Freed Slaves SeekingA New Beginning...in Kansas. The area surrounding the KansasWetlands & Wildlife National ScenicByway is internationally recognizedfor its abundance of wildlife. Duringthe fall and springmigrations, theskies are filledwith millions ofwaterfowl andshorebirds on theirflights to northernand southernclimates.

And while themigrations annuallydraw thousands ofhunters and birdersto the area to seeand experience thewildlife, the area hasalso for centuriesdrawn people. It is aland rich in history andculture. The seven communitieslinked along the byway corridor --Stafford, St. John, Hudson, GreatBend, Ellinwood, Claflin andHoisington – each contain fascinatingstories about the people who settledhere, from the Native Americans wholived here hundreds of years ago tothe immigrants who followed the trailsand railroads to stake out homes andraise families.

One of those stories that binds allthese communities together is themass immigration of AfricanAmericans following the Civil War.

During the late 1870s, in AfricanAmerican church congregations

across theSouth, theword quicklyspread that theFederalgovernment hadset aside Kansasland for formerslaves.

It wasn’t true.

But it helpedspark anexodus.

And dreams.

And so toKansas -- toplaces likeStafford andBartonCounty—themembers ofthesechurchescame for new

beginnings and hope for betterfutures.

It was called the Kansas FeverExodus, a name taken from the Bible,as in “the flight of the Israelites fromEgypt.”

African Americans, particularly thosein the South, wanted something betterthan quasi-freedom in postEmancipation America. Their yearningwas quintessentially American: Theywanted to be secure, to make money,to own their own land.

Theirs marked one of the mostremarkable migrations in the UnitedStates, following the Civil War.

It involvedformer slaveswho left theSouth to buildhomesteads in

the West.

Those whoparticipated were

called Exodusters.

All told, between 15,000 and 20,000of these “Exodusters” flocked toKansas, which they saw as thePromised Land, yearning for new livesand new lands. They were inspiredand led by Benjamin “Pap” Singleton,a former slave from Tennessee.Kansas had entered the Union a FreeState and was known for itsabolitionist free-thinkers. After all,from Kansas came John Brown, whorose to national attention by clashingwith Missouri border ruffians. And itwas Kansans who played a vital rolein helping slaves escape the Southvia the Underground Railroad. It wasthe site, when the Civil War broke out,that black men of the 1st KansasColored Infantry were the first African-Americans to go into the U.S. Armyand first to fight.

Kansas was enough of a PromisedLand.

“I am anxious to reach yourstate,” G.R. M. Newman, a blackLouisianan wrote to the governorof Kansas in September of 1879,“. . . because of the sacredness ofher soil washed by the blood ofhumanitarians for the cause offreedom.”

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But Kansas, prior to the 1870s, didn’thold many opportunities for AfricanAmericans. Most of the blackpopulation settled in the larger,eastern communities of the state.Most worked as laborers orhousekeepers. Some were farmers;others, black soldiers. When theExodus began with the massimmigration, opportunities for otheroccupations began to surface as all-black settlements were founded.

Why St. John is named St. JohnLocated three miles north of US-281-US-50 highways;GPS Coordinates38.001029, -98.761045

In large part,the massimmigrationof AfricanAmericanswasinstigated inKansas byRepublicanGovernor,John St.

John. He was governor of Kansasfrom 1879 to 1883 and instrumental increating the Kansas Freedman’sRelief Association, an organizationdevoted to helping the destituteformer slaves settle in Kansas. Thegovernor was a Quaker by belief andalso a leading prohibitionist, whichmeant he didn’t support drinkingalcohol. He didn’t necessarily believein racial equality as much as hebelieved in the good that could comefrom a mass influx of people. Thegovernor reasoned that people - nomatter the color - meant an uptick inpopulation. And, that meant railroads. . . and railroads to Kansas meantprosperity and money.

