Yale, Kansas Explained

Yale, Kansas
Settlement Type:CDP
Image Map1:Map of Crawford Co, Ks, USA.png
Map Caption1:KDOT map of Crawford County (legend)
Pushpin Map:Kansas#USA
Pushpin Label:Yale
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Kansas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Crawford
Subdivision Type3:Township
Established Title:Founded
Established Title1:Platted
Unit Pref:Imperial
Elevation Ft:958
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:81
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:620
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:20-80650
Blank1 Name:GNIS ID
Blank1 Info:2806588

Yale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81.[1] It is located northeast of Frontenac at the intersection of E 600th Ave and S 250th St, about 1 miles west of the Missouri state border. The community is home to the Chicken Mary's and Chicken Annie's restaurants.

History

Yale was a mining town on the Missouri Pacific Railroad.[2] Founded by the Western Coal and Mining Company, Yale served as a primarily African American mining camp from 1890 to 1930.[3] In the 1890’s, Yale was involved in the Big Four Strikes in 1893 and again in 1899.[4] Both strikes resulted in many non-union black miners being brought to the area to work in the mines.[5] Black miners were recruited from Alabama to provide labor during the mining strikes.[6] In 1893, 375 black miners settled in Yale and in 1899, the first importation included 175 black miners. During both strikes, black miners were brought to Yale via the Missouri Pacific Railroad by the Western Coal Mining Company. In 1899, black miners arriving at Yale were shuttled into a stockade to protect them from white striking miners who were not pleased with their arrival.[7] After the second strike ended in September 1899, coal mining companies continued to recruit African American Miners.

By 1900, Yale had grown into a town with a post office, stores, schools, churches, a doctor, and several buildings and homes for the miners and their families. A post office was opened in Yale in 1892, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1914.[8] Newly arriving black miners had to live in a skating rink that was converted into a boarding house. In 1900, the “Big Colored* Band from Yale,” serenaded president Theodore Roosevelt’s arrival in Pittsburg, Kansas. Additionally, in February and March of that year, there were two mild outbreaks of smallpox.

Due to the black migration, racial violence and anti-black sentiment started to grow in the area that was typical during the American Nadir.[9] A local cemetery, now called the Yale African American Cemetery, is located north of Mindenmines, a sundown town east of Yale, in Barton County, MO. It is estimated that 248 individuals are buried in the cemetery. By the early 1930s, most of the African American residents had been forced out of their homes taking part in the Great Migration moving north to Kansas City.   

Demographics

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Profile of Yale, Kansas (CDP) in 2020 . United States Census Bureau . November 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118051854/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2080650 . November 18, 2021 . live.
  2. Book: A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Crawford County, Kansas . The Lewis Publishing Company . 1905 . 51.
  3. Web site: Yale African American Cemetery Collection Pittsburg State University Research Pittsburg State University Digital Commons . 2024-03-10 . digitalcommons.pittstate.edu.
  4. Rietcheck . Chase . 2009 . The Major Strike in Pittsburg Kansas: Strike of 1899 on the Major Coal Mining Strike of 1899 . Theory and Practice: HIST430 . Fall 2009 . 10-13 . Pittsburg State University Digital Commons.
  5. Web site: Yale African American Cemetery Collection Pittsburg State University Research Pittsburg State University Digital Commons . 2024-03-10 . digitalcommons.pittstate.edu.
  6. Web site: African American Residents in Kansas - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society . 2024-03-10 . www.kshs.org.
  7. Robb . John . 1969 . The Black Coal Miner of Southeast Kansas . History of Minority Groups in Kansas . 2 . 5,9,13 . Kansas Government Information Online Library.
  8. Web site: Kansas Post Offices, 1828-1961, page 2 (archived) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131009175340/http://www.kshs.org/geog/geog_postoffices/search/page:2/county:CR . October 9, 2013 . 6 June 2014 . Kansas Historical Society.
  9. Book: Loewen, James . Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism . July 17, 2018 . The New Press . 9781620974346 . 2nd . 161.