1880 census of Nicodemus Township, Graham County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 8, 1880 through June 23, 1880
This census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of both white and black settlers in Nicodemus Township in Graham County, Kansas. This township had been settled by African Americans in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon River.

About Nicodemus, The Daily Journal
Creator: Lawrence Daily Journal
Date: April 30, 1879
This article from the Lawrence Daily Journal discusses a newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune written during the Exoduster Movement in 1879 providing a brief history of the black community of freed people at Nicodemus, Kansas settled in 1877. Nicodemus is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

Advertisement for Nicodemus, Kansas
Creator: Hill, W. R.
Date: April 16, 1877
This advertisement for Nicodemus, Graham County, Kansas, describes the location of the colony near the Solomon River and the town company's plans to build more houses, businesses, and other public buildings. The trustees were quick to note that they will not build any saloon or "houses of ill fame" during the first five years of settlement. Nicodemus was settled in 1878 and is the oldest surviving all-black settlement west of the Mississippi River founded by former slaves. Today the town is a National Parks Service site and is open to visitors.

African American school, Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
This black and white photograph shows a group of African American students and their teachers standing in front of an unidentified school in Nicodemus, Kansas. Some of the individuals have been identified as Annabelle Taylor, Esther Pace, Jennie Vaughn, Clara Wellington, Cora Ward, Rose Sayers, Jessie Kirtley, Leonard Van Duvall, Arthur Pace, Montagne Loyd, Florence Page, Ira Hall, Charley Vaughn, Velda Van Duvall, James Kirtley, Harry Kirtley, Leroy Van Duvall, Johnson Kirtley, Hattie Burney, and Lula Craig.

All colored people that want to go to Kansas
Creator: Nicodemus Town Company
Date: 1877
This broadside advertises the availability of land in Nicodemus, Graham County, Kansas encouraging African-American immigration to Kansas. As noted on the poster, some African-American residents of Lexington, Kentucky, were moving to Nicodemus and consolidating themselves with the Nicodemus Town Company. Nicodemus was settled in 1877, and is the only surviving all-black settlement west of the Mississippi that was settled by former slaves during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. It is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

A. T. Hall, Jr. and E. P. McCabe to Governor John P. St. John
Creator: Hall, A. T.
Date: April 11, 1879
A.T. Hall, Jr., Deputy District Clerk of Nicodemus, Kansas, and E.P. McCabe the Notary Public of Nicodemus in Graham County are requesting that Governor St. John honor a promise he made earlier in January of 1879 to recognize Nicodemus as the temporary county seat of Graham County.

Baseball team, Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: Between 1921 and 1922
This black and white photograph shows members of a baseball team from Nicodemus, Kansas.

Buttons from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
Four of these buttons were recovered from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout site during the 2006 excavations by Washburn University. They were later donated to the Kansas Historical Society. The button on the right was recovered during excavations at the site by the Kansas Archaeology Training Program staff and participants. This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas. The buttons (from left to right) are: a large 4-hole shell button (perhaps for a coat), a glass 4-hole dish button, a small 4-hole shell button (child's size), a blue and white mottled glass 3-hole button (child's size), and a 2-hole shell button.

Children from Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: August 21, 1960
These children are from Nicodemus, Graham County. Nicodemus was settled in 1877 by African Americans from the South. Today Nicodemus is a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

Church leaders of Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: August 21, 1960
These are church leaders of Nicodemus, Kansas, (L to R): Jerry Scruggs, Mrs. Homer White & Rev. J.D. Wilson.

Coffee Cups from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
These coffee cups fragments were recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program at 14GH102. The Thomas Johnson/ Henry Williams Dugout site was a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas. Interns at the Kansas Historical Society spent many hours reconstructing the broken cups. Each cup has a molded dot and curvilinear pattern above the base.

Condiment Jar from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1888-1910
This jar was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program excavations at 14GH102, the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams dugout site, in Graham County. 14GH102 is a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas. Though somewhat clouded with a patina, the base reveals that the jar was made for the "H. J. Heinz Co."

Dishes from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
These four fragments of dishes were recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program excavations at 14GH102, the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams dugout site in Graham County. All four dish fragments are decorated in a slightly different floral pattern. From left to right: a porcelain cup; a porcelain fragment with both a molded and painted pattern embellished with gold paint; a whiteware plate or saucer fragment with a scalloped edge; and a porcelain fragment with gold trim made by the Pope-Gosser China Company of Coshocton, OH. The domestic site is related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

District No. 1 School in Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: 1977
This is an exterior view of the District No. 1 school building in Nicodemus, Graham County, Kansas. This schoolhouse, which forms part of the National Parks Service site, was built in 1918. It was built on the site of the first school in Graham County, which had been constructed in 1887 but was later destroyed by fire. The school closed in the 1950s. Nicodemus was an African American settlement in Kansas, established in 1877.

