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 Exodusters in 1877 along the south fork of the Solomon River. Today, the town of Nicodemus is the only surviving Exoduster settlement west of the Mississippi 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.

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.

Nicodemus, Kansas
Date: 1885
This photograph captures the bustling main street in Nicodemus, Graham County, a settlement founded by Exodusters in 1877. It includes a number of townspeople and the Williams Mercantile store. The building on the far left is believed to be the First Baptist Church. The new First Baptist Church was built in 1907 around this church; once the new building was completed, Nicodemus residents demolished the original church. The new building is now part of the National Parks Service historic site.

Nicodemus Town Company certificate
Creator: Nicodemus Town Company
Date: Between 1880 and 1882
This certificate for the Nicodemus Town Company was used to acknowledge membership which, along with a five dollar fee, was required of every emigrant seeking to settle in Nicodemus. The certificate is blank. Nicodemus, in Graham County, was an Exoduster settlement founded in 1877. A driving force behind the creation of the colony was William R. Hill, whose name appears on the bottom of the certificate.

Nicodemus article
Date: September 2, 1886
This untitled article from the Nicodemus Western Cyclone newspaper outlines how the residents of Nicodemus were building comfortable homes and persevering through hardship. The settlement in Nicodemus had been established by black Exodusters in 1877, and is today the only surviving all-black Exoduster town west of the Mississippi. Presently, the town is a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.

The largest colored colony in America!
Creator: Nicodemus Town Company
Date: 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 1877 and is the oldest surviving black community west of the Mississippi River. Today the town is a National Parks Service site and is open to visitors.

To the colored citizens of the United States
Creator: Nicodemus Town Company
Date: July 2, 1877
This advertisement introduces the Nicodemus Town Company, stating that they have claimed a town site in Graham County, Kansas, near the Solomon River. It also describes the surrounding area, stating that "we are proud to say it is the finest country we ever saw." William R. Hill, a white supporter of this colony, also served as the president of the town company. At the end of the advertisement is a short song about Nicodemus. The town is now a historic site administered by the National Parks Service.