1880 census of Farmer Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 1, 1880 through June 2, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Farmer Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

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.

1880 census of Rock Creek Township, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Creator: United States. Census Office. 10th census, 1880
Date: June 11, 1880
This excerpt of a census schedule provides details--including the name, age, race, and occupation--of settlers in Rock Creek Township in Wabaunsee County, Kansas. The county included a black population (B=Black) who had settled there in 1879 with the help of the Freedmen's Relief Association.

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.

Andrew Atchison to John P. St. John
Creator: Atchison, Andrew
Date: August 22, 1881
In this letter, Andrew Atchison updates Kansas governor St. John on the condition of the Exoduster settlement near Dunlap, Kansas. Benjamin Singleton had established this colony in May, 1878, and according to Atchison, the black refugees (numbering around 200 families) were thriving. Another goal of Atchison's letter was to investigate the "practicability" of establishing a Business and Literary Academy in addition to their free public school. Atchison and some other white residents of the area had formed the Dunlap Aid Association to assist the Exodusters' efforts to obtain land and employment.

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.

Dunlap Academy and Mission School, Dunlap, Kansas
Date: Between 1880 and 1899
This photograph portrays the students and teachers of the African American school in Dunlap, Morris County, Kansas. Dunlap was located in eastern Morris County and was established in May 1878. The colony was founded by Benjamin Singleton and the Tennessee Real Estate and Homestead Association. This was the last colony Singleton founded in Kansas.

Exodusters at Floral Hall, Topeka
Creator: Worrall, Henry, 1825-1902
Date: July 5, 1879
This drawing from Harper's Weekly depicts the African-American refugees, called Exodusters, who were housed in Floral Hall on the Topeka Fairgrounds, near what is today the Expocentre. Many of these refugees are listening to a sermon or lecture being delivered on the platform. It was drawn by Henry Worrall.

Exodusters in Floral Hall, Topeka
Creator: Worrall, Henry, 1825-1902
Date: July 5, 1879
This drawing from Harper's Weekly depicts the living quarters of the African-American Exodusters housed in Floral Hall on the Topeka Fairgrounds. These emigrants were crowded into this building while waiting for more permanent lodgings and employment. The drawing was created by Henry Worrall.

Governor John P. St. John to Horatio N. Rust
Creator: St. John, John Pierce, 1833-1916
Date: January 16, 1880
This informative twelve-page letter, written by John P. St. John, Governor of Kansas, details how the Freedman's Relief Association has been assisting the black refugees fleeing from the South. St. John was well acquainted with the workings of this association, being a board member himself, and therefore he gave specific details about how many emigrants have found employment. He also discusses the barracks in Topeka that housed around 200 emigrants in need of shelter. Many of these Exodusters were suffering during the cold winter, and St. John mentioned that the association needed lumber to build additional barracks and houses for some of the emigrants. Toward the end of the letter, St. John implored Rust to discover if Illinois (Rust's home state) would be able to accept any of these refugees.

Isaiah T. Montgomery to Governor John P. St. John
Creator: Montgomery, Isaiah T. (Isaiah Thorton), 1847-1924
Date: May 23, 1879
Isaiah T. Montgomery of Hurricane, Mississippi, wrote Governor John P. St. John of Topeka, Kansas, concerning the migration of twenty five families of black refugees from Mississippi to Kansas. Montgomery described the difficulties faced by the families and a visit he made to Kansas to assess their conditions. He also critiqued the relief programs in Kansas and made recommendations for assisting present and future migrants. In addition, the letter addresses Montgomery's broader effort to establish a community for black refugees in Kansas and the oppressive conditions under which blacks lived in Mississippi. Montgomery dictated a letter sent to him from William Nervis regarding the conditions of the refugees. During 1879 and 1880 a mass exodus of blacks from the deep South, known as the Negro Exodus, overwhelmed the state's ability to accommodate the refugees. These refugees were called Exodusters. Governor St. John established a Freedman's Relief Association to assist the migrants but its efforts were largely seen as a failure.

J. C. Black to Governor John P. St. John
Creator: Black, J. C.
Date: April 28, 1881
This brief letter was written by J. C. Black, a former slave from Paris, Tennessee. According to Black, his white neighbors were saying that black refugees in Kansas were starving and out of work. Black wanted to know if this was true before he moved to Kansas. He asked for a speedy response. In addition to his service as Governor, St. John also served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association.

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 African Americans in 1877. Presently, the town is 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 African Americans 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.

Part 12: Exodusters, in first annual report of the Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics
Creator: Kansas Bureau of Labor
Date: 1886
This excerpt of the Kansas Bureau of Labor report includes only Part 12, the portion of the report focusing on the Exodusters in Wyandotte, Kansas. The report includes transcribed testimonies of Exodusters as well as a detailed table showing statistics compiled from seventeen families, including their location, ages, health, and occupations. The report also includes a few references to Exodusters in Topeka.

Wilmer Walton to John P. St. John
Creator: Walton, Wilmer
Date: February 7, 1881
This letter, by the correspondent for the Labette County Freedmen's Relief Association in Parsons, Kansas, described the condition of black refugees in the area. Walton thanked Governor John P. St. John for his financial support, and explained how Walton had been visiting the suffering refugees and distributing aid as best he could. He also encouraged the governor to continue supporting relief efforts. St. John, in addition to his official duties as governor, was a board member of the Kansas Freedmen's Relief Association.