The Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum is housed in the Vernon Multipurpose Center. The Center was designated as an historical site by the State of Kansas on August 21, 2004. The center was built in 1936 and formerly served as an elementary school. Bishop and Mrs. Harrison J. Bryant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church established the Vernon Center in May, 1975 as an outreach program to meet the needs of senior citizens in the Northeast and Quindaro areas of Kansas City, Kansas.
The Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum began collecting artifacts in 2000. The museum houses archeological ruins of the Underground Railroad that serve as a monument to racial harmony and to freedom. The displays have cultural and historical value for the descendants of Native Americans who once owned and occupied the site, for African Americans whose ancestors once looked to Quindaro as a gateway to freedom, and for the descendants of Euro-Americans who saw the need to found a Free State port and fight slavery. At the museum, you can also see plaques and monuments reflecting the history of the Western University.
The Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum holds a portion of history significant not only to the state of Kansas, but to the nation as well. The entire Quindaro area has become a regional tourist attraction and there are few sites and structures from 19thcentury Kansas City that remain as well-known throughout the nation as the town site and ruins of Quindaro.
Tours of this site and the Quindaro Townsite National Commemorative site by appointment. The townsite is not open to the public at this time, but weather, trail conditions, and guide availability permitting, site tours are sometimes arranged. The number listed below is for the Kansas City Kansas Convention Visitors Bureau. Contact the bureau for more information.
Contact Information
3436 N 27th St
Kansas City, KS 66104
Phone: 913-321-5800
Location Type
Museum
Site Info
AC / Heating
Group Meeting Room
Parking
Restrooms
Water Fountain
