Quindaro was a town in Kansas Territory on the banks of the Missouri River.
Throughout its brief existence Quindaro was an active stop on the Underground Railroad. Slaves escaping from Missouri and other southern states could travel on from Quindaro to more northern points.
As the plaque says, Quindaro was named for a Wyandot woman who lived there. The word means, roughly, “bundle of sticks.” In other words, a bundle of sticks is stronger than just one stick, and a community is stronger than just one person. The name is appropriate because Kansas had not yet been admitted to the Union as a free state, and the area was surrounded by pro-slavery sentiment. The little community needed to band together in order to survive.
At its peak, Quindaro boasted a newspaper office, post office, a sawmill, a brewery, two hotels, general stores, churches, a livery stable and more. The Wyandott House Hotel was owned by Ebenezer Zane, who was descended from a Wyandot woman. He was imprisoned after being accused of helping slaves escape on the Underground Railroad.
