With the leaves off the trees, the spires of Park University’s McKay Hall are clearly visible from a hillside in Kansas City, Kansas, a remote area with as much or more history as all of the Northland’s historic river towns combined.
The view comes from the Quindaro Cemetery, a notable destination to better understand Black history in this region and the relationship between Quindaro and the Northland in the years surrounding the Civil War.
Quindaro was a sprawling community on the banks of the Missouri River directly across from Parkville and Riverside. From the primary overlook, leaves on the trees or not, visitors clearly see the Magellan Pipeline fuel tanks ̶ those twin massive white tanks we drive past on the south side of Highway 9.
Founded in 1856, Quindaro was a community of about 800 people, including whites, freed Black people and members of the Wyandot Nation who had been forcibly resettled from Ohio. It was also a destination for enslaved people in Missouri traveling the underground railroad, usually out of Parkville.
It was a place where the three races lived together peacefully. There were churches, a couple of hotels, dry goods stores, a brewery, and newspapers. The first school for Black children west of the Mississippi was in Quindaro.
The name Quindaro is a Wyandot word that means “strength in numbers.”
But there were a couple of problems that dealt a blow to Quindaro. In part was the geographic location. The town was built on the side of a bluff. While the river port was successful, it was difficult to grow the town much larger and eventually KCK overtook the settlement.
The railroad passed Quindaro and by 1862, the Kansas legislature withdrew the town charter. The residents remained for years, but slowly Quindaro disappeared. The hillsides and bluffs became overgrown, further deteriorating the remaining foundations and homesites.
It was more than a century later when the area was being considered for a landfill that Quindaro descendants reminded the region that Quindaro was a vibrant place with a story to tell.
One way to learn that story is on an outing with Urban Hikes KC, a local company that shares the history and culture of Kansas City while creating a unique exercise opportunity for participants. Hikes range between three to four miles and cost less than $40 per person.
Among the stories you’ll learn is that of Nancy Quindaro Brown Guthrie, the daughter of a Wyandot clan chief, who convinced the Wyandot people to sell their land in order to found a town where free-staters and escaped slaves could settle in peace.
Also remember the name Clarina Nichols who operated a newspaper, taught school and was active in the abolition and suffrage movements. Because of her quiet lobbying at the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention of 1859, the words “white” and “male” do not appear in the Kansas Constitution.
It was because of Clarina Nichols that women were allowed to vote in school board elections, to own property, and to have custody of their children. Her efforts led to the University of Kansas being among the first in the country to admit women and to admit the first Black woman in 1876.
Quindaro brings to life the realities of the Fugitive Slave Act, the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, making an outing here an educational opportunity for families with children.
Since the 1980s, archeological efforts have revealed the foundations of at least 22 buildings, including the Wyandotte Hotel, the J.H. Warehouse and the Quindaro Brewery. Some trails have been developed. A scenic overlook at 27th and Sewell Streets includes a few interpretive panels. Descendants of the original townspeople are still buried in the Quindaro cemetery a few blocks away.
The Quindaro Ruins were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 2002 and became a National Commemorative Site through the National Park Service in 2019.
In December 2023, Quindaro received a $1 million donation from a legal settlement as a result of the Cerner Corporation (now known as Oracle) leaving Kansas City prior to fulfilling its tax incentives to the city, county and state. The hope is that the money will build a visitors center, develop trails and a large site plan.
The Quindaro site is jointly owned by the AME Church and the Unified Government.
If you plan to visit, be respectful. Do not litter. Sturdy shoes, a hiking pole and bottled water will make the exploration more comfortable. There are no public restrooms in the area.
The name Quindaro is a Wyandot word that means “strength in numbers.”
Quindaro was a vibrant place with a story to tell.
