Welcome to the Freedom's Frontier
Partnership Team!

Shaping the Frontier:
For the half million pioneers who traveled on the Santa Fe, California, Mormon, and Oregon Trials, the Missouri/Kansas border was the jumping off point. In this place where river travel ended, traders, miners, and emigrants purchased provisions and prepared for long overland treks. As they traveled west, many began to see the "permanent" Indian frontier beyond Missouri’s western border as an obstacle to Manifest Destiny.

Missouri/Kansas Border War:
When Kansas was opened for settlement in 1854, a border war ensured, capturing the nation’s attention. The Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the uneasy balance established by the Missouri Compromise and left the territory’s future slave status in the hands of settlers. The stakes were high for both sides. The violence of the Missouri/Kansas Border War ushered in the Civil War, consumed the region in bloody conflict through war’s end, and devastated communities on both sides of the border.

Enduring Struggles for Freedom:
The nation’s struggle for freedom did not end with the Civil War. Though the war eliminated clashes over geography, efforts to break down society’s barriers continue. Since the Civil War, this place has inspired national policies and ongoing efforts to secure equal freedoms for all Americans.

Next scheduled meeting: Tuesday, July 28, 10 a.m. via Zoom. Register for this meeting.        

*Meeting Summaries  
      Johnson County Library 01.12.2017
      Historic Truman Courthouse 03.09.2017 
      Tonganoxie Community Historical Society 05.11.2017 
      Bushwhacker Museum 07.13.2017 
      Kansas City Public Library 01.11.2018 
      Schuyler Museum 03.08.2018 
      Bates County Museum 05.10.2018 
      Banner Creek Science Center & Observatory 07.12.2018 
      University of Central Missouri 09.13.2018 
      Mid-Continent Library (Woodneath Library Center) 03.14.2019
*Some older meeting minutes can be found on the Planning Docs page, under Archives.
More than a Yellow Brick Road: A Freedom's Frontier "Podioguide"    

Partner Advisory Group Members    

Location: 41 counties in Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri, USA
Area: 31,021 square miles, approximately the size of South Carolina
Population: 2,883,526 (2017 estimate)
Established: October 12, 2006

Counties involved: Kansas – Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Coffey, Crawford, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Montgomery, Neosho, Osage, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte. Missouri – Barton, Bates, Buchanan, Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Lafayette, Platte, Ray, St. Clair, Vernon.

These and other documents are on the Planning Docs page.

Partner List  
Welcome Letter
2020 Complete Partnership Pledge (one pdf; documents listed individually below)    
Partnership Pledge 
Statement of National Significance 
Base Map of Freedom's Frontier Counties in KS/MO
Who Do I Contact? 
Partner Benefits 
Interpretive Grant Application 
Professional Development Scholarship Criteria 
Bus on Us! Flier 
Tacha Freedom Award Flier 
Instructions for Partner Microsite     
Past Partnership Meeting Host Locations 

More information about partner opportunities (including the Interpretive Grant and Professional Development Grant programs) can be found on the Resources page.