Nicodemus ? Ora Switzer’s face, with black wrinkles situated beneath thinning white hair, has come to represent what is happening in this tiny, historic town.

At 102, Switzer is the oldest resident of Nicodemus. But most of the town’s 22 residents aren’t far behind in age, and new arrivals here are rare.

That has some residents worried that Nicodemus, a national historic site settled by former slaves, could soon be a ghost town.

“It may not be like this forever,” said Switzer, who has lived in Nicodemus her entire life. “There used to be plenty of people here. Nobody’s here now.”

Nicodemus, about 45 miles northwest of Hays, was founded in 1877 by former slaves looking for opportunity in the West. It remains the only all-black town west of the Mississippi River started by ex-slaves.

At its peak, during the mid-1880s, the town boomed to between 650 and 700 people and included a general store, newspaper, church, post office and hotel.

But in 1888, the Union Pacific railroad decided to bypass Nicodemus and instead went through the nearby town of Bogue. That, along with hardships on the Great Plains, led the town’s population to decline rapidly.

Phyllis Howard and Reggie Murray, National Parks Service rangers in Nicodemus, take down the flag outside the former township hall and current Parks Service headquarters. Some Nicodemus residents say the national historic site designation, which came in 1996, will guarantee the town's existence, even as its population dwindles.

Even in the middle of the 20th century, the whole town used to gather for roller-skating parties, dances and soul food dinners. Today, the only regular gatherings are for funerals and on Sunday mornings, when a few dozen people worship at the First Missionary Baptist Church.

Nearly all the 22 residents on the 136-acre, unincorporated town are direct descendants of the founders, or are married to descendants. The average age is 71.

“Right now, it’s a senior citizen resort,” said Alvena Alexander, 76, a lifelong resident.

“I do worry,” said Billie Brogden, 70. “In the back of my mind I wonder what we’re going to do. There’s nobody ever coming back with children. Why is there a reason to come here except to see us?”

Historic designation

The National Parks Service has given residents some reason for hope.

Congress declared Nicodemus a national historic site in 1996, and now the Parks Service has set up a visitor center in the former community hall, built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration.

Two park rangers and a site superintendent are headquartered in Nicodemus, and the town drew about 8,600 tourists last year. The rangers also tour Kansas, giving presentations on the town’s history.

Sherda Williams, the site’s superintendent, said the town is unique in that it’s a historic site that has residents going about their daily lives.

“It’s very low-key,” Williams said. “It’s not a historic site because of the unique architecture. It’s a site because it’s so typical of ones African-Americans would live in.”

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• Nicodemus National Historic Site

For now, the Parks Service has a panel display in the town hall discussing the history of blacks in the West. Williams said she’d like to someday restore four historic structures in town – the First Baptist Church, built in 1907; the AME Church, built in 1885; the St. Francis Hotel, built in 1881; and the District No. 1 school, built in 1918.

Each building stands in various states of disrepair. Fixing them will take millions of dollars that can be hard to come by when 387 other national historic sites are competing for funds.

Though residents say there was initial apprehension about the federal government rolling into town, that nervousness has subsided over nearly a decade.

“By them being here, it’ll help to keep it a historic place,” Alexander said. “If there’s nothing here but a park site, there’ll still be something here.”

Ora Switzer, 102, has lived in Nicodemus her entire life, and she's among those worried about the future of the town.

Land issues

Tradition may be part of what’s standing in the way of Nicodemus’ future.

Land rarely leaves families, locals said. A house recently completed by Alexander’s son, Juan, was the first new home constructed in Graham County in 10 years. When his 9-year-old daughter goes to school in the fall, it will be the first time a school bus has stopped in Nicodemus in 15 years.

“It’s not so much to keep people out,” explained Phyllis Howard, a park ranger. “A lot of these people are third-generation landowners, and they’re proud of that heritage. They want to keep the land in the family.”

Angela Bates, 53, learned that the hard way.

Bates was born in Nicodemus but spent much of her life elsewhere. She’s related to descendants of Nicodemus’ founders, but even then she couldn’t find land to buy in town when she wanted to move back in 1990. So she instead bought a two-bedroom house in the nearby town of Bogue.

“Given the economy is as bad as it is, some people are talking about moving back,” she said. “The problem is we don’t have any houses. If there were houses there, I’m absolutely positive they would sell.”

Bates is executive director of the Nicodemus Historical Society. She pieces together a living giving talks about Nicodemus and giving tours, selling real estate and serving as an educational consultant.

“It’s a peculiar situation,” she said. “You don’t want the town to die, but nobody’s doing things to stop it. People who are older are going to die, and if someone doesn’t take the initiative to do something, it’ll just sit there.”

Still, Bates said she’s convinced the town will survive. She said she gets hope from the town’s annual Homecoming Celebration in late July, when hundreds of former residents and relatives converge on Nicodemus for a dance, food, arts and crafts, history presentations and bingo.

“I’m an optimist when it comes to Nicodemus,” Bates said. “It offers hope. It is a place of refuge. It’s an African-American Mecca.

“When black people come, they immediately feel this connection to the community. Physically, there are not that many things there. But there’s a lot on the spiritual level.”

One farmer

Whether that’s enough to keep the town viable remains to be seen.

Many cities try to use their history to boost their economy. But that can’t happen when there’s no economy in town.

Only one resident, Gil Alexander, still farms in the area and produces Promised Land Flour, which is available in Kansas gift shops. Almost everyone else is retired.

The only business in recent memory, Ernestine’s Barbecue, which Bates ran for several years, closed in 2004.

“There’s no economy,” said Sharyn Dowdell-Kountz, the 58-year-old trustee for Nicodemus Township. “There are no jobs to speak of. You’d have to be a retired person, with a guaranteed income to start with, to want to come here.”

Dowdell-Kountz, whose great-grandfather was a town founder, was a rare exception. She grew up in Nicodemus and returned to the area to farm with Alexander, who is her brother, and to work at Webster State Park.

“Basically, it’s pretty darn quiet,” she said. “On a basic day, you could go the whole day and not see anyone.”

Williams, the Parks Service superintendent, would like to change that – at least in part. While residents don’t want a flood of tourists into their town, they’d like to keep interest alive enough to keep Nicodemus more than just a historic site.

“It would be a real tragedy,” Williams said, “if we end up managing a ghost town.”