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Nicodemus, Kansas

Area residents founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) in 1879. Members initially met in a sod structure. In 1885, the sod church was replaced with a limestone structure. In 1910, the congregation moved into an existing church structure that was previously owned by the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church.

In the 1920s, the congregation changed a window to a doorway and added a vestibule to provide protection against the wind. They continued to use the structure as a church until circa 1940. Mr. Alvin Bates acquired the structure for storage purposes in the 1950s. The A.M.E. Church has exterior limestone walls that, like other stone buildings in Nicodemus, were covered with stucco in the 1940s. Rectangular in plan, the single-story structure has a gabled roof, as does the vestibule with double doors on the east side. The south side has four regularly spaced windows; the north side was similar, but has collapsed and was replaced with plywood on the stud walls.

The AME church is preserved as a National Historic Site by the National Park System.

Attractions and Upcoming Events

First Baptist Church

Several structures in succession, all at the same location, housed the congregation of the First Baptist Church from its founding in 1877

Nicodemus, KS Historic Churches

Township Hall

Construction for the Township Hall started in 1934 as a Works Progress Administration Project (WPA) with completion and dedication in 1939

Nicodemus, KS Historic Buildings

St. Francis Hotel

The St. Francis Hotel is a significant example of the businesses in Nicodemus during its era of great prosperity. Built in 1881

Nicodemus, KS Historic Hotels

Nicodemus National Historic Site

The Nicodemus National Historic Site preserves, protects and interprets the only remaining western town established by African Americans during the Reconstruction Period following the Civil War. At the Visitor Center

Nicodemus, KS Museums

NSD #1 Schoolhouse

Nicodemus was the first community in Graham County, Kansas, to establish a school district and school. The existing school building was constructed in 1918

Nicodemus, KS Historic Schoolhouses

Things to do near Nicodemus, KS

St. Francis GMA Sandpit and Wildlife Area

Five acres of water, camping, picnics, 480 acres of wildlife management for public hunting. ...

Keith Sebelius Fishing Report

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ACCURATE FISHING REPORTS: This is just to remind you that fishing reports are given with the bes...