John Brown Memorial History

John Brown Memorial Park Kansas, as a tendon, has created motion for change since its inception as a territory. As a territory in the Nineteenth Century, Kansas was a part of a network of trails. Examples of those trails were the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and numerous military trails that the United States Army used to resupply the forts across Kansas to protect the wagon trains moving settlers on the Oregon Trail and trade goods along the Santa Fe. Another trail came into Kansas and it was spoken in whispers by abolitionists seeking to move runaway slaves to the freedom of Canada. That trail was the Underground Railroad. One of the stations along the Underground Railroad is located in Osawatomie, Kansas at the John Brown Memorial
It is set up as it would have been during the era. The front room has a low ceiling so that the fireplace could easily heat the room. The upstairs was set up as a sleeping chamber while the backroom of the cabin served as the kitchen which originally had a root cellar that was used to hide runaway slaves. Many displays adorn the cabin, such as sabers, muskets, knives, a manual drill, a portrait of John Brown, and pictograms of historical facts. The cabin is best experienced when its curator, Grady Atwater is present. Grady is one of the most knowledgeable historians on John Brown as he has read many primary sources of historical works such as letters written by persons on both sides of Bleeding Kansas. As one researches the facts and myths about John Brown and the events he was involved in, one learns that numbers and facts vary as well as whether or not John Brown was a crazed killer. Grady has thoroughly researched the subject and can give the closest accounts based on facts. One such fact is that John Brown refused to take revenge on the man who killed one of his sons, which does not support the crazed killer
Grady Atwater, the curator, presented the argument that John Brown was a God fearing Calvinist who was trying to eliminate the sins of slavery. Grady’s narrative of John Brown’s refusal to execute the man who killed one of his sons soundly defeated any other narrative that supported the notion that John Brown was a crazed killer. Because Grady has analyzed letters as primary sources, as well as government correspondence, his argument is very persuasive to anyone who understands critical thinking, unless you are from Missouri or live across the street, displaying the Confederate battle