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Ranger LueCreasea Horne and Ranger Brendan Oates

Nicodemus National Historic Site, Nicodemus, Kansas

Formerly enslaved African Americans left Kentucky at the end of the of post-Civil War Reconstruction period to experience freedom in the “Promised Land” of Kansas. Nicodemus (nps.gov/nico, Facebook: @NicodemusNPS) represents the involvement of African Americans in the westward expansion and settlement of the Great Plains. It is the oldest and only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi.

LueCreasea Horne

LueCreasea Horne is a Park Ranger at Nicodemus National Historic Site (nps.gov/nico | Facebook) in Nicodemus, Kansas. She became the first women Park Ranger at Nicodemus when the town was designated as a National Monument in 1996. As a 6th generation descendant of Nicodemus settlers Thomas and Zerina Johnson, LueCreasea grew up hearing stories of her family traveling west and acquiring farmland. As of this year LueCreasea is back with the NPS at Nicodemus, leading the educational program with a focus on younger learners.

Brian Oates

Brendan Oates is a Park Ranger at Nicodemus National Historic Site (nps.gov/nico | Facebook) in Nicodemus, Kansas.