Dunlap Kansas

We decided to take a trip outside of the city and stopped in at Dunlap Kansas. In 1978, the town's most famous resident, Pap Singleon (a former slave) chose Dunlap to settle in and hundred's of other freed slaves followed.

In 1880, the Presbyterian Church founded the Freedmen’s Academy of

 Kansas in Dunlap to provide an education to African-American 

settlers. Life for the academy; however, was brief, as it closed its 

doors in the mid-1890s. By 1910, the population of the small town 

was about 333 and its location on the Neosho River, in the midst 

of rich agricultural land, had made the community an important 

shipping point for portions of Morris, Chase and Lyon Counties. 

In its heydays, the town boasted a blacksmith shop, hardware store,

 grocery store, ice cream parlor, flour mill, butter and cheese factory, 

restaurant, the Guarantee State Bank, a hotel, and Baptist, 

Congregational and Methodist churches. (www.legendsofkansas.com)

 

 The town now has a very small (white) population and it was eerie to drive through it. We were really interested to see the Dunlap Colored Cemetery which is on a back road about a mile from ornately decorated white cemetery.

The cemetery was very interesting, especially the stones that looked to be hand carved.

 

 

 

On our way to our next stop Nathan decided to go the back way and our car got VERY muddy. But it was worth it to see this sign on the side of the road.