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Nicodemus National Historic Site

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Nicodemus National Historic Site

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Nicodemus represents the involvement of African Americans in the homesteading movement across the Great Plains. Please be considerate of other’s opinions.

It is the oldest remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi River. Welcome to the official page of Nicodemus National Historic Site. We hope this will be a place where people feel comfortable sharing information and experiences about Nicodemus National Historic Site with one another. While this is an open forum, it is also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here, as well as Facebook’s terms and policies. Be aware that if you do not comply, your message will be removed.

-We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit, or racist comments or submissions, nor do we allow comments that are abusive, threatening, hateful, or intended to defame or violate the privacy of anyone or any organization.

-Comments including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, residential addresses, or similar information will be removed.

-We do not allow comments that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems.

-We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency. People who continue to post such content and/or links may be subject to page participation restrictions and/or removal from the page.

-We do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency. Such posts and/or links are subject to deletion.

-We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity.

-You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username, and any information provided.

-Posting of external links on this site that are intended as advertising (or to drive traffic to websites unrelated to Nicodemus National Historic Site), or do not contribute to dialog and discussions about Nicodemus may be deleted. Messages intended to disrupt the functioning of the page may be deleted. People who continue to post such links may be subject to page participation restrictions and/or removal from the page. External links do not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the U.S. National Park Service or the U.S. Department of Interior.

10/29/2026

SAVE THE DATE!

On November 14th at 1:00 PM, join us at the Nicodemus Township Hall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nicodemus National Historic Site! Nicodemus descendant Angela Bates will be speaking on the founding of the site and other activities are planned.

Stay tuned for more information!

NPS Photo: 1998 dedication of Nicodemus National Historic Site

10/26/2026

This week on the descendant spotlight series we’re featuring Veryl Switzer (1932-2022).
Veryl Switzer was born in Nicodemus and grew up in the historic St. Francis Hotel building. He was a prolific athlete notable for his skill in baseball and football. At 18, he received an athletic scholarship to attend K-State and in the 1954 NFL draft Veryl was selected 4th overall by the Green Bay Packers. Later he played for Canadian football teams in Calgary and Montreal.

In his 1977 oral history interview, Veryl recalled how his Bogue High School football team won 23 straight games outscoring their opponents 952-50, “My senior year in high school, I felt so confident of our football ability at Bogue High School that we were willing to challenge K-State’s best six”.

After his playing days, Veryl worked in education, on the Chicago Board of Education and later as an administrator at K-State. In the 1990's, he was influential in lobbying for Nicodemus to become a National Historic Site.

The oral tradition passed down through the Nicodemus descendants deepens our understanding of the perseverance of the community through the past and into the future.

Photo from Bowman Football Cards

10/19/2026

This week on the descendant spotlight series we’re featuring Rosa Stokes (1924-2022).

Rosa Stokes was born in rural Graham County and went to Mount Olive Elementary School before attending Bogue High School. She grew up on a sizeable farm of 790 acres and with a large family of 12 siblings. She lived for a while in Colorado where she was in the catering business and married Oliver Stokes in 1969. Later, she assisted senior citizens through an organization called Jill’s Helping Hand.

Rosa was a prolific cook, making everything from deep fried turkey to desserts. In Rosa's oral history interview she talked about learning how to cook from her mother, “Well, she would be sitting down telling us what to do. Nothing measured: just take your hands and do such and such. So we did… That’s the way she taught us to cook! She taught us to cook that way.”

The oral tradition passed down through the Nicodemus descendants deepens our understanding of the perseverance of the community through the past and into the future.

NPS Photo

10/16/2026

The Township Hall is OPEN again!

Thank you for your patience while we had our floors re-done. The visitor center is again running as normal. Work is still being completed on the roof, so please exercise caution around most of the building.

Please follow safety signs and yield to crew members during your visit!

