Nicodemus National Historic Site
Nicodemus, Kans.
Visited: August 6, 2004
NPS Site Visited: 73 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website
 WHAT IS IT?
America’s first western town planned by and for African Americans.
BEAUTY (2/10)
There is one main street through Nicodemus with four cross streets, adequately named First, Second, Third and Fourth Street. This small town sits in the middle of Kansas prairie. Oil drills dot the horizon. The homes are mostly non-descript. The rusting water tower which bears the town’s name is the tallest and most notable structure around.
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (3/10)
Nicodemus was founded in 1877 and named after the first person who purchased property there. The town was promoted by two men: the Reverend W. H. Smith, a black minister and W.R. Hill, a white professional land developer. Like many other town companies of the day, these two men exaggerated the beauty and accessibility of the land in hopes of recruiting settlers to their newly forming town. Although some early settlers were so disappointed with the primitive means of Nicodemus that they turned around and returned home, others stayed on encouraged by the idea of self-determination.
It is unclear what direction the NPS will take with its interpretation. If it uses the Site to chronicle exo-dusters as a whole or, on an even greater scale, African American roles in the American west then the Historic Significance is much more tangible. As it stands, the appeal of Nicodemus NHS seems limited to those with a familial connection with the town.
Nicodemus hosts a Homecoming the last weekend of every July. This celebration, originally the Emancipation Celebration, sees hundreds of townspeople and their descendants return to town for a sort of reunion. It has occurred annually since 1878. This year’s celebrations, which we missed by a week, had 850 guests.
CROWDS (3/10)
Unlike other sites, where having a tour or a film to ourselves has been wonderful, here, it only made us uncomfortable.
 EASE OF USE/ACCESS (1/5)
There are no services or accommodations in Nicodemus. The site itself is still a work in progress. Right now, there is only one building under NPS management and that is the Visitor Center/former City Hall. There is a driving/walking tour of the town itself so if you have managed to find Nicodemus, you will be able to see what little the NPS has to offer and the four other historical buildings that are in various stages of decay. NPS asks that visitors stay on public roads and not venture into the buildings since their present conditions pose possible safety hazards.
According to the NPS General Management Plan for the Nicodemus NHS, NPS and the town residents are working together on “stabilization, rehabilitation and interpretation” of each of the historic buildings, beginning with the First Baptist Church. Through cooperative agreements, NPS hopes to facilitate the restoration of the site’s five landmarks and to encourage partnerships with numerous historical and commercial entities. What does all of that mean? It seems that the Park Service is doing everything it can to put Nicodemus back on the map. If they are successful in their GMP goals, Nicodemus should become more accessible to the public.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (4/5)
The bookstore takes up one-fourth of the Visitor Center and is well-stocked. Topics range from former slave narratives to the Wild West to settlers tales. There is a great selection of children’s books. Not much as far as souvenirs or knickknacks, although we did pick up a nice magnet.
COSTS (4/5)
The site is free.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (5/5)
There are two Rangers at the Nicodemus NHS. That’s one-twelfth of the town’s population and one for each of us, the site’s only visitors.
TOURS/CLASSES (3/10)
Three short news segments are pieced together to create the video shown at the Visitor Center. Each segment highlights Nicodemus’ big annual event, Homecoming, and one woman’s quest to have the town recognized as a National Historic Site. There is about a five-year gap between each of the segments.
FUN (2/10)
When we walked into the Visitor Center, the Ranger was giggling. “Now how did I know you two were coming here?” If we weren’t uncomfortable already, that comment sealed it. After we left the Visitor Center, we took the recommended drive around town – two blocks by two blocks of aging homes and trailers and crumbling churches. The youngest person in town is 40. The oldest is 101. There are no children playing or youthful voices to break the feeling that you are sitting at someone’s deathbed.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (2/10)
The drive is long. Arrival at the site is anticlimactic. Perhaps in a few years, NPS will decide what story it wants to tell and how they would like to tell it through the fading town of Nicodemus. Until then, the visit is depressing – just another visit to an American town that is aging off the map. Not dissimilar to coal towns in West Virginia or upstate Pennsylvania or other midwestern towns that the railroads passed by. The difference is this little town is now a National Historic Site and preserved its place on the American landscape. Without the NPS, this town would have disappeared forever.
TOTAL 29/80
|