare designation for historic places. 2,500 historic properties have been named National Historic Landmarks, 26 of which are in Kansas. Designated as nationally significant by the Secretary of the Interior and National Park Service, the properties must possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the country’s heritage.
Founded in 1856 by abolitionist Abelard Guthrie and named for Nancy Quindaro Brown, Guthrie’s wife and a Wyandot Indian, the area was established as a safe harbor for escaped slaves crossing the Missouri River into Kansas and became a vital stop for those seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. The town’s population scattered as a result of the Civil War, and the Kansas state legislature revoked the town’s incorporation in 1862.
Later in the decade, a Presbyterian minister founded the Quindaro Freedman’s School to educate the children of the escaped slaves and other black families that were settling the area. In 1882, the school was acquired by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which became Western University in 1891. The university was the only one of its kind to ever operate in Kansas. By the early 1900s, the campus emerged as a thriving university. A statue of abolitionist icon John Brown was erected on the grounds in 1911. While the university shuttered its doors in the 1940s, the statue remains as evidence of Quindaro’s progressive history."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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