Welcome to the audio-described version of Nicodemus National Historic Site's official print brochure. The front side of the brochure contains text and images that give historical and cultural information about Nicodemus. The back side has additional historical images, an historical aerial view of the town and practical information about visiting, such as driving directions, things to do, self-guided and ranger-led tours, and park contact information.
This audio version is minutes and seconds long, and is divided into 20 main sections. You can listen straight through or choose which sections to hear.
The oldest and only remaining African American settlement west of the Mississippi River, Nicodemus is a National Historic Landmark located in northwest Kansas, and became part of the National Park Service in 1996. Nicodemus is located east of Hill City, Kansas, along east west state Highway 24, about 30 miles north of Interstate 70 where it passes by Hays, Kansas. This site is an excellent location to learn of the experiences of African American settlers on the frontier in the late 1800's. Visit the historic structures and talk with Nicodemus town residents, many of whom are ancestors of the town's founders, and if you plan for the last weekend of July, you can participate in the Emancipation Celebration, an annual town event.
The visitor center is located in the Township Hall, open Wednesday thru Sunday, and has a downloadable brochure, historic exhibits, a store, a 15-minute park film, and information about additional things to see and do.
"Accessibility" information is at the end of the brochure.
The front side of the brochure contains text and images relating to the history, historical context and culture of the town of Nicodemus.
The upper third has a wide black band spanning the top of the page, containing the title "Nicodemus" on the left and the National Park Service information and arrowhead on the right. Beneath that and also spanning the page, an historic 1885 sepia-toned photo depicts a large group of town residents, horses and wagons gathered in front of the store.
That photo blends into the middle third of the page, which is filled with three columns of text on a plain tan background, titled, "African American Town on The Frontier." The informative text clearly details the town's post-Civil War founding, development, struggles, decline, and eventual 1976 listing as a National Historic Landmark.
In the lower third, the background gradually transitions from tan to a bluish green color and contains a series of three small horizontally placed photos. Left to right, they provide some historical cultural information about people, businesses, and farm equipment. Partially overlapping the far right photo is an example of a promotional flyer to attract African American settlers.
DESCRIBING: A rectangular, faded, sepia-toned photo
SYNOPSIS: Directly beneath the National Park border, filling the top third and spanning the width of the brochure's front page, the image is of a group of about 50 African American people and several horses and wagons gathered in front of a light-colored, wooden building. J. Williams General Merchandise is painted on the front wall above the front porch in very large dark letters, and conveys an old west feeling. Most of the people are standing behind a single thigh-level rope barrier as if waiting for something. The view is from above, maybe from the second floor of a building across the street, and most people are looking up at the camera, although most of their facial features are indistinguishable. Many of the people are dressed up; women in long, light-colored dresses, most wear hats, and the men are in suits or dark vests and long sleeve white shirts. Most men wear rimmed derby-style or slouch hats and there are several children scattered in the background, also dressed similarly.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION:
A majority of the people are gathered in the vicinity of the store; either in the street in front or alongside the store and in several smaller groups, with a few children interspersed. One man in white shirt, dark pants, and suspenders, and a dark, rimmed, derby-like hat, stands on top of the front porch roof and is facing the camera. Except for a few people, most everyone is looking up at the camera.
The store has a white banner, above head height, hanging down from the porch roof edge and across the left three porch support posts. The banner has two lines of dark text. The top line contains very large, all capital letters and reads, "LUNCH ROOM," The lower line is smaller text, all capitals and reads, "CIGARS & CIDER." The banner clings to the three porch posts and each of the two sections billows in toward the building. On the right end of the porch, the fourth and last post has a short, narrow dark sign, fastened at about the same height as the banner, and reads "POST OFFICE" in small, white, all capital letters. The street in front of the store and the area around is all bare dirt. Beyond it and overlapped by the store structure is the front two-thirds of a light stone building. The outer walls have symmetrically placed lighter colored mortar joints and several large multi-pane windows line the length of the near wall. Beyond the stone building is an open field, and the front end of another stone building comes in from the left with the rest cropped by the photo. Beyond that building is open prairie and low hills in the distant background.
