2019: The Art of Democracy
Presentation Title
The Struggle to Save the Quindaro Site in Kansas City, Kansas
Keywords
community engagement, public history, historic preservation, Underground Railroad
Description
Located in northeast Kansas City, Kansas, the town of Quindaro was established in 1857 as a port on the Missouri River where trade and commerce for Free State forces could enter Kansas Territory. It also was a station on the Underground Railroad, and later the site of Western University. The original town site was largely abandoned during the Civil War.
Starting in 1982, with a plan to situate a landfill on the site, a complex campaign unfolded, including community opposition, lawsuits, archaeological excavations revealing buried foundations, extensive educational programs throughout the Kansas City area, and finally determined resistance which saved the site from total destruction ten years later. Slowly the site received more attention in the form of an overlook and walkways, and the restoration of the John Brown monument. Today, after decades of sustained effort the site is in process to becoming a National Historic Landmark in the National Park Service.
Among the lessons from this story are the importance of multi-racial cooperation, community education, and hard work, maintaining a vision in spite of opposition, obstacles and conflict.
Basic information on Quindaro is to be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quindaro_Townsite.
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The Struggle to Save the Quindaro Site in Kansas City, Kansas
Located in northeast Kansas City, Kansas, the town of Quindaro was established in 1857 as a port on the Missouri River where trade and commerce for Free State forces could enter Kansas Territory. It also was a station on the Underground Railroad, and later the site of Western University. The original town site was largely abandoned during the Civil War.
Starting in 1982, with a plan to situate a landfill on the site, a complex campaign unfolded, including community opposition, lawsuits, archaeological excavations revealing buried foundations, extensive educational programs throughout the Kansas City area, and finally determined resistance which saved the site from total destruction ten years later. Slowly the site received more attention in the form of an overlook and walkways, and the restoration of the John Brown monument. Today, after decades of sustained effort the site is in process to becoming a National Historic Landmark in the National Park Service.
Among the lessons from this story are the importance of multi-racial cooperation, community education, and hard work, maintaining a vision in spite of opposition, obstacles and conflict.
Basic information on Quindaro is to be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quindaro_Townsite.
