The Wyandot Trail and Underground Railroad

Kansas City, Kansas has a unique history unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. On a hosted trip at the beginning of August 2018, I learned about the Wyandotte Indians. They embraced escaped slaves considering them, “people of the earth”. Come along with me on my journey.  See what fascinating history Kansas City has to offer.  Learn how the Underground Railroad and Wyandot story intersect.

Wyandot National Burying Ground

Our first stop was the Wyandot National Burying Ground. There we met Louisa Libby and her daughter Anna of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas. The Cemetery also known as the Huron Cemetery was first established in 1844. This was after the forced migration of the Wyandotte nation from Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Louisa Libby shared a bit of her clan’s history. “We came from the Georgian Bay area Ontario. In 1649, we officially left because the Iroquois kept attacking.”

The Wyandot that settled in the area are part of the Turtle Clan.  Anna continued her story. “A Jesuit Priest took some (of the Wyandotte Nation) and they went to an island on Quebec.  The rest went to Mackinaw Island. We always had a sister city, and that was the Sandusky, Ohio area.  That was where we settled until 1843 when 664 of us were forced to move.”

The 660 members of the Wyandotte Nation along with the wagons and horses took two weeks to travel.  They arrived at the steamboat. Then were transported to what was supposed to be good bottom land. However, once they arrived, they found the good land was already occupied.

The group was dropped off at what is now Kansas City. At that time, it was nothing but swamp land. “We soon lost 100 or so people,” Anna said. “We got along with the Delaware and purchased land around Kansas City.”

Story of the Cemetery

“We built a cemetery to have a place for our family to rest,” Louisa explained. Until recently the Wyandotte Nation had to fight year after year to keep this land. As Kansas City grew up, developers wanted the land the cemetery was located on. “Two sisters, the Conley sisters, Eliza (Lyda) and Helena (Lena) fought to protect the cemetery and keep from selling it,” Louisa said.

The Supreme Court

In fact, the sisters built a shack on site to protect the graves. The were armed and diligent.  “They were arrested and had to be bailed out,” Louisa added. Lyda Conley went on to graduate from law school.  She became the first Native American Lawyer. She was the first woman admitted to the Kansas Bar in 1902. Lyda sued the Secretary of the Interior and challenged the sale and development of the cemetery before the United States Supreme Court. She was the first American Indian to try a case before the Supreme Court.

They lost, but the sale of the land was stopped. Louisa added that for years they continued to fight developers. The Wyandotte Nation of Kansas stood up to the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma who wanted to expand the casino on into the cemetery area.  Thankfully now the cemetery is protected and is listed on the National Register of historic places.

A Warning

Today the Conley sisters still protect the cemetery. Their graves are next to their parents. Their gravestones have a message that I surely wouldn’t want to cross. Helena Conley’s grave reads “Helena Conley, floating voice. Cursed be the villain that molest their graves.”

Quindaro Ruins & Museums

Quindaro Ruins is an overlook, of a historic “station”.  It is part of the route of the Underground Railroad where many African American slaves found freedom.

There is a lovely pavilion with flags.  We met Louisa and Anna along with Anthony Hope and his cousin, Vietnam War Veteran Corranzo Lewis. Anthony is a 4th generation of the Monroe family of slaves that escaped. “They escaped across when the river iced. Then the Wyandotte adopted us.”

The history is incredible. The name Quindaro means, “A bundle of sticks – stronger together than apart”.

Town of Quindaro

The town of Quindaro was founded in 1856 by Albelard Guthrie.  He married Nancy Quindaro Brown, a Wyandot Indian that owned the land. According to the group, it was their consensus that Guthrie married Nancy for the land.

“The town just lasted for a few years. There were a few churches, a sawmill that was once the largest in Kansas, and a rock quarry that the Monroe family once owned,” Louisa said. “Slaves came across the Missouri River in the winter on the ice. The Wyandot believed that they were people of the Earth like us. We hid them in the Quindaro Hotel cistern etc. This place and relationship is very dear to us.  We are intertwined.”

The Civil War

Quindaro thrived for a while.  Serving as a steamboat landing and underground railway station, the Civil War changed things. “The town didn’t last long after the Civil War,” Anthony said. “Solders stored horses in the hotel, and only one family stayed.”

With the War and the downfall of the economy the town was abandoned. However, Western University survived.  The statue of John Brown pays homage to one of the nation’s opponents to slavery. This statue is also important because it is the only physical remains of Western University. You can view some cornerstones and the statue which was erected in 1911.

Our next stop was the Old Quindaro Museum.  Anthony shared family history and told the story of Western University which began as the Quindaro Freedman’s School. It was founded in the 1860s by the Presbyterian Minister, Eben Blachley. Freedman’s School educated the children of escaped slaves and black families that had begun to settle in the area. The school continued until the 1940’s.

Quindaro Museum and the Railroad Museum

At the Old Quindaro Museum we learned a bit more about the runaway slaves.  We also saw some old fashioned shackles on display. To learn more about the ruins and the Old Quindaro Museum, call 816-820-3615.

The last stop in this fascinating story was the Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum. Housed in the historic Vernon Multi-Purpose Center, the museum has several artifacts and documents. The museum tells the story of the town and people of Quindaro. Luther Smith shared information about the beautiful quilts blocks like the “sail boat”, the “flying geese” etc. These blocks were used as messages for slaves escaping along the Underground Railway.

Museum stories

At the museum there is a biography of William Tecumseh Vernon.  A teacher and minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Vernon was later appointed in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt as the Register of the United States Treasury.  This was the nation’s highest governmental post ever occupied by an African American at that time. For more information about the Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum call 913-287-4323.

The buildings are not glorious, the architecture isn’t awe inspiring, but the story is heart touching and moved me. This is a history, a blending of two struggling groups of minorities that found strength in one another. I was honored to be able to share what I learned. I hope if you are in the Kansas City, Kansas area you will take the time to look up some of this.  It is a story you won’t learn in the history books, but one that is just as real, and perhaps even more important. For more information on Native American participation, check out my story on Kaw Point.