When Stafford County was organizedand a county seat was to bedetermined, there was much debateback and forth over which town in thecounty would win the seat. Would itbe Stafford? Zion Valley? Residents in

Zion Valley suggested to the governorthat if the county seat could be in theircommunity, then they'd be willing tochange the name to St. John.

And indeed, they did.Settlement to Stafford County wasencouraged.

A flier from one railroad promised:“The Golden Belt of Kansas: 9 monthsof summer – 3 months fall-spring.700,000 acres of choice farming landsfor sale By The Union Pacific RailroadCo.”

“When I landed on the soil, I lookedon the ground and I says this is freeground,” said Exoduster JohnSolomon Lewis who was amongthose who came to Kansas. “Then Ilooked on the heavens, and I saysthem is free and beautiful heavens.Then I looked within my heart, and Isays to myself I wonder why I neverwas free before?”

To help in their efforts, the KansasFreedman’s Relief, (formed by Gov.St. John) was created in 1879 to “aiddestitute freedmen, refugees andimmigrants.” The group providedtemporary shelter, employment, somemoney and assistance in resettling invarious Kansas counties.

One of those Kansas countiesincluded Stafford County, where by1914, it is estimated there were asmany as 400 African Americans living.The entire population of the countythen was 9,100 residents. Many ofthese African Americans weredestitute, having spent years inslavery and, once in Kansas, workedhard to eke out an existence in thesandy soils in Stafford County. Theywere men liked George WashingtonWalker who was born in Washington,D.C. on Nov. 14, 1849. His motherbelonged to a slave trader namedTrain. When Train sold the little boy’smother for $1,500, he did so at firstwithout including the boy in the sale.She grieved so much, that he was

forced to include the boy andrefunded the new owner $500. Thelittle boy grew up in Mississippi andtook the name of George Washingtonand the last name of his new owner,Walker. Until he was 20, GeorgeWashington Walker didn’t know howto read or write. After the 13thamendment passed in 1865, heattended school and learned to readand write. Throughout the rest of hislife he would read the Bible,bibliographies of famous people anddaily newspapers. He wouldemphasize the value of education. Hiswife, Catherine Harris, was a slave inKentucky. They were married in 1875and had a dozen children.

The Walkers, as well as others fromExoduster movement, may haveinitially been attracted to StaffordCounty from seeing the many postersfrom the railroads. But the sandysoils, abundance of wildlife, creeksand streams proved good land tohomestead.

Traces of these Exodusters can stillbe seen in Stafford County.

St. John supported two African-American churches – a Baptist churchand the African Methodist EpiscopalChurch, organized in 1887 and built in1892. It was located on the southeastcorner of Pearl and Hoole streets andrazed in recent decades.

Black churches in the South were thenatural marketplace for the Exodustermovement. The Kansas homes andtowns were to be established withoutsaloons or houses of ill repute. Andthe churches were filled with thepeople who would help finance theventures.

George Washington Walker

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Martin CemeteryMartin Cemetery, south of St. John,located one and one-half miles westof US-281 and US-50 highway,located on corner of NW 10th Avenueand US-50.GPS Coordinates: 37.9564, -98.7745

The first settlers of Ohio township inStafford County were AfricanAmerican. The township was directlysouth of St. John. Exodusters alsolived in St. John. The MartinCemetery, an all-black cemetery, is asmall fenced space on the north sideof the road, It was named for a familyliving in the area who also donatedthe property.

There are only a few memorialmarkers visible in the cemetery - withfamily names such as Martin, Hilton

and Perkins. Severalgraves remainunmarked.

In 1954, local papersreported amysteriousoccurrence at thecemetery when

George Hilton was buried on April 9.For several weeks afterwards a blackand white dog came to keep a lonelyvigil at his grave. Passersby took thedog food and water and even built asmall doghouse for him to use.Friends of Hilton said the dog did notbelong to Hilton. But still, the dog keptvigil.

The cemetery is maintained by theCity of St. John.

