Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2026 Heritage and Project Grants, supporting organizations across Kansas and Missouri that preserve historic resources, expand educational opportunities, and share regional history.
The selected projects advance FFNHA’s mission to preserve, interpret, and promote the nationally significant stories of the settlement of the western frontier, the Kansas-Missouri Border War, and the enduring struggle for freedom.
FFNHA Heritage Grants provide up to $10,000 for larger-scale efforts to preserve historic resources, develop exhibits, create educational programs, and expand public access to regional history. FFNHA Project Grants provide up to $3,000 for projects that strengthen local preservation, improve interpretation, and connect residents and visitors with community history.
“Each of these projects helps preserve and share the stories that make our region nationally significant,” said Lucinda Adams, Executive Director of Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. “Through these grants, we are investing in local organizations that connect residents and visitors with the people, places, and events that shaped our nation’s history.”
The FFNHA grant program provides financial assistance to partner organizations working to preserve historic resources, expand educational programming, increase heritage tourism, and engage communities throughout the 41-county Freedom’s Frontier region spanning eastern Kansas and western Missouri.
2026 Heritage Grant Recipients:
- Clay County Historic Sites (Liberty, Missouri)
Slave Dwelling Project with Joseph McGill - Douglas County Historical Society (Lawrence, Kansas)
Stories of Resilience - Douglass School Project (Higginsville, Missouri)
Douglass School Restoration and Museum - Humanities Kansas (Topeka, Kansas)
Exploring Democracy Beyond 250 - Oregon-California Trails Association (Independence, Missouri)
Digitization of Oregon and California Trail Diaries - St. Joseph Museums / Black Archives Museum (St. Joseph, Missouri)
Midtown Corridor Signs: Exploring Black History in St. Joseph - Wornall/Majors House Museums (Kansas City, Missouri)
Rethinking the Western Frontier
2026 Project Grant Recipients:
- Fort Osage National Historic Landmark Association (Sibley, Missouri)
2026 Association Musket Initiative - Geary County Historical Society (Junction City, Kansas)
Portrait of a County Exhibit - Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes (Fort Scott, Kansas)
Fort Scott Stories: A Wall Mount Touch Screen for Fort Scott African American, Jewish, and Native American History and Unsung Heroes - Miners Hall Museum Foundation (Franklin, Kansas)
Preserving Coal Camp Stories: Mural Restoration at Miners Hall Museum - Smithville Missouri Historical Society (Smithville, Missouri)
Founders Historical Marker and Tombstone
Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area (FFNHA) builds awareness of struggles for freedom in western Missouri and eastern Kansas. Established by Congress in 2006, FFNHA covers a unique physical and cultural landscape across 41 counties and 31,000 square miles. It promotes three diverse, interwoven, and nationally significant stories: frontier settlement, the Missouri-Kansas Border War and Civil War, and enduring civil rights disputes. FFNHA inspires respect for multiple perspectives and empowers area residents to preserve and share these stories, achieving its goals through interpretation, preservation, conservation, and education for all residents and visitors. It is one of 62 federally recognized national heritage areas across the United States.