For Black Visionaries, Site Still Place of Promise

Nicodemus, Kansas is featured in Malcolm Garcia's "Heartland Journal" column. The town of Nicodemus was named after the work song "Wake Nicodemus" and was settled in 1877 by 350 former slaves who came from Kentucky. It is located in Graham County and at its most prosperous times had "700 souls, two newspapers, three general stores, at least three churches, several hotels, one school, a literary society, a bank, a livery and scores of homes." It needed a railroad which it did not get. Today only 27 people live in Nicodemus and the average age is about 80. The town was named a historic site in 1996 which enables funds to be used on the five remaining historic buildings: the First Baptist Church, township hall, the St. Francis Hotel, the school and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Article features some of the people still living there.