Across the street from the store are several horse-drawn open-top wagons with teams of two horses attached. The wagons are rectangular and wooden-sided, and each has four large wooden spoked wheels. The tops of the back wheels are a few inches higher than the wagon sides and the tops of the front wheels are a few inches lower than the sides. The front of the wagon has a wooden bench seat close to the horses. Most of the wagons are empty, except one closer to the group of people, which has several people standing in it. The height of the wagon side comes up midway to their knees. To the left of that wagon and in the foreground of the image is another wagon cropped from view except for the driver in the seat.
CAPTION: Nicodemus residents about 1885.
CREDIT: HABS Collection, Library of Congress; all other images this side courtesy Nicodemus Historical Society collection, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
‘That is Nicodemus.’ The families lived in dugouts. . . . The scenery was not at all inviting, and I began to cry.
Willianna Hickman recalling her arrival at Nicodemus, Spring 1878
DESCRIBING: A small black and white photograph.
SYNOPSIS: The black and white photograph is set in a treeless rural farming area with a group of African American men and women standing on the porch of a business. The business is a gas station with two cars in the frame.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The setting of the old black and white photograph is a rural open space. There is a small white building with a pitched roof, the front of the building has three windows, one of the windows is square and smaller, the other two windows are squares and larger, both windows are on opposite sides of the open door.
There is a group of 10-12 African American people of different ages standing on the porch of the gas station. The group of people have on hats, coats, dresses, and overalls. Two columns that have triangular bottoms and then narrow towards the top have circular signs on top. The middle pole is a cylinder flagpole with a gas station sign on the ground.
Two older model cars are parked in front of the gas station facing each other, the cars are dark colored, the wheels of both the cars are front and center in the picture. The tires are thin with wire spokes as the rims.
CAPTION: Community Gas Station
Town residents gather at a gas station near Nicodemus, 1920s.
DESCRIBING: A square black and white faded photograph.
SYNOPSIS: There are six African American members of the Williams family posing for a formal studio photograph. Four males and two females. The males are wearing suits, and the females are wearing dresses. From left to right in the front row are two middle-aged adults seated, and standing next to them is a boy; in the back row from left to right is a young teen male, a much taller, older teen male, and a young teen girl. The picture is grainy, and the people have serious faces.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the front row, going from left to right. The middle-aged man seated at the bottom left is mostly bald with a hint of hair on the side of his head that blends with sideburns and a short greying beard and mustache. He’s wearing a light-colored three-piece suit, with a vest and tie, and white collared shirt underneath. The middle-aged woman next to him has her black hair pulled back into a bun almost on the top of her head. She is dressed in a dark colored dress with a high closed collar with a piece of lace hanging down in the front. The material is shiny, there are pleats down the center of the front and the sleeves are puffy at the shoulder. Standing next to the woman is a young boy with long black hair in two braids on either side of his head. He has his hands to the side and is wearing a long sleeve white button up shirt and dark-colored trousers.
In back row from left to right is a young teen male with short, curly black hair. He’s wearing a light-colored suit with the bottom button on the suit open. He has a white button shirt but no tie. The older teen male next to him is at least one head taller. He has short, dark hair and is wearing a dark three-piece suit, jacket open and a pocket watch chain hangs from his buttoned-up vest. He has a white buttoned shirt with a dark tie. The young teen girl has dark-colored hair visible above her ears, but it’s not clear whether it’s short or pulled back. She’s wearing a dark dress with high white collar and the sleeves slightly puffed at the shoulder. One hand is resting on the shoulder of the young boy in the front row.
CAPTION: The Williams family was among the first group of settlers to Nicodemus.
DESCRIBING: Banner on front page of brochure
SYNOPSIS: A black banner with title and logo.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A 8.5 inch by 1.125 inch black banner spans the top of the front page. On the left side of the banner, "Nicodemus" is printed in bold white letters. On the right side of the banner is the National Park Service Arrowhead Logo. The brown arrowhead points down and has white lettering at the top that reads "National Park Service." Under the words are white capped mountains, a left facing white bison and a green pine tree left of the bison. To the left of the logo, white text reads "National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Historic Site, Kansas."
