Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area

Extraordinary events in Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area forever changed America. In the nineteenth century, the nation turned its eyes to the Missouri-Kansas border, where peoples with diverse definitions of freedom collided, inciting and fueling a Civil War. The impact of these events is forever woven into the nation’s fabric.

The heritage area focuses on three main themes: Shaping the Frontier, Kansas/Missouri Border War and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom.

Shaping the Frontier:
- For the half million pioneers who traveled on the Santa Fe, California, Mormon, and Oregon Trails, the Missouri/Kansas border was the jumping-off point. In this place where river travel ended, traders, miners, and emigrants purchased provisions and prepared for long overland treks. As they traveled west, many began to see the "permanent" Indian frontier beyond Missouri’s western border as an obstacle to Manifest Destiny.

Missouri/Kansas Border War:
- When Kansas was opened for settlement in 1854, a border war ensured, capturing the nation’s attention. The Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the uneasy balance established by the Missouri Compromise and left the territory’s future slave status in the hands of settlers. The stakes were high for both sides. The violence of the Missouri/Kansas Border War ushered in the Civil War, consumed the region in bloody conflict through war’s end, and devastated communities on both sides of the border.

Enduring Struggles for Freedom:
- The nation’s struggle for freedom did not end with the Civil War. Though the war eliminated clashes over geography, efforts to break down society’s barriers continue. Since the Civil War, this place has inspired national policies and ongoing efforts to secure equal freedoms for all Americans.

Counties involved: Kansas – Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Coffey, Crawford, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.

Enduring Struggles For Freedom

Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area

(316) 262-7651 • 601 N Water St, Wichita • Map it

(913) 367-4217 • 223 N Terrace St, Atchison • Map it

(913) 367-6238 • 200 S 10th St, Atchison • Map it

(785) 594-4700 • 1365 N 1250 Road, Lawrence • Map it

785-364-2641 • 22275 N Road • Map it

(620) 856-2385 • 740 East Ave, Baxter Springs • Map it

(785) 883-2106 • 163 E 2000 Road, Wellsville • Map it

(785) 354-4273 • 1515 SE Monroe St, Topeka • Map it

(785) 654-3561 • 117 S Dacotah, Burlingame • Map it

(913) 682-7759 • 1128 5th Ave, Leavenworth • Map it

(620) 364-2653 • 1101 Neosho St, Burlington • Map it

(785) 250-8228 • 427 - 429 S Kansas Avenue, Topeka • Map it

(785) 887-6520 • 319 Elmore, Lecompton • Map it

(620) 231-1440 • 651 U.S. 69, Pittsburg • Map it

(913) 897-2360 • 13800 Switzer Rd, Overland Park • Map it

(785) 242-1232 • 5th & Main Sts, Ottawa • Map it

(785) 864-4900 • 2350 Petefish Dr., Lawrence • Map it

(913) 893-6270 • 406 E. Nelson, Edgerton • Map it

(913) 764-7759 • 909 N Hwy. 7, Olathe • Map it

(785) 784-5535 • Bldg 693 E Huebner Rd., Fort Riley • Map it

(785) 587-2726 • 315 S 3rd, Manhattan • Map it

(620) 767-5882 • 207 W. Main St., Council Grove • Map it

(620) 285-6911 • 1767 KS HWY 156, Larned • Map it

(913) 684-1719 • Grant Ave, Fort Leavenworth • Map it

(785) 239-2022 • I-70 Exit 301, Fort Riley • Map it

(620) 223-0310 • Old Fort Boulevard, Fort Scott • Map it

(785) 856-5300 • 200 W 9th St, Lawrence • Map it

(913) 684-3191 • 100 Reynolds Ave., Ft. Leavenworth • Map it

(913) 856-4447 • 204 West Main Street, Gardner • Map it

(913) 856-6464 • 32505 West 183rd Street, Gardner • Map it

(785) 238-1666 • 530 N Adams, Junction City • Map it

(785) 945-6292 • 318 Broadway, Valley Falls • Map it

(785) 565-6490 • 2309 Claflin Rd, Manhattan • Map it

(800) 874-3722 • 2108 South Horton Street, Fort Scott • Map it

(785) 232-5533 • 701 N Kansas Ave, Topeka • Map it

(913) 299-0373 • 1420 S 78th St, Kansas City • Map it

785-233-4132 • 1601 SE 10th Ave., Topeka • Map it

(620) 473-2250 • 416 N 2nd St, Humboldt • Map it

(913) 321-5800 • 7th and Ann Ave, Kansas City • Map it

(913) 755-4384 • 1000 Main St, Osawatomie • Map it

(913) 826-2787 • Map it

(785) 272-8681 • 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka • Map it

Baxter Springs • Map it

(785) 296-3966 • 300 W. 10th, Topeka • Map it

(785) 887-6148 • 609 E Woodson, Lecompton • Map it

(785) 587-0441 • 100 Konza Prairie Lane, Manhattan • Map it

(785) 864-4450 • 1345 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence • Map it

(913) 893-6645 • 18745 S. Dillie Rd, Edgerton • Map it

(913) 250-0203 • 115 E Kansas Ave, Lansing • Map it

(785) 843-3833 • 707 Vermont St., Lawrence • Map it

(913) 573-8327 • One River City Drive, Kansas City • Map it

(913) 352-8739 • 307 E Park St, Pleasanton • Map it

(620) 289-4238 • 2507 County Rd 3000, Independence • Map it

(620) 223-1312 • 1 S. Main, Fort Scott • Map it

(913) 971-5111 • 1200 East Kansas City Road, Olathe • Map it

(913) 352-8890 • 20485 Hwy 52, Pleasanton • Map it

(913) 352-8956 • 24141 Kansas Highway 52, Pleasanton • Map it

(785) 532-7718 • 14th St & Anderson Ave, Manhattan • Map it

(913) 403-8999 • 6304 East Frontage Road, Merriam • Map it

(913) 294-4940 • 12 E Peoria, Paola • Map it

(785) 594-1335 • 1515 W High St, Baldwin City • Map it

(785) 352-8890 • 20485 Hwy 52, Pleasanton • Map it

(913) 795-2074 • PO Box 95, Mound City • Map it

1/4 mile south of K-99/K-18 Intersection, Wamego • Map it

(913) 333-3500 • 5801 W. 135th St., Overland Park • Map it

(913) 782-5808 • 455 East Park Street, Olathe • Map it

(785) 862-1020 • 125 SE Airport Drive, Topeka • Map it

(913) 721-1075 • 630 N 126th St., Bonner Springs •

(785) 765-2353 • PO Box 67, Alma • Map it

(913) 377-4689 • 36688 New Lancaster Rd, Paola • Map it

(785) 839-4233 • 510 Washington Ave #B1, Nicodemus • Map it

7855948380 • 511 5th St, Baldwin City • Map it

(785) 242-1250 • 135 W Tecumseh, Ottawa • Map it

(785) 863-2070 • Hwy 92/59, Oskaloosa • Map it