Freedom's Frontier Grant Will Support Local Black History!

Soon our Geary County (Kansas) Black History Trail will be able to work in concert with a permanent exhibit at the Geary County Historical Society Museum.   The GCHSM has received a grant (our Trail helped with the application)  from "Freedom's Frontier" to develop this display.  "Freedom's Frontier" is a National Heritage Area, established by Congress in 2006, that includes 42 counties in Missouri and Kansas, all uniting to tell the nationally significant stories embedded in this region.  The intertwined stories include the settlement of the western frontier; the Missouri-Kansas border war leading to the Civil War; and the enduring struggle for freedom.   The history commemorated by our Geary County Black History Trail touches on all three of those stories.  

Now the call is going out to all those who have photos, stories, or artifacts to lend to the Museum for use in developing the display of local Black history.  Our Trail Team will help to collect these items, involving the site-representatives for all the stops along the Trail.  

This display is scheduled to open at the Geary County Historical Society Museum in early June 2025--as a lead-up to Junction City's celebration of its 30th anniversary of Juneteenth observances in Geary County, KS.   The Museum display, the Juneteenth Anniversary Celebration, and the ongoing growth of Geary County's Black History Trail will all help to fulfill the "Mission of Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area":  

"To ensure that future generations may also engage in meaningful relationships with American history, culture, and landscapes by preserving these spaces and the stories they represent."