DESCRIBING: A small black and white photograph.
SYNOPSIS: This photo is a close up of two African American adult male farmers standing on individual farm vehicles in an open field.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: From left to right.
Beginning on the left hand side of the photo, there are two farm vehicles parked at a diagonal one behind the other with the front of the vehicles slanting away from one another where both vehicles are visible in the photo.
Only the front view is available for the vehicle parked in the foreground, which appears to be a car or a truck. The foreground of the picture contains two front wheels connected by the front axle, the engine that connects to the body of the vehicle, two mufflers and a portion of the vehicle body. The body contains an open steel frame that holds remnants of the grain being harvested.
For the vehicle parked in back, only a side view is available. The vehicle appears to be a combine or a thresher. This vehicle is smaller than the one in front and is parked. The side view contains two wheels connected by the front axle and metal reaper for harvesting crops. On top of the body of the vehicle sits a large metal frame in which one of the farmers stands.
The farmer is dressed in overalls, a long sleeve white shirt and a hat with a circular brim. The farmer is holding on the metal railing. The farmer stands in profile facing towards the right of the image.
Moving to the right hand side of the photo. There is a tractor for which only the side view is available. The side view from left to right contains a large back wheel that connects to the body of the tractor. A partial side view of the engine can be seen sitting on top of the body.
The second farmer stands on the part of tractor that sits behind the rear wheels of the tractor. The object on which the farmer stands is unseen due to the angle of the tractor in the photo and age of the photo. The farmer wears overalls with a long sleeve white shirt and a white hat with a large brim. The long sleeves are rolled up at the elbows. The farmer stands in profile head turned slightly over his right shoulder.
CAPTION: Despite the arrival of mechanized equipment, farming was always difficult in the region.
CREDIT: Nicodemus Historical Society Collection. Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
DESCRIBING: A small black and white photograph.
SYNOPSIS: The first, third and fifth lines of the hand bill include the main message of the bill which is Colored, Go to Kansas, and $5.00.
In Depth Description: Reading from top to bottom in bold.
The first line reads, "All Colored People." The second line in large all caps yet smaller font reads, "That Want To." The third line and largest font in all caps reads, "Go To Kansas." The fourth line in smaller font reads, "On September Fifth, 1877." The fifth line in large font reads, "Can do so for $5.00." The sixth line sits below a horizontal dividing line that separates the main message from a more detailed description, reads in all caps "Immigration." Below the sixth line is additional text that is not readable in this image.
CAPTION: Promoters made wildly optimistic promises to attract settlers.
CREDIT: Nicodemus Historical Society Collection, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
A thin black banner spans the top of the page from edge to edge. Text within the black banner, starting on the left, reads: Discovering the Spirit of Nicodemus.
The back side of the brochure has text and images related to planning a visit to Nicodemus. This includes images of the historic buildings, and a historic aerial photograph of the town, as well as information about hours of operation and regulations.
Pictures of the five historic buildings at Nicodemus are arranged vertically on the either side of the top two thirds of the page, two images on the left and three images on the right. A 1953 aerial photograph of the town's main street that includes all five historic buildings takes up the lower third of the page.
Text with information on planning your visit is above the top image on the left side. Text with information about special events, directions, firearms use, and the park's contact information is in the middle of the page between the two sets of images.
Planning Your Visit
Things to Do
Nicodemus National Historic Site comprises a small part of the community of Nicodemus. The visitor center in Township Hall is open year-round except January 1, Thanksgiving, and December 25. Stop here first for exhibits, an audiovisual program, and an information desk staffed by park rangers. Service animals are welcome.
A self-guiding tour leads you to the town’s historic buildings: Township Hall, District No. 1 School, St. Francis Hotel, Old First Baptist Church, and A.M.E. Church. Most property is privately owned; please respect owners’ privacy. For ranger-led walking tours, call 785-839-4233.
