Important part of state history

Our Bicycle Across Kansas ride into Nicodemus was very wet and pretty cold for those without proper rain gear. I remember seeing riders in Hill City that morning grabbing plastic garbage bags and fashioning them into rain gear.  One female rider did a great job of wearing it under her jersey and fashioning the edges into a frilly edge around her shoulders. Discount Christian Louboutin

That was also the morning that some local group in Hill City set up a really nice large tent and served pancakes. The wind was very strong, but the tent stood, although it blew in past the canvas sides and water was a few inches deep inside no matter where you stepped.

The good thing about BAK is that many riders have learned that this is an adventure and that time is not too important.  It was after 9:30 a.m. when many of us left Hill City to head towards Nicodemus. When my little threesome arrived it had basically stopped raining, although there was lots of standing water everywhere. Tiffany Jewellery

According to the National Park Service and the Rangers at the historic site, this is the oldest surviving town west of the Mississippi established by African Americans following the Civil War. It was originally founded in 1877 and was soon home to 300 black settlers.

By the mid-1800s it was a prosperous town with two newspapers, three general stores, three churches, small b&b hotels, schools, barber shops, a literary society, a bank, and many homes.  The beautiful stone building with awesome wooden floors and a stage was actually a 1939 WPA project and presently serves as the historical center at which you can learn about Nicodemus.

After the Civil War, blacks were not treated very well in the South and were anxious to escape the virtual enslavement of share cropping. So, Rev. W.H. Smith, a black minister, and his partner W.R. Hill, a white land promoter formed the for-profit Nicodemus Township Company with five other African Americans and began soliciting former slaves from Kentucky and Tennessee.

Between newspaper ads and railroad promotions, they enticed blacks to buy land in Nicodemus starting in 1877. Although the developers promised that plenty of building materials were available, in reality there were no trees. links of london bracelet

“When we got in sight of Nicodemus, I looked with all the eyes I had. Where is Nicodemus? I don’t see it. My husband pointed out various smokes coming out of the ground and said, ‘That is Nicodemus.’ The families lived in dugouts. The scenery was not at all inviting, and I began to cry.”  – Willina Hickman, Spring 1878, “They lived like prairie dogs.”

The town started to really prosper about 1886 and then the railroad passed it by in 1888 and it began to die. It may be worthy to note that Mr. Hill, one of the founders, also founded Hill City about 30 miles west of Nicodemus and limited it to whites only. The Park Service Rangers dislike even having any references or photos of Hill and they said that allegations of thievery from the settlers and other allegations were enough for the locals to want to hang him or shoot him if they could actually locate him.  Apparently he stayed on the loose and avoided the town. True Religion bags

I felt honored to meet and visit with one African American college student who is actually a direct descendant of the original colony. She is not sure that she wants to stay in town as she is pursuing a professional career, but it was definitely my pleasure to visit with her.

If you have an interest in this part of Kansas black history, you should at least go on line to learn more about Nicodemus, but I suggest that you actually drive out there and visit. This is a relatively new Park Service National Monument and while there are not many more trees there today than in 1877, it is beautiful country and the history is awesome.