Nicodemus District Orientation

Nicodemus District

NPS Photo/Daniel Cox

Quick Facts

MANAGED BY:

Nicodemus Historical Society

Town speculator W.R. Hill, his partner W.H. Smith, and five African American ministers originally from Kentucky and Tennessee organized and established the town of Nicodemus. They recruited groups of formerly enslaved people from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi to Homestead. According to the dates they arrived, the new residents settled in four general districts: Nicodemus, Fairview, Mt. Olive, and Wildhorse/Kebar. The Nicodemus district encompasses the townsite and 1 mile north and south and 4 miles west. The first immigrants settled this area in 1877, and subsequent groups homesteaded lands farther away when they arrived.The Nicodemus township history trail invites visitors to tour all four districts to discover the schools, churches, cemeteries, and homestead sites. You will discover when immigrants arrived and where they homesteaded. YOU ARE IN the Nicodemus district and can visit the historic townsite and other area landmarks. The National Park Service uses the township hall behind here as their temporary visitor center. We encourage you to visit it and/or obtain a walking tour brochure of the historic townsite from the dispenser in front of the building.Select the district map the fits your schedule. If time permits, travel to all four districts to explore Nicodemus township History.