Emancipation Celebration: The National Park Service works together with town residents to preserve and interpret Nicodemus. Most of the 25 or so residents trace their roots to the town’s founders. Every summer for over 130 years, hundreds of other descendants return to renew family ties and celebrate their heritage during the town’s Emancipation Celebration. The event, held around the last weekend in July, is open to the public. Contact the park for the date.
Getting to the Park: The park is in northwestern Kansas. From eastbound I-70: exit at Colby and take U.S. 24 east for 81 miles to Nicodemus. From westbound I-70: exit at Hays and take U.S. 183 to Stockton; turn left (west) onto U.S. 24 and go 19 miles. The visitor center is at the east end of town, one block south of U.S. 24.
Firearms: For firearms laws and policies see the park website.
Describing: A small inset black and white photograph
Synopsis: A black and white photograph of a stone building being built with two African American males in front carrying a door with a wheelbarrow in front of them. This photograph is over the upper left corner of the lower photograph.
In depth description: This photograph is in black and white with a stone building in the background and two African American men working in front. The building has a pitched roof and different sized stones that make up the front wall. The stones although different sizes are all square or rectangular. In the stone, the words “Nicodemus, TWP Hall, 1939” are carved in 3 separate lines. From left to right at the middle of the photograph there is a glass window with 8 different panes all the same size 2 by 4, An older African American male in a medium shade coat and trousers wearing a hat holding the left side of a wooden door with 9 different panes all the same size 3 by 3, a white colored wooden door with 9 different panes all the same size, identical to the door being held that is already installed on the building, a second older African American male in similar clothes as the first man on the right side of the uninstalled door, and a window on the far right that is the same as the window on the far left. At the bottom of the photograph in the left corner is a steel and wood wheelbarrow that appears empty.
Caption: Below the image reads: Township Hall built in 1939 (inset), currently serves as the park visitor center.
Credit: Library of Congress
DESCRIBING: A medium sized color photograph
SYNOPSIS: A medium sized color photograph of a large cream colored stone building with a pitched roof. There are bushes and benches in front of the building and an American flag on a flagpole. The doors look modern compared to the rest of the building.
IN DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The large stone building covers a majority of the picture. It has two angled roofs, the first one is on top of the building, the second above what seems to be an entryway that protrudes from the main building. The building is made of cream colored rectangular limestone bricks of different sizes. Above the entryway, words carved in the stone read, “Nicodemus, TWP Hall, 1939” in three separate lines. On the entryway are two windows on either side which have 6 glass panes separated with red painted wood. The doors are between the windows and connected to each other. The doors look much newer than the rest of the building and are a large glass pane with metal on the outside and a metal bar in the middle, like the ones you would see for access and accessibility on a modern building. From left to right at the bottom, there is a large green shrub about the size of the doors on the far left edge. To the right of that bush is two red painted benches next to each other facing the right side. To the right of the benches is a light colored concrete path that extends from the bottom of the photograph to the doors. To the right of the entryway is a low bush that is wider than it is tall, and it is a dark green color. On the far right side of the photograph is a sign, a flagpole, and a bush in that order from front to back. The sign is a brown metal sign that Reads, “Nicodemus, National Historic Site, Visitor Center” in three separate lines with the National Park Service Arrowhead symbol on the right side. The flagpole is light metal and extends almost as high as the main roof, on the flagpole is an American flag (Blue square in the upper right corner with fifty white stars, and 13 alternating red and white stripes to the left and bottom of the blue square). The bush is light green and extends about a foot higher than the doors.
Caption: Township Hall built in 1939 (inset), currently serves as the park visitor center.
Credit: Library of Congress
DESCRIBING: A medium sized color photograph.
SYNOPSIS: The photo includes a full front and side view of the Saint Francis Hotel. The building is surrounded by green grass. On the left side, there is a partial view of trees with forest green leaves. An unreadable sign sits in the front of the building. On the right side is a partial side view of the hotel. The hotel is photographed under clear blue slightly cloudy sky.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: General description of the front of the hotel. The hotel sits on a concrete (cemented) gray colored foundation. The outer walls are made of white paneling.