Stafford CemeteryStafford Cemetery is located on US-50, ½-mile west of Stafford, addressis corner of US-50 and SE 70thAvenue.GPS Coordinates:Latitude: 37.95360,Longitude: -98.61390

Kansas contributed dearly to theUnion cause, during the Civil War.During the war, the federalgovernment issued several calls fortroops, asking Kansas for a total of16,654 men. More than 20,000"Jayhawkers" enlisted, and the statecontributed 19 regiments and fourbatteries to the Union forces. Althoughmany of these volunteer soldiershailed from states other than Kansas,this was a remarkable showing for aninfant state with only 30,000 men ofmilitary age. Kansas soldiers sufferednearly 8,500 casualties.

Note the large numbers of Civil Warveterans buried in this cemetery.

The Stafford cemetery features aGrand Army of the Republic memorial.The Grand Army of the Republic wasdevoted to Union Civil War veterans.A local stonecutter, J.R. Carmichael,carved a limestone stump into amemorial for the county’s Civil Warsoldiers. He created the monumentmore than a century ago.

Stafford County HistoricalMuseum and GenealogicalSociety LibraryStafford County Museum, 100 N. Main Street, Stafford.GPS Coordinates:N37.95493 W -98.60024

The story of Exodusters in CentralKansas is told through an exhibit,historic glass negative photos and thefilm, “The Black Frontier.”

The traveling exhibit, "Kansans ofAfrican Descent: Selected Portraits,”features information about Benjamin“Pap” Singleton, who wasinstrumental in leading the Exodustersto Kansas. Besides Civil War artifactsand an extensive genealogical library.The museum also features an exhibiton the Exodusters highlightingindividual families in the area. And, itnotes some of the area cemeteries onthis tour where Exoduster families areburied. Be sure to ask for thecemetery guide brochure at this stop.

Plan on spending at least 45 minutesto an hour at the museum to take inthe entire Exoduster exhibition.

The museum also houses a glassnegative collection considered one ofthe best historical gems in Kansas.The collection of 29,000 glassnegatives came from photos takenover 8 decades in the Gray PhotoStudio in St. John. Many of thesephotos include Exoduster families inthe area. Not only is the collection awonderful study in day-to-day life in

Joseph Martin

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Central Kansas through the decades,it is considered one of the largestglass negative collections in thenation.

The museum/ library is open from9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Onweekends, the museum/library isclosed but open by specialappointments. There is no admissionfee for the museum; however,donations are welcome.For more information, call at(620) 234-5664.

As you follow our tour to Great Bend,highlights along the way can include atrip through Quivira National WildlifeRefuge to see wildlife; but, also a stopat the Eden Valley Cemetery, nearSeward.

Eden Valley CemeteryEden Valley Cemetery, corner of NW180th Street and NW 20th Avenue,located two miles west of US-281highway on 180th NW Street.GPS Coordinates:38.2183464, -98.7856433

Several Exoduster families are buriedin the Eden Valley Cemetery.

When George Washington Walkercame to Stafford County, hepurchased a quarter section of landnear what is now Seward from therailroad for $205. He built a sod housewith a dirt floor. Then, he set aboutgrowing crops. Soon, AfricanAmerican families joined him asneighbors.

Among them, Oscar Micheaux, whowithin a decade would become one ofthe nation’s first black movieproducers. Micheaux’s family movedto this area in the early 1900s. In fact,Micheaux’s grandmother, MelvinaMicheaux and aunt, Harriett Robinsonare buried in this cemetery.

But those were poor crop years andsome of the earliest homesteaderssoon became discouraged and left.The Walkers would purchase theirclaims and pay out the railroad whatwas left on their claims. By doing this,the Walkers would soon own morethan 480 acres, oil would bediscovered on their land and theywould become some of the wealthiestresidents of the county.

