Tours

Following are tours coordinated by the conference. Please sign-up to attend using the registration page.

The Frontier Battleground

Pre-conference Coach Tour | Wednesday, July 28, 8:30am-5:00pm | $40

Historic view of the Free State Capitol in Topeka and the proslavery Territorial Capitol today in Lecompton.

Explore this “Prelude to the Civil War” heartland. Here a Territorial era war was fought with guns and the ballot box, of whether Kansas should be “free state” or pro slavery. We’ll visit Underground Railroad history in Topeka and Lawrence, as towns founded by northerners. On our way to the Territorial capitol in Lecompton, built by southern forces, we’ll stop in the Wakarusa River valley where John Brown and his band of followers were conductors. Finally, visit and interpret the legacy presented at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.

 

Freedom’s Border and KC Jazz

Post-conference Coach Tour | Saturday, July 31, 9am-4:30pm | $50

Nancy "Quindaro" Brown Guthrie and view of the townsite ruins

We're off to Kansas City, the legendary Jazz and the Blues town. However, beginning here in the 1840s at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, over 300, 000 people embarked on a 2000 mile wagon trek over the Oregon Trail. On a journey to freedom even more trying, people escaping slavery crossed the Missouri River at the town of Quindaro. We’ll tour this hallowed ground now in Kansas City. Enjoy famous Kansas City Bar-b-q at lunch in the Blue Room before touring the American Jazz Museum & Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

 

West to the Lane Trail

Post-conference Affinity/Car-pool Tour | Sunday, August 1, 10:00am-4:00pm | $10

John Brown in Kansas and view of Mt. Mitchell

In the morning, see and touch Freedom’s path over the Tallgrass prairie. This magnificent place yet resembles the territorial landscape of the 1850s. Heading west to the Connecticut/Kansas settlement known as the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony, we'll walk amidst wildflowers on the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie and visit the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church. In the afternoon, we'll hear John Brown himself tell the dramatic story of the Battle of Blackjack, near Baldwin City.

 

Attractions

The following sites are local attractions that may interest you. They are not part of the conference coordinated tours.

Nicodemus National Historic Site, Nicodemus, Kansas

Photo courtesy National Park Service

Some African Americans left Kentucky for the “free soil” of Kansas in organized colonies during the Civil War Reconstruction. Among their settlements was Nicodemus, the oldest and only remaining all Black town west of the Mississippi River. The Nicodemus National Historic Site represents this little known story of the western expansion of the United States.

The annual Homecoming Celebration event is in July. Visit nicodemuskansas.com “Homecoming” for details.

  • Nicodemus National Historic Site
  • 304 Washington Avenue
  • Nicodemus, KS 67625-3015

Visitor Information
(785) 839-4233

nicodemuskansas.com

Site description courtesy Nicodemus Historical Society and the National Park Service

 

Kansas State Capitol

The Tragic Prelude segment of the encompassing murals by John Steuart Curry in the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, is among the finest public art in the country. Depicted here is John Brown leading antislavery forces in Kansas Territory. The tornado and prairie fires represent the warfare that swept the land.

  • Kansas State Capitol Tour Center
  • 10th & Jackson
  • Topeka KS 66612

785-296-3966

capitol@kshs.org

 

Tallgrass Prairie

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a partnership between the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the Kansas Park Trust. The mission is to preserve and protect the Tallgrass prairie ecosystem, while educating the public about its importance.

  • Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
  • P.O. Box 585, 226 Broadway
  • Cottonwood Falls, Kansas 66845

(620) 273-6034
Fax: (620) 273-6099

www.nps.gov/tapr