Describing the front of the hotel, from left to right. The hotel front is in the shape of a rectangle and starts on the far left, spanning almost the full length of the photo, angling slightly to the right. Also on the far left side, there is a slightly visible concrete step that leads to a wooden door frame. Behind the wooden door frame, there is a small open patio surrounded by the outer walls.
Moving from the left to the middle of the front side of the hotel. The middle portion of the hotel includes two vertical side by side, rectangular windows framed by white window panes. Moving from the middle to the far right of the hotel two smaller vertical, rectangular windows sit parallel with white paneling in between the windows.
Description of the front side roof. The full length of the roof contains an overhang covered in tawny brown shingles.
Moving from left to right. The left half of the roof is in the shape of a parallelogram, covered in tawny brown shingles. On the right side of the roof, sits the top of the second floor. The top of the second floor is in the shape of a dormer with one large rectangular window that sits vertically in the middle, framed by a white window pane. The outer wall of the second floor is white and non-paneled.
Describing the right side of the hotel. The right side sits on the far right side of the photo and connects to the front side of the hotel previously described. The outer wall of the right side is the color of cerulean and sky blue. The bottom of the outer wall has greenery that has slightly grown on the middle of the wall.
Additional description of the right side of the hotel. There are two windows that sit parallel to each other. One window is a large rectangular white colored window. The second window is partially viewed and white colored. The full shape of the second window is unknown due to the cut off of the photograph.
Describing the right side roof. The right side roof is made of tawny brown shingles. There is a wooden pole at the middle of the roof.
CAPTION: St. Francis Hotel (1881)
CREDIT: National Park Service, Jamie Alexander
DESCRIBING: A medium sized color photograph
SYNOPSIS: The building in the picture is a historic church with two different materials used on the building. The church is a large rectangular building with a smaller addition in front.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The picture is from the street view showing the front and left side of the building. The larger building has a pitched roof with brown shingles. It is made of cream-colored limestone bricks, with a few darker brown bricks interspersed.
There are four three-foot-tall rectangular windows on the left side and the wood frames are painted white. The church's limestone foundation is discolored, and the bricks are falling apart. The front addition is the vestibule (area where you can meet and greet people before entering the sanctuary) and has a tin roof. It is painted white with the words A.M.E Church 1885 painted above the doors. The double wooden doors are recessed and painted white with two windows at the top. Cement walkway leads to the door. A wayside exhibit with historic information is to the left of the walkway. The wayside sign has two white poles four feet tall, between the poles is a cream color sign with black letters on the sign. Just to the left of that is the triangular traffic sign on a wooden pole. It is a sunny day the sky is blue with white fluffy clouds; the grass is plush vibrant green.
CAPTION: A.M.E. Church (1885)
CREDIT: NPS / Jamie Alexander
DESCRIBING: A small, square color photograph.
SYNOPSIS: A single-story, wood frame building is centered in the middle of the photograph. The building has a pitched roof, a raised, covered porch, and dormer extending from the front of the roof. It’s a partially overcast day and the pale blue sky is streaked with light clouds. What little of the surrounding landscape that’s visible is flat prairie land with short, green grass.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The square building almost completely fills the frame. The porch is centered on the front of the building and its almost flat, low-angled roof extends out from just underneath the building’s roof. Both roofs are covered with brown shingles and the building’s white paint is mostly peeled off except for a thin strip just below the roof line and the area under the porch. The building has a single door and two rectangular windows in the front under the covered porch. The door is wood on the bottom with a square window at the top divided into four panes. The two windows are on either side of the door and are each divided into two panes. The raised porch looks to be about two feet high with the bottom portion enclosed with green and white bricks. A set of concrete stairs with four steps and no railings gives access to the porch.
