St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-28
QUINDARO,
The Freesoil City That Was Born,
Lived and Died Within Fifty

IHc Clty mat WAS Born,
Lived and Died Within Fifty
Years.
Within an hOnr's ride of Kansas City,
says the Kansas City Star, sleep the re-
mains of IL city lost and dead. Midway
between Parkville and Kansas City the
Missouri makes a broad, smooth sweep
from south TO southeast. At the elbow
a rough valley indents at right angles
with the river. Here, in this stony,
rugged vale, within the memory of liv-
ing men. Il city was born and lived and
died.
Back through the haze of years and
smoke of war one sees the founding of
QuindarO. At the beginning of the bor-
del war, when the question was Exam
sas; Free State or Slave?" the abolition
IL slavery clements str0ve with each
Other for the privilege of answering.
The matter vas to be left to a vote of
the people of the territory. and both
sides began the work of throw
ing in adherents. The obvious
and natural route to the dis
puted land was from st. Louis by
the Missouri river. This became traught
with difficulty 10 the abolitionists.
LeavenwOrth, WyandOtte, Atchison,
Westport and Liberty landings were in
the hands of the pro-slavery people, and
steamboats, carrying a passenger list
which represented an OPPOSING senti-
inent were prevented from landing. The
abolition party had Lawrence and other
inland towns. but no river point, 1t was
necessary to have II or lose Kansas to
the enemy.
A company of those interested, call
ING themselves the Quindaro Townsite
company, with Charles Robinson,
bought G40 acres-one SQUARE mile
from the Wyandotte Indians. 1t had a
river frontage which offered q rock
landing, to steamboats,, and on this a
city was laid out and its streets sur
vtyed. Afterward 200 acres more were
added Oh the south. The news of the
foundation of this new metropolis was
spread III all the Northern and New
England states, and emigfantS of free
SOIL tendencies were directed to debark
at QuiDdarO. Its star Shone IN luster and
grew. This was in 1857.
Two years saw Quindaro expand into
q busy community of $500 people,
Steamers crowded its levee, and boxes.
and bales, and barrels were piled as high
as houses. There was not a ~livelier
point on the river up stream from St.
Louis. and QuindarO was the great dis
trlbutlng point tor Kansas.
Col. Park, who founded ParkviIle and
the university which bears his name,
put up d four-story stone block at Quir-
daro fronting the ievee ana inland Some
twenty rods. The walls of the old store,
ruined and partially fallen, still stand to
mark the place. They are crumbled
nov and grown and ciambered over with
Ivy. whose red and turning leaves tell
OF the autumn'S frost.
" lfh the >fnrn aon.n n lonl- 1r;Il;.r
churches, school houses, other store
buildings. a tannery, a big hotel. a soar
factory ana p%rChibition as a sentiment
being not yet develOped) a brewery was
bnllt. and. besides all these, dwelling
houses Sprang up in due and lust pro-
portion to the business of the place,
while small-fry enterprises, such as
blacksmith shops, lime kilns and quar-
res were abundant. Quindaro was one
neVcr-endIng market. Long trains of
wagons, with teams Of mules or oxen AS
motors. came in empty and departed
creaking and grooming their complaints
OF heavy loads. Streets were cut anu
graded in the hills, and the stream,
which seemed TO be in the center of he
city, was put out of sight in a sewer.
VI all these structures few remain.
The big hotel has gone. The churches,
school houses, the factories, the shops.
the stores, the dwelling houses, all are
departed; and save for seven or eight
stone ruins, rOo1eSS and windowless,
with naught remaining but the walls,
QuindarO'S site could scarcely be pointed
out.
Somewhat in irony, perhaps, the
brewery is the best preserved of all. Its
main building, two stories of stone, is
standing. and a community of negroes
nest therein. Back OF the building,
blown iii the living bedrock of the hill,
is an immense vault or cellar used for
merly for cooling thesbrew.
Up the hill. across the valley from the
brewery, are the ruins of a pretty stone
cottage which was built by Judge
Wright, now OH the bench in Indiana,
and who occupied this cottage as a
dwelling. All I'VE the hillsides and
down the valleys are the fouldatlo;.
marks OF hundreds of buildings and nu-
meroUs street lines.