Help Us Save the Old Quindaro Museum

1,500 People. $20 Each. One Historic Home. Countless Stories Worth Preserving.

Our Story: Preserving the Past, Protecting the Future

In the heart of Kansas City, Kansas, stands a historic home with a story much greater than its walls.

The Old Quindaro Museum & Information Center, also known as the John Walker Home, is more than an aging structure. It represents generations of resilience, freedom, education, family, and community. It is a place where the stories of Old Quindaro's earliest Black families have been preserved, shared, and passed down through generations.

Today, this historic home needs our help.

The Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro, Inc. (CCOQ) is calling on 1,500 people to contribute just $20 each to help us take a critical step toward restoring the Old Quindaro Museum and reopening its doors to the community.

A Community Built on the Promise of Freedom

Established in 1857 along the Missouri River, Quindaro became an important gateway to freedom for enslaved people escaping Missouri and seeking refuge in Kansas.

For many freedom seekers, Quindaro represented the possibility of something they had been denied for generations: freedom, safety, education, and the opportunity to build a future for their families.

Those who settled in the community helped establish churches, schools, businesses, and institutions that would shape generations to come.

Among these institutions was Western University, one of the earliest historically Black institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi River.

The history of Quindaro is not simply a story of the Underground Railroad. It is the story of what people did with their freedom once they obtained it.

It is a story of families who built a community, educated their children, established legacies, and created opportunities for future generations.

These are the stories we are fighting to preserve.

The History of the John Walker Home

The home that houses the Old Quindaro Museum once belonged to the family of John Walker, a historic figure in the Old Quindaro community who served as a caretaker for Western University.

In 2008, Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the area's history, purchased the property from descendants of the Walker family.

Later that year, the home opened as the Old Quindaro Museum & Information Center.

Under the leadership of founder and curator Jesse F. Hope III, the museum became a place where visitors could experience the history of Old Quindaro through photographs, artifacts, family records, and stories of freedom seekers, formerly enslaved individuals, and their descendants.

What made the museum especially meaningful was its connection to the people whose history it preserved.

From its earliest days, the Old Quindaro Museum has been guided by descendants of the community's historic families. Rather than allowing their ancestors' stories to be forgotten or told without their voices, descendants took an active role in collecting, protecting, and sharing the history entrusted to them.

The museum was never simply a collection of historical objects. It was a living connection between the past and present.

Sadly, in 2015, Jesse F. Hope III passed away unexpectedly.

Without the resources and operational support necessary to maintain the museum, the home eventually fell into disrepair.

For years, the future of the historic property remained uncertain.

Continuing a Descendant-Led Legacy

In 2021, Jesse Hope's niece, Nakia Hope-Paul, a descendant of one of Old Quindaro's early families, began working to revive the museum and continue the mission her uncle helped establish.

What began as a commitment to preserving a family and community legacy has grown into a renewed organizational effort.

Today, CCOQ is led by a board committed to preserving Old Quindaro's historic places, protecting its cultural heritage, and ensuring that the stories of its foundational families remain accessible to future generations.

Descendant leadership remains central to this work.

We believe that those whose families helped establish and sustain Old Quindaro should have a meaningful voice in how its history is preserved, interpreted, and shared.

This does not mean the history belongs only to descendants. It means that the people who inherited these stories should remain at the heart of telling them.

With the support of community members, volunteers, descendants, and preservation advocates, CCOQ has raised more than $20,000 toward preservation efforts, developed new community partnerships, and continued educating visitors about Old Quindaro even while the museum building remains closed.

On October 14, 2025, the John Walker Home was added to the Register of Historic Kansas Places, an important milestone in recognizing the property's historical significance.

This recognition affirmed what generations of community members and descendants have long understood: the history held within this property deserves to be preserved.

But historic recognition alone cannot save a building.

There is still much work to be done.

Why We Need Your Help Now

Our vision is to restore the John Walker Home and reopen the Old Quindaro Museum as a welcoming educational and cultural space where residents, students, families, researchers, and visitors can experience the history of Old Quindaro.

We envision a museum that honors the families who sought freedom, celebrates the generations who built the community, and connects visitors to the many historic places that remain throughout the area.

The museum will be one part of a larger journey through Old Quindaro, encouraging visitors to explore the Quindaro Ruins, historic cemeteries, Western University's legacy, and other significant places throughout the community.

At the center of our museum's mission will remain descendant-led storytelling, ensuring that the experiences, accomplishments, struggles, and contributions of Old Quindaro's foundational families are never reduced to a footnote in history.

Before we can begin a complete renovation, however, we must understand the condition of the historic structure and determine the most responsible path forward.

Our next major step is completing a Historic Structure Report (HSR) through Hernly & Associates.

This professional report will help us better understand the home's existing conditions, identify preservation needs, and establish informed recommendations for restoration.

It will provide a foundation for future planning, fundraising, and rehabilitation efforts.

The estimated cost of this report is $30,000.

That is where you come in.

The 1,500 × $20 Fundraiser

We believe preserving history should be a community effort and that meaningful change can begin with a small contribution.

Our goal is simple:

1,500 supporters
$20 per supporter
$30,000 toward the Historic Structure Report

You do not have to be a historian, preservation expert, or descendant of Old Quindaro to be part of this effort.

You simply have to believe that our history deserves to be preserved.

Whether you can give $20, $40, $100, or another amount, your contribution brings us closer to taking the next step toward restoring this historic home.

And if you cannot donate financially, sharing this campaign with your friends, family, coworkers, and community is another powerful way to help.

Every contribution and every share helps us reach someone who may not yet know the story of Old Quindaro.

More Than a Museum. A Legacy.

When the Old Quindaro Museum reopens, we want it to serve as more than a destination.

We want it to become a place where descendants can reconnect with their ancestors, children can see themselves reflected in history, and visitors can gain a deeper understanding of the families who helped shape Kansas and the nation.

We want to preserve not only the stories of those who escaped slavery, but also the lives they built afterward.

Their homes. Their schools. Their businesses. Their churches. Their families. Their contributions.

For generations, descendants and community members have worked to keep Old Quindaro's history alive, often without the funding, recognition, or resources that historic preservation requires.

Our responsibility today is to build upon those efforts and create something that will last for generations to come.

We are not just saving an old house. We are preserving a piece of American history, protecting the legacy of our ancestors, and ensuring that the next generation has a place to learn the stories that shaped their community.

The families of Old Quindaro left a legacy of courage, perseverance, and opportunity.

We believe that legacy is worth protecting.

Will You Be One of Our 1,500?

For just $20, you can become part of the movement to save the Old Quindaro Museum.

Your donation will help us move one step closer to completing the Historic Structure Report and establishing a responsible plan for the home's restoration.

1,500 people. $20 each. One shared mission.

Help us preserve the past so future generations can experience it.

Donate today. Share our story. Help us save the Old Quindaro Museum.

With gratitude,

The Board of Directors

Concerned Citizens for Old Quindaro, Inc.

Stewards of the Old Quindaro Museum & Information Center

1,500 x $20: Help Save the Old Quindaro Museum

1,500 People. $20 Each. One Historic Home Worth Saving.

Team Members