by Mary Rupert
Do a little digging in your family history, a speaker advised the audience during a talk April 15 at the Wyandotte County Heritage Festival held at the West Wyandotte Library, 1737 N. 72nd St.
Angela Bates, executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society, spoke to the audience about the story of the small town of Nicodemus, Kansas, which was founded in 1877. It was built by and for black residents and farmers. Once the town had about 600 to 700 residents, and now there are about 13 residents on the actual town site, with about 100 residents in the area, she said. The town will have its 139th homecoming celebration in July. (http://www.nicodemushomecoming.org/)
Bates said that black history used to focus only on slavery, but there was much history left out of the history books. Growing up, she didn’t hear much about Buffalo Soldiers or cowboys when black history was discussed.
But Bates, who grew up in the Nicodemus community, said she knew that she was descended from black settlers and black pioneers who came west from Kentucky after the end of the Civil War.
Bates asked the audience members to raise their hands if they knew their grandmother’s name. Most did. Then she asked if they knew their great-grandmother’s name and their great-great grandmother’s name. Fewer hands went up each time.
Bates’ message was that family history is history.
“We need to understand who we are,” she said. “Do a little digging in your family history.”
The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Libraries have been working with the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area to collect oral histories of people who lived in the Quindaro area of Kansas City, Kansas.
Freedom’s Frontier is working on a national landmark designation for the Quindaro Ruins, a pre-Civil War town on the Missouri River in Kansas City, Kansas. The town was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and the town was abandoned just as the Civil War was starting. Collecting more oral histories from residents could lead to an expansion of the historical knowledge about Quindaro.
The Wyandotte County Heritage Festival was held in partnership with the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area and the Kansas Humanities Council. The festival included activities for children and adults, plus booths from several area organizations.
To reach Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].
