jan 1, 1857 - Quindaro Townsite

Description:

Quindaro Townsite (1857-1862) located off of 27th and State was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 2002. The boomtown went up with mostly abolitionist people settling in 1857 with 600 residents and 100 buildings. The Kansas Land Trust of Boston was heavily invested in the area. The New England Immigrant Aid Company had helped abolitionist minded settlers reach the area from their homes in the east. Quindaro reached its zenith by 1858 with 1200 residents. Quindaro Townsite had a four-story 45 room hotel, a brewery, two churches, a dry goods store, the largest sawmill in Kansas, and a large lumberyard. Riverfront lots were being sold at exorbitant prices. However, the timing for the town could not have been worse, as building development stopped with the Panic of 1857, which sent the country into a depression. By 1861 there were only 629 residents due to many of the men in town joining the Northern Army, the opening of other free ports, and wild over speculation on land in the area. By 1862 the town charter for Quindaro was repealed. After the Civil War in 1864, it became a neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. The area continued to promote educational institutions, including the first Freedman's School in Kansas, which evolved into Western University.