Cruising west through Kansas, I took a detour north off the interstate to the Nicodemus National Historic Site. Unlike back east where getting off the interstate means an automatic large time penalty, in rural western Kansas, I'm not sure that made much difference at all.
The site consists of 4 buildings, only one of which is open. There you can watch a video and read some plackards about the original settlement of this town back in the 1870's. It was promoted among recently-freed slaves as a place to have a new start -- a community just for them. What was not advertised so well was that it was in the middle of nowhere, and not much like Alabama, so those first few years must've been brutally hard. But eventually, a town of reasonable prosperity grew up.
However, the final blow to the town came when the railroad lines were being run through the area but they bypassed Nicodemus to the south, as the interstate does now. That, plus the overall hardship, led many to find other homes closer to civilization. Still, the village stands, and there's a lot to be said for that. And who knew that 2 of the 20 NPS civil rights sites would be in Kansas?!Visitor's Ratings (out of 5)
Significance: 2 -- a testimony to new beginnings and perseverence
Beauty: 1 -- a few old buildings on a flat, treeless, dusty plain
Fun: 1 -- not at all designed for that
Overall: 2 -- it's really for completists, but I appreciated it nonetheless
Accessibility: An hour off I-70 from the east, but under that as a detour if you're passing through
Logistics/signs: 3 -- good signs, reasonable video, lonely ranger.
Time required: about an hour
Time to visit: anytime -- mostly indoors.
Kid friendliness: low
A word about getting there -- the "town" of Nicodemus may or may not be in your GPS -- or on your state-wide map -- it's really small. But, the site is literally 100 yards off of US 24, and there are signs.
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