Doll Fragments from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
These five porcelain doll fragments were recovered from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout site during the 2006 excavations by Washburn University and the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program. The collections from Washburn University were later donated to the Kansas Historical Society. The fragments include a portion of black hair & eyebrows along with a portion of the doll's face, a fragment of a doll's left hand and three pink cheek fragments. This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas.

Enamelware Pitcher from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
This enamelware pitcher was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Thomas Johnson/ Henry Williams Dugout site. The pitcher is decorated with marbled cobalt blue and white enamelware, a process first invented in Germany in the 1760s as a way to coat iron so as to prevent rust and a metallic taste in food and drink. In America enamelware production began in the 1870s and continued until the 1930s. For this piece, after its life as a pitcher had passed, it served as a target, being hit at least seven times. The Thomas Johnson/ Henry Williams Dugout site was a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

Enamelware Pitcher from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
This enamelware pitcher was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Thomas Johnson/ Henry Williams Dugout site. The pitcher is decorated with marbled cobalt blue and white enamelware, a process first invented in Germany in the 1760s as a way to coat iron so as to prevent rust and a metallic taste in food and drink. In America enamelware production began in the 1870s and continued until the 1930s. For this piece, after its life as a pitcher had passed, it served as a target, being hit at least seven times. The Thomas Johnson/ Henry Williams Dugout site was a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

Fairview School, Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: 1915
This black and white photograph shows a group of African-American students with their teacher from Fairview School near Nicodemus, Kansas. The school was located 2 miles north of Nicodemus. A few names are visible but it is not clear to what child they apply.

Fairview School, Nicodemus, Kansas
Creator: Newkirk
Date: 1915
This black and white photograph shows a group of African American students and their teacher, in front of the Fairview School in Nicodemus, Kansas. On the back of the photograph some of the students have been identified.

Hat Pin from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1910
This hat pin fragment was recovered during the excavations of the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout site. The hat pin fragment has a white glass head. Hatpins generally ranged between 6" to 12" in length and were most popular from the 1880s through the 1920s. This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas.

John W. Lored
Creator: Ogle, Geo. A. & Co.
Date: 1906
This is a portrait of John W. Lored, a resident of Nicodemus, Graham County, Kansas. It was copied from the Standard Atlas of Graham County, Kansas.

Kansas Film Commission site photographs, towns Leavenworth-Norway
Creator: Kansas Film Commission
Date: 1988-2001
These are panoramic photographs of Kansas towns beginning with Leavenworth and ending with Norway. The Kansas Film Commission created the photos to promote Kansas locations to film companies. Many of the photographs show business districts and buildings. The panoramics were created by taking individual photos and taping them together. Towns and cities included in this part of the collection are: Leavenworth, Ludell, Luray, Lyndon, Lyons, Manchester, Manter, Marion, Mayetta, McCune, McDonald, McFarland, McPherson, Medicine Lodge, Melvern, Menlo, Meriden, Merriam, Milan, Miltonvale, Mission, Moline, Monument, Morganville, Morrill, Moscow, Mulberry, Mullinvale, Mulvane, Munden, Narka, Natoma, Nekoma, Neodesha, Neosho Falls, Neosho Rapids, Netawaka, New Albany, Newton, Nicodemus, Norcatur, Norton, Nortonville, and Norway. Photos of courthouses are included for several communities. Some of the photos of communities show churches, grain elevators, water towers, parks, public/government buildings, railroad depots and tracks, and residences. There are some aerial photographs for McFarland and Melvern.

Kerr Canning Jar from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1915
This canning jar was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school excavations at 14GH102, the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams dugout site, in Graham County. The jar's front is embossed with the advertisement: "Kerr Self Sealing Wide Mouth Mason." Additionally, the bottom of the jar is embossed with "Sand Springs Okla Aug 31, 1915." Sand Springs, Oklahoma, manufactured jars for Kerr from 1912 to 1946. The dugout site is a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

Leisy Brewing Company Bottle from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site, 14GH102
Date: 1877-1920
This bottle was recovered during the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program excavations at 14GH102, the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams dugout site, in Graham County. The Leisy Brewing Company opened in 1894 and closed in 1920. 14GH102 is a domestic site related to the settlement of Nicodemus, an all black community in western Kansas.

Marbles from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout Site 14GH102
Date: 1877 - 1910
These three ceramic marbles were recovered from the Thomas Johnson/Henry Williams Dugout site during the 2006 excavations by Washburn University and the 2007 Kansas Archeology Training Program. All three marbles are the size called "Commies," or common. The collections from Washburn University were later donated to the Kansas Historical Society. This domestic site was related to the settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas, an all black community in western Kansas.