projects.
Advance Bourbon County is proud to support local projects through fundraising efforts.
Our primary way of doing this is to bring entertainment events to Fort Scott.
Memorial Hall
We are currently raising funds to help make improvements to Memorial Hall. In 1925 this neoclassical building was constructed and dedicated to the men and women who gave their lives serving our country in World War I. It is a contributing property to Fort Scott’s Downtown Historic District and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. The building will celebrate its 100th birthday in just two short years.
Splashpad and Sensory Park
We were proud to have played such a large part in raising funds for the All Inclusive Splashpad and Sensory Park that will be coming to Fort Scott in the summer of 2023. This park will improve quality of life and community engagement by providing an outdoor recreational amenity that encourages and fosters socialization and inclusion for all demographics. This will be Fort Scott’s first and only fully accessible park.
HISTORIC CHURCH PROPERTY DONATED TO THE GORDON PARKS MUSEUM
Fort Scottian Josh Jones purchased the property at 301 Lowman for a philanthropic purpose.
“I purchased it from the owner with the intent to transfer it to the Gordon Parks Museum,” Jones said. “I knew of the historic meaning of the property and wanted to get it to them.”
On the property once stood the historic African-American Methodist Episcopal Church.
Now it’s the property of the Gordon Parks Museum, thanks to Jones and the Fort Scott Community College Foundation, according to a press release from the museum director, Kirk Sharp.
“The FSCC Foundation Department helped with getting it deeded into their name, the museum is under its umbrella,” Sharp said.
“Jones donated the site on the southeast corner of Third and Lowman streets where the church, attended regularly by Gordon Parks and his family, was located,” according to the press release. “The church was also used in a scene from Parks’ acclaimed film, The Learning Tree.”
“We are very excited about this donation and can’t thank Josh and the Foundation enough,” said Sharp. “This donation creates this wonderful opportunity to keep this incredible history alive in Fort Scott. This is also the same location that is located on our Learning Tree Film Sign Trail.”
The tentative plans, Sharp said, are to develop the property as a commemorative, low-maintenance park neighborhood-type park with signs, photos, benches and short walls with a history of the church as a tribute.
“The museum will look for possible grants and donations to help fund this project,” he said. “There is currently no timeline as of now for the completion of the tribute project.”
In its heyday, the church, established in 1866, was the hub of Fort Scott’s black community, according to the press release. The church moved from its original location in 1885, occupying a new brick building on the corner of Third and Lowman, where it stood at 301 S. Lowman with a viable congregation for more than 115 years.
A reduction in members and unsafe conditions eventually led to its condemnation and razing in the early 2000s, Sharp said. One of the stained-glass windows and two of the pews are on exhibit at the Gordon Parks Museum.
“The largest congregation was believed to have been in 1888,” he said. “The city directory for that year indicates the membership was 260 and the Sunday school membership was 100.”
The AME church was Fort Scott’s first and oldest black church with Shiloh Baptist being the second.