WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) announced the Quindaro Townsite has been accepted into the National Parks Services Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program (RTCA), which will provide support to the nonprofit groups working to preserve the site.

“I’m glad to see the National Parks Service’s commitment to preserving Quindaro through the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program,” said Sen. Roberts. “I look forward to seeing future generations of Kansans visiting the site so they can learn the prominent role Quindaro played in stopping the spread of slavery during the 1800s.”

Earlier this year, Quindaro was designated a National Commemorative Site, after legislation Sen. Roberts introduced alongside Rep. Kevin Yoder was signed into law as part of a larger lands package. This designation will help foster more investment and preservation at the site.

Quindaro was founded by abolitionists in 1857 and became a Free State port of entry and stop on the Underground Railroad. The town provided a route for slaves to escape from Missouri and helped stop slavery from spreading west. Quindaro was abandoned and became overgrown, but was rediscovered during an archaeological dig in the 1980s.

The Quindaro Underground Railroad Museum, currently houses the artifacts of the townsite. It is currently a part of the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. In 2005, Senator Roberts and then Senator Sam Brownback introduced legislation, signed into law, to establish the Heritage Area.

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