One of the largest, and most famous, of the Kansas settlements was Nicodemus. A group of settlers founded the town in 1877, including Jenny and Zachary Fletcher, and by the year Hattie’s family arrived, the town had hundreds of residents. The town grew strong during the 1880s. It had two newspapers, a hotel, and even an ice cream parlor. But the town slowly began to die. It turned out that the land was not well-suited for farming. The railroads refused to build stops in the town. People moved away. By the early twentieth century, Nicodemus was little more than a ghost town. Today, Nicodemus is part of the National Park Service. Its five remaining buildings are historic landmarks.
It’s estimated that by 1879, more than fifty thousand Exodusters made their way to Kansas. Many of them successfully built settlements, farms, and better lives. But thousands never made it to their promised land. Instead, they found work in the large towns, or quietly returned to the South. By the mid-1880s, the Great Exodus was over.
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Exoduster Movement, 1879
The majority of the Exodusters migrated from Tennessee (mostly prior to 1879), Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Far fewer Exodusters came from Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia.
Most of the Exodusters arrived in St. Louis first. They then traveled to their destination in Kansas by foot, riverboat, or train. Exodusters settled in Atchison, Kansas City, Topeka, Wyandotte, and Lawrence.
About the Author
Allison Lassieur once lived in Tennessee and traveled the path Hattie and her family might have followed from Nashville to the banks of the Mississippi River near Memphis. Today, she lives in upstate New York and shares a 110-year-old house with her husband, daughter, three dogs, two cats, and more history books than she can count.
About the Consultant
Dr. Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir is an Associate Professor of History at Xavier University of Louisiana. Throughout her academic career, she has focused on the New South period of American history through the Civil Rights Movement, with particular interest on African American activism in Louisiana. She has been featured on MSNBC with Al Sharpton, WBOK New Orleans Talk Radio, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, is a contributor for the PBS show “We’ll Meet Again” with Ann Curry, and published a New York Times Op-Ed article.
About the Illustrator
Eric Freeberg has illustrated over twenty-five books for children, and has created work for magazines and ad campaigns. He was a winner of the 2010 London Book Fair’s Children’s Illustration Competition; the 2010 Holbein Prize for Fantasy Art, International Illustration Competition, Japan Illustrators Association; Runner-Up, 2013 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award; Honorable Mention, 2009 SCBWI Don Freeman Portfolio Competition; and 2nd Prize, 2009 Clymer Museum’s Annual Illustration Invitational. He was also a winner of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award.
Journey to a Promised Land Page 8