NPS Photo

10/15/2026

The Township Hall at Nicodemus National Historic Site is temporarily closed for renovations. During this time a Ranger will be stationed at the AME Church, which is located one block west and one block south of the Township Hall.

10/12/2026

This week on the descendant spotlight series we’re featuring Donald Moore (1928-2020).

Donald Moore was born in 1928 in Nicodemus to Nathaniel Moore and Sarah Griffie Moore. They lived on a farm just north of Highway 24. Donald served as a combat engineer during the Korean War and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska from 1950 to 1952. In 1952 he married Pearlena Napue. When he returned to Nicodemus, he farmed and utilized the road building skills he had learned in the army to help cut through the hills in Graham County.

When asked about his time working on the roads, in his 2011 oral history interview Donald mentioned, “I run most of the machinery they had there and they had dozer work and scraper work, blades, and they called it a sheep foot.”

The oral tradition passed down through the Nicodemus descendants deepens our understanding of the perseverance of the community through the past and into the future.

10/08/2026

⚠️ Attention Visitors! ⚠️

The Township Hall is getting a new roof! A crew from the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) will be on site for the next 2-3 weeks for this project.

The Township Hall will still be open, but a hard hat zone is in place around most of the building.

Please follow safety signs and yield to crew members during your visit!

09/28/2026

This week on the descendant spotlight series we’re featuring Valeria Thomas (1921-2024).

Valeria Thomas was born in Graham County, to Ola and Charles Griffie and graduated from Hill City High School before taking a job in Denver with Re*****on Steel. After marrying her husband Robert in 1950, she returned to Kansas and worked for many years at the Plainville Rural Hospital.

Valeria was always helping the community and dedicated her time to many community organizations, such as the Girl Scouts, the Nicodemus American Legion Auxiliary, the 4-H club and the VFW Auxiliary.

She got her sense of cooperation from her parents as she stated in her oral history interview, “We were always taught if you had something and you weren’t using and somebody else could use it give it to them, we always gave a part”.

09/25/2026

Did you know that the Nicodemus A.M.E. Church holds the story of two congregations?

The Mount Pleasant/Second Baptist Church congregation, founded 1889, built the structure and dedicated it in 1897. Reverend Silas M. Lee, who also helped found the First Baptist Church in Nicodemus, led the Second Baptist Church until it disbanded around 1910.

The African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church congregation in Nicodemus was founded in 1879 by Reverend Jerry Myers. In 1885, Reverend Charles Brown replaced Myers and oversaw the construction of the congregation's first church, finished in 1886. This building burnt down in 1896 and was rebuilt, but the new building was poor quality.

In 1910, the A.M.E. congregation bought the old Second Baptist church building. The A.M.E. congregation worshipped there until they disbanded in 1967, following the death of long-time pastor Reverend Joseph D. Wilson.

Want to learn more? Visit the updated A.M.E. Church page on the Nicodemus NHS website!

https://www.nps.gov/places/nicodemus-ame-church.htm

Photos: Belleau (1), NPS (2)

09/16/2026

Currently, there is only one known photo of Nicodemus First Baptist Church's first limestone building, built in 1880. That photo, from around 1885, shows dozens of Nicodemus settlers gathered on Washington Avenue and the First Baptist Church in the background. It offers a rare glimpse into the early history of the town.

An article in The Kansas City Star from January 26, 1905, included a drawing of the First Baptist church on Sunday, with many horse-drawn wagons parked in front of it. While it isn't a photo, it is an exciting look into the lives of Nicodemus citizens over a century ago.

Two years later in 1907, construction began on a larger building to fit the growing First Baptist congregation. According to oral histories, this new church was built around the 1880 church. It is this 1907 church that is still standing and is one of Nicodemus National Historic Site's five historic buildings.

Images from Kansas State Historical Society. In the second photo, the First Baptist Church is the rectangular limestone building in the center-left background.

Address

304 Washington Avenue
Nicodemus, KS
67625

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+17858394233

Website

http://www.nps.gov/nico

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