George Washington Walker isattributed to bringing the firstwagonloads of watermelon from hisStafford County farm to sell in GreatBend. And, of course, today StaffordCounty is known for its sandy soilsthat produce quality watermelons,sold in the summertime at the GreatBend Farmers Market as well as byDillons and Walmart stores.

Barton County Museum and Village85 S. Highway 281.GPS Coordinates:GPS: 38.34851°N 98.76519°W

What prompted much of the Exodusof the late 1870s was that AfricanAmericans were prevented fromvoting in the South. This, combinedwith the bad economy and thediscrimination, prompted many to lookoutside the South for future hope.In 1870, the black population ofKansas was slightly more than

16,000. By 1880, the numbers werecloser to 43,000.

As it sits on the Arkansas Riversurrounded by ancient cottonwoods,the Barton County Museum andVillage helps illustrate pioneersettlement to central Kansas. Exhibitsinclude quilts, Grand Army of theRepublic records and ceremonialarchives, and buildings replicatingslices-of-life on the prairie with a one-room schoolhouse, an early stonehouse and railroad station. While atthe museum, plan on viewing the CivilWar Sesquicentennial exhibit.

You can also pick up a copy of thearea cemetery tour here, as well.The museum complex is open from10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays throughFridays; and, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdaysand Sundays through the end ofOctober. Admission is $4. For moreinformation, call (620) 793-5125.

Barton County Courthouse Square1400 Main Street, Great BendGPS Coordinates:38.36557 and -98.76453

The year 1879 was a fateful year forAfrican Americans. Not only did it spurthe Exoduster movement, but thatyear Kansas passed a law permittingthe creation of racially segregatedelementary schools in certain citiesbased on population. Towns like GreatBend and St. John were exempt fromthe law because there weren’t enoughpeople. That law, affecting largertowns such as Wichita and Topeka,

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would later become a fueling point forthe national landmark case Brown vs.the Board of Education.

And, the year of 1879 and thefollowing would prove to be tryingyears for anyone attempting tohomestead in Kansas. It was theheight of an extreme drought.But for the settlers who stuck it outand survived, there would bemonuments built toward theirdedication. Such is the case with theBarton County Courthouse Square,located in downtown Great Bend.

Built in 1918 in the Modern ClassicalEclecticism style, the building housesmarble flooring and stairs. A Civil WarSoldier Monument, “The Rifleman,”stands nearby honoring both the whiteand black veterans who fought duringthe Civil War. When you stand on theground of this courthouse square, youare standing directly on the Santa FeTrail.

The courthouse is open to the publicduring regular business hours andhouses local county and court offices.

Barton County Arts Council1401 Main Street, Great Bend GPS Coordinates:38.36557 and -98.76453

Although he traveled extensivelyaround the nation making andpromoting more than three dozenmovies, there were only two placesOscar Micheaux called home:Harlem...And Great Bend.

Micheaux was Hollywood’s firstAfrican-American movie producer andthe first to use all-black casts. He wasa writer and entrepreneur of edgymovies with racial themes. He made

43 movies from 1919 to 1948 and isstill considered one of the most prolificAfrican-American movie producers ofall time. In 2010, the U.S. PostalService commemorated Micheauxwith a 44-cent stamp.

But when Micheaux died in 1951, hewas buried in the Great BendCemetery in an unmarked grave fornearly four decades. In the 1980s and1990s, local historians, film buffs andHollywood celebrities beganresearching his life. Fans includedSpike Lee, Robert Townsend, RubyDee and Ossie Davis. Theypurchased a headstone to honor him.

The Barton County Arts CouncilGallery is located in Great Bend’s firststone building, built approximately in1875. It showcases Great Bend’svibrant art and artists. The gallery ishosting an exhibit recognizing theindependent spirit of the ExodustersMovement and its influence on theHarlem Renaissance.

The gallery hours are 1 to 5:30 p.m.Monday through Friday. For moreinformation, (620) 792-4221.

