Quindaro Elementary School Students Tour a National Historic Landmark in Their Backyard

Quindaro Elementary School students didn’t have to go very far to learn about history.

Third-grade students went on a walking field trip to the Quindaro Ruins located in northeast Kansas City, Kansas, on Tuesday, November 19.

That area of KCK is known as a stop on the famed Underground Railroad, and a former thriving boomtown community.  

The town of Quindaro, originally was established in the 1850s by the Wyandotte Tribe.

It served as a point of entry into Kansas for anti-slavery free-staters and enslaved people fleeing across the river from Missouri. 

Incredibly, this historical area is just blocks away from Quindaro Elementary School.

According to Dawn Storck, a 3rd-grade teacher at Quindaro Elementary School, the focus of her Social Studies class is exploring the diverse cultural representation within the KCK community.

“Students began by examining the cultures present in our classroom and then researched the reasons behind various immigrant groups' movements to the United States. The final phase of our unit involved studying the cultural diversity represented in KCK,” said Storck.

Students were engaged in a variety of pictures and texts surrounding the Quindaro Ruins. Storck says they had a unique opportunity to study in the area in their backyard. “We are fortunate to be within walking distance of significant historical sites, such as the Vernon School, the John Brown statue, and the overlook of the Missouri River,” added Storck.

The Vernon School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its association with the education of African-American children in KCK. The John Brown statue commemorates an African-American abolitionist.

“The primary takeaway we wanted to impart to our students is that history is not just something we read about—it is living, breathing, and all around us,” she added.

The KCKPS Police Department also had a hand in the students taking the historical journey. Sergeant Martin Augustine and Officer Bradley Boyd escorted the students on the walking field trip. They provided traffic safety along the way as students crossed several intersections.

The Quindaro Ruins are now on a path to becoming a National Historic Landmark. A bipartisan effort is underway to make this happen. The initiative was co-sponsored by U.S. House Rep. Jake LaTurner, (R-KS) and U.S. House Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS).