A Dream Becomes Reality

In June 2008, the Old Quindaro Museum & Information Center was only a dream of The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro. There was a need to tell the story of the escaped slave families who found freedom in Quindaro, Kansas. These brave “seekers of freedom” lived among the Wyandotte Nation and white abolitionist who founded the old Township of Quindaro in 1856 (now known as the Quindaro Ruins).

When the historic John A.Walker residence became available, Jesse Hope III, President of CCOQ, made the bold move to acquire it as the home for a “living museum”(a museum that would replicate a home as it would have been in the early 1900’s); a museum that would tell the story of those first African-American families who settled in Old Quindaro.

When Gail Wilson, owner of the museum property, was approached by CCOQ she had a choice: to sell outright to a substance abuse center or give an opportunity to a small grass-roots organization with little more than dreams to cover the rent. For Gail Wilson, the great-grand daughter of John A. Walker who built the home in 1900, and who was caretaker for Western University for over 50 years; the choice was clear.

Ms. Wilson has given the community until July 2009 to raise the funds to buy the property, and fund raising is in full swing!

Thanks to the strong community support of the Quindaro Caretakers, Wyandotte County has its first and only African-American museum.