Nicodemus NHS / Lake Scott State Park

Southwestern Trip 2022 | Omaha, NE to Lake Scott, KS | Leaving Nebraska | Center of the Contiguous US | Nicodemus NHS | Lake Scott State Park | October 2022

We woke up bright and early on our last morning in our apartment in Bellevue, a little anxious but feeling more ready to finish up our packing and cleaning and commence our “celebratory vacation.” Since the wifi had been turned off early, there was nothing to distract us from our last minute tasks. Curtis put the last few things in our Pod and car, we vacuumed and scrubbed a few last surfaces before taking one last look around our apartment. We loved living here so much — if anyone is looking for an apartment complex in the Bellevue NE area, especially one that’s close to Offutt AFB, feel free to reach out and we’ll gladly share!

After one last walk around the block to give Char some exercise, we piled in the car and ran a few last errands — dropped off the apartment keys, had the car weighed, grabbed some camping food from Aldi, then went back and retrieved the keys because we realized we forgot cookies in our freezer.

And with our last minute chores, we were officially homeless and on the road heading West. We took I-80 West past Lincoln before heading South on US-81 into Kansas, and then West again on US-36. Funnily enough, our first move to Tucson in 2013 passed the junction of US-81 & US-36 as well.

Our first stop of the day was at the Center of it all – another geographical oddity just North of Lebanon, KS at the Center of the Contiguous United States. Ironically, this site was mentioned in American Gods by Neil Gaiman, which Curtis listened to at the end of the trip. In that book, Neil suggests that the Geographic Center is the opposite of a ‘sacred place’ because people have tried to make the Center – a wholly political construct, based on un-naturally straight lines and treaties – into a ‘sacred place’. The people of Lebanon, KS have put up a monument, a little chapel, and even a disused motel to accommodate the throngs of people clamoring to visit the Center. An interesting viewpoint to say the least – especially considering that this is our 3rd such center. We’ve now visited the Center of the Contiguous United States, the Center of the United States, and the Center of North America. While we might not agree with the Neil Gaiman’s assertion, we can attest that there are very few people visiting these places longer than 20 minutes.

We then followed highways generally South and West; grabbing new counties, and winding down from the last few days of packing. Off US-24, we made a stop at Nicodemus NHS in the town of Nicodemus. This is a very small park, but encompasses essentially the whole town and some of the historic buildings. The site commemorates and preserves the last remaining Black Pioneer Western town from the post-Civil War Reconstruction period.

The settlement of Nicodemus falls under two mass migrations that happened after the Civil War. The first was the government encouraged movement of settlers to the Great Plains and Mountain states with the passage of the Homestead Act. The second was the movement of former slaves from the former Confederacy Northwards and Westward, sometimes called the Exodust, and a precursor to the Great Migration of the 1900’s.

In 1877, a Black minister and a white ‘real-estate agent’ enjoined with five others to form the Nicodemus Town Company and encouraged former slaves in Kentucky to move West to Kansas (which had a very Abolitionist image following the war) and form an all African American Community.

The town was a success, and during the 1880’s reached a population of near 700, primarily working as farmers, or staying temporarily before moving further Westward. However, promises of a railroad to and through the town never came to fruition and the population declined throughout the 20th century. However, there are still some living in the town, many of whom can trace their ancestry to some of the original pioneers.

After getting our cancellation stamps and talking to the park ranger, we walked around the town admiring the old buildings and history before pressing on.

The rest of the day was spent driving new roads and new counties out towards Western Kansas where we finally stopped to camp at Lake Scott State Park. There had been ominous clouds along the drive all North of us, but thankfully all we got was a little rain throughout the night. We picked out a spot in the empty campground, heated up leftovers for dinner, and walked Charlotte along the water and through the campground before calling it a night. We were surprised by how much we enjoyed this area — I’m sure in the summer and on nicer weekends it would be busier, but right then in early October we nearly had this part of the park all to ourselves.