Great Bend CemeteryGreat Bend Cemetery, 4500Broadway, Great BendGPS Coordinates:38.36810, -98.79970

The Cemetery Tour brochure will helpguide you through this cemeterywhere 12,000 people from allbackgrounds and walks of life areburied. In this cemetery, you can visitthe gravesite of George Washingtonand Catherine Walker. The Walkershad 12 children. In 1938, they hit a1,600 barrel a day oil well. They areburied in Section R, Lot 114, near thecemetery road.

Visit Micheaux’s grave in Section P atthe Cemetery. He is the only personburied in this cemetery who has a staron Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Inrecent years, the community of GreatBend has celebrated Micheaux with afilm festival held every other year towhich national celebrities are invited.Other Micheaux family members areburied in the Great Bend cemetery.

At the Great Bend Cemetery, note theGrand Army of the Republic circlenear the west end of the cemetery.

Although the people may visit thecemetery anytime, for questions youmay have, the Great Bend Cemeteryoffice is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Monday through Friday. For moreinformation, call (620) 793-4167.

Exoduster Photos furnished courtesy of Stafford County Historical Society

Oscar Micheaux

Hoisington Cemetery Hoisington Cemetery is located on K-4 highway and Cedar Street.GPS Coordinates: 38°31'14"N 98°46'2"W.

The community of Hoisington is located in the Cheyenne Bottoms Basin. Thepeople who settled in Central Kansas from all cultures, have each valued asense of family, community, hard work, and respect for the natural world.Surrounded by rows of evergreens, the Hoisington Cemetery helps tell thestories of the people who have lived here. Explore the cemetery and note someof the early hand-crafted stones and monuments. Hoisington’s African Americanhistory is rich. The vibrant community of African Americans who lived in SouthHoisington were largely drawn here because of the railroad. They weresometimes known for the company they kept. During the early 1930s, thefamous bankrobbers Bonnie and Clyde were said to have stayed with the Butlerfamily of South Hoisington.

Additional Related Sites in Kansas:The largest and still surviving all-black community is Nicodemus in Graham County, a few hours drive northwest of BartonCounty. The community is named after a slave who purchased his freedom. Although Nicodemus was never very large, itproduced some famous residents. E. P. McCabe, twice elected the state auditor of Kansas and the highest-ranking electedAfrican American in the West; Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears football player; and, Lorenzo Fuller, musician and first AfricanAmerican to host a national TV show. Nicodemus was declared a national historic park site in 1996 and now has fewer than 30residents. Nicodemus National Historic Site is located in northwestern Kansas on Highway 24 between Hill City and Stockton.GPS Coordinates are: 39.390833, -99.6175.

In western Kansas near Beeler, a 90-minute drive from Great Bend, is the area where George Washington Carver homesteadedduring the mid-1880s. While living there, Carver sketched plants and animals, and local residents soon began calling him “ThePlant Doctor.” In 1888, Carver left Kansas to attend college at Iowa State and later became head of the agriculture departmentat Tuskegee Institute. It was at Tuskegee that Carver discovered more than 300 uses for the peanut. There is a historical markerbeside K-96 highway and a stone monument on where his homestead was once located.Brown vs. Board of Education was a landmark Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate publicschools for black and white students were unconstitutional. The Browns vs. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topekadetails the story of that case as well as the nation’s struggle in Civil Rights. The park site is located at 1515 SE Monroe Street inTopeka. GPS Coordinates are: 39.038056, -95.676389.

One last word:As you explore these sights in Central Kansas, consider the words that Benjamin “Pap” Singleton chargedExodusters:

“Peace and harmony. Let us live together as a band of brethren and become united, and standin the statutes, of honor before this enlightened people and God.”

Written by Beccy Tanner

www.kansasbyway.com

For more information contact theGreat Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau,3007 10th Street • Great Bend, KS 67530,(620)792-2750 www.visitgreatbend.comE-mail at: information@visitgreatbend.com.