Morris County Historical Society

04/24/2026

This morning our thoughts and concerns are with the folks at or near Lake Kahola after a tornado came through the lakeside community last night. 70 years to the year of the last tornado to strike Lake Kahola, 1956.

02/23/2026

Dr Jennifer Gordon of Topeka presented "Dunlap Exodusters - Songs of My Ancestors" to a "full house" at University United Methodist Church in Salina Sunday Feb 22. (photo from UUMC)

02/23/2026

Join us at the monthly meeting at Carnegie Archives, 303 W Main, Council Grove. Lower level. Begins 5:15 pm

02/18/2026

THANKS TO DR JENNIFER GORDON , of Topeka, who will be presenting her story in concert "DUNLAP EXODUSTERS Songs of my Ancestors" Febr 22 at University UMC in Salina during BlackHistory Month. Mrs. Gordon presented her concert at the Council Grove-Dunlap UMC last year to benefit the Dunlap Colored Cemetery, where many of the original Exodusters are interred, and the Dunlap Learning Academy Museum in cooperation with the MCHS and CGDunlap UMChurch.

A concert celebrating Black History Month will take place at University United Methodist Church this month.
Beginning at at 3 p.m. Feb. 22, Jennifer Gordon and Gayle McMillen will present “The Dunlap Exodusters ⏤ Songs of My Ancestors,” according to a community announcement from Salina.

The concert will tell the story of Gordon’s ancestors who settled in Dunlap in 1878. The program will feature Negro spirituals and include a PowerPoint presentation narrated by Sandra Beverly.
Gordon was born in Salina and began singing at a young age. She took voice lessons at 12 and participated in school and community choirs. At 19, she auditioned for “Up With People” and was selected as a soloist, performing across the country and in Mexico.
She attended Friends University in Wichita and was a soloist with the Friends University Singing Quakers and the choir at First United Methodist Church in Wichita. Gordon also performed with Wichita Music Theatre. She later completed her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at Kansas Wesleyan University while raising her family.

Gordon continued her passion for singing, taking voice lessons and performing concerts in Salina. She trained under Elmer Copley at Bethany College with the help of a Horizon grant. Over the past two decades, she has sung in several Topeka churches, including University United Methodist Church, Susanna Wesley United Methodist and Lowman United Methodist Church. For the past two years, she has been a member of the Community Gospel Choir of Topeka.

Gordon enjoys creating vocal music programs that highlight the African American experience. Her program, “The Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” has been presented at several colleges and churches in Kansas. She also performed “A Concert of Negro Spirituals” at the Smoky Hill Museum in Salina, which coincided with an exhibit on the rise of Black churches in eastern American cities.

01/15/2026

Reminder: Monthly Board Meeting coming up! Help shape the MCHS calendar for 2026! Carnegie Archives, 303 W Main, Lower Level, Council Grove.

12/25/2025

Our friend and works-contributor at MCHS, Jim Sharp, has passed away at the age of 101 years at Good Shepherd Hospice in Manhattan. A farmer-rancher in Morris County for many of his years, at the age of 80 he turned to writing about his experiences growing up and living in Morris County with the resultant book Black Settlers on the Kaw Indian Reservation. Jim was also a veteran of WWII, served at the Battle of the Bulge, was a Sgt of the Guard at the Nuremburg Trials and his writings of those times and places brought many insights to all of us thru his personal perspective. His programs were a pleasure to attend as he related so well with his audiences in his presentations.

A visitation will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday January 15th at Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, Manhattan, Kansas. A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday January 16th, at College Avenue United Methodist Church in Manhattan, Kansas.

12/15/2025

11/25/2025

Support our local businesses in Morris County!! Give thanks for all the local businesses that enhance our community. Buy Local!

11/04/2025

This Saturday, between 3 and 430 pm. at Flint Hills Books, Main Street, Council Grove, stop in and meet the author and purchase his book on Ike.

11/04/2025

Great News - the Kansas State Historical Society Museum in Topeka (just off Wanamaker Road in west Topeka) is reopening after a massive refresh! If you happen to be up in Topeka that weekend, stop in!

11/02/2025

Coming Soon for 2025 -- NOVEMBER 12 --- MCHS will again be participating in this important fundraising event for non-profit organizations in our community. Please consider donating to MCHS on this day for matching funds by the Council Grove Area Foundation on your donations to MCHS and other registered groups. Last year's monies helped bring Phase 1 of the Santa Fe Trail Rendezvous into reality. More to come!