Gypsy Heart
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Dunlap, incorporated in 1875 by Joseph Dunlap, is guarded by the Neosho River and Rock Creek valleys. The area, once part of the Kansa Indian Reservation, was cheap and came on the market after the tribe was moved to Oklahoma. Just the spot Benjamin “Pap” Singleton wanted to put 300 black exodusters. Born into slavery in 1809, Singleton grew up in Nashville, Tenn., eventually escaping to Canada. When the Civil War was over, Singleton went back to Nashville, where he started the Tennessee Real Estate & Homestead Association, which he organized to help blacks purchase farms. Land in Tennessee was expensive, so Singleton turned his eyes to Kansas. In 1878, three years after starting his first black colony in Kansas, Singleton founded the Dunlap Colony. About 300
exodusters followed Singleton to Dunlap — a white community of about 200 families. They built homes in different areas around the community, one in Dunlap itself, two in Lyon County and one seven miles north of the community. Colonists made down payments on 40- and 80-acre plots at a cost of $1 to $2 an acre, Whitaker said.
exodusters followed Singleton to Dunlap — a white community of about 200 families. They built homes in different areas around the community, one in Dunlap itself, two in Lyon County and one seven miles north of the community. Colonists made down payments on 40- and 80-acre plots at a cost of $1 to $2 an acre, Whitaker said.