The dormer extends from the front center of the roof and a chimney rises up behind its left side. The bottom third of the chimney is obscured by the dormer’s left side. The top of the dormer’s roof is not visible from the photograph’s angle. It has two rectangular windows covered with brown wooden shingles and the white paint on the front is mostly peeled off except for a thin strip below the roofline. A thin rod extends from the roof at the peak but is cut off at the top of the frame.
CAPTION: District No. 1 School (1918)
CREDIT: NPS / Jamie Alexander
DESCRIBING: A medium sized color photograph
SYNOPSIS: A color photograph of a stucco building with two pitched roofs opposite each other with wooden shingles. There is a nicely mowed lawn in front and a small bush on the left.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A large stucco building fills most of the photograph. The stucco is smooth and light colored. Starting with the roofs, this building has two roofs connected in the shape of the letter L, with the corner of the L shape facing the camera. In the roof corner is a small tapered roof that replaced an old bell tower. The bell tower roof is short, four sided, and steeply pitched. It has round wooden shingles, where the rest of the roof has square worn wooden shingles. In the center of the building, under the old bell tower, the wall splits with one side facing left and the other facing right and the protruding corner facing the camera. At the top of both the left and right facing walls have boarded up circular windows. On the lower left and right walls are two white boarded up rectangular windows. A dark green bush, wider than it is tall, partially covers the two windows on the left. Beneath the bell tower, is a white wooden door with a half circle window above it. On the right wall is another boarded up window.
Behind the building from left to right:, a blue sky with no clouds. a red brick building with a pitched roof that is much shorter on the left, and a line of trees much shorter or further behind the building on the right. On the left most corner is an old propane tank, a small steel colored globe shaped object.
In front of the building is a green lawn, the grass is very short and mostly the same color. There is a small light gray concrete landing in front of the door, with a light gray concrete pathway that extends from the door to the left side of the photo, once the path hits the edge of the photo it goes down and to the right. The path is very narrow.
CAPTION: Old First Baptist Church (1907)
CREDIT: NPS / Jamie Alexander
DESCRIBING: Historic black and white aerial photograph
SYNOPSIS: The aerial 1953 Nicodemus township photograph provides an orientation to the town's layout and identifies the main historic structures. The town's dirt roads are in a typical grid pattern and reveal four town blocks and five labeled historic buildings in southwest Nicodemus.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: Starting in the upper left town block, there is a scattering of houses throughout. The St. Francis Hotel is in the block's lower right corner. In the upper right town block, the A.M.E. Church sits in the upper left corner and two farm properties with houses and outbuildings occupy the lower half. In the lower left town block, Township Hall is the largest structure and dominates the upper left corner. In that same block, three other structures sit near the upper right end and the block's lower third is cropped out. Moving to the lower right town block, the Old First Baptist Church occupies the upper right corner. There is also a large building in the upper left corner and scattered miscellaneous buildings in the lower half. A small black arrow in a black circle points away from Nicodemus toward the photo's lower right corner, indicating north.
Superimposed on the photograph in the upper right corner is a miniature Kansas shaped silhouette with Kansas written across in white uppercase letters. A green indicator points at a green dot in the silhouette's upper left, indicating Nicodemus's location. To the left of the Kansas map is another structure, District No. 1 School. The caption is superimposed on the image's upper left. The landscape in town and around is barren of trees and other vegetation.
CAPTION: The original township plat is clearly visible in this 1953 photograph.
CREDIT: Habs Collection, Library of Congress
The main floors of the Visitor Center, in Township Hall, and the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church are accessible by wheelchair. There are benches and seating in both Township Hall and A.M.E. Church.
Restrooms in Township Hall are not wheelchair accessible, as they are six steps up a stairway with handrails. Wheelchair accessible porta-potties are located at the Roadside Park, which is north of the Visitor Center along Highway 24.
The introductory park film is open captioned for those with hearing impairments. Listening devices are available. Please ask at the information desk. Audio descriptions of each historic structure are available on the NPS App.
Service animals are allowed in the Visitor Center.
An audio self-guided walking tour (0.6 miles) is available on the NPS App.