Zachary T. Fletcher

Zachary T. Fletcher, date unknown

Graham County Historical Society

Quick Facts

Significance:

Instrumental in the development of Nicodemus, Kansas.

Place of Birth:

McCracken County, Kentucky

Date of Birth:

June 12, 1846

Place of Death:

Nicodemus, Kansas

Date of Death:

February 24, 1927

Place of Burial:

Nicodemus, Kansas

Cemetery Name:

Nicodemus Cemetery

Zachariah T. Fletcher was a prominent leader and businessman in Nicodemus during its early history and was instrumental in the development of the community.

Z. T. Fletcher was born on June 12, 1846 in McCracken County, Kentucky. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the United States Army and was part of the 8th Regiment of the US Colored Heavy Artillery, Company B recruited out of Paducah, Kentucky and surrounding towns.

He relocated from Nebraska by way of Topeka to Nicodemus, Kansas and arrived in Nicodemus on July 30, 1877 with the very first group of settlers, accompanied by his wife Jenny (also called Francis) and their children, Thomas H. and Joseph.

Zach Fletcher and his family achieved several "firsts" in Nicodemus. Being fortunate enough to have some personal capital, Fletcher set up the first business In Nicodemus, a small general store, in the winter of 1877-1878. He ran this store, sometimes called the "Generally Out-of-Everything Store" in a dugout just outside of town, though it would eventually move onto the townsite. Additionally, Fletcher opened Nicodemus' first post office and became its first postmaster. Also in the winter of 1877-1878, Zach's wife, Jenny, ran the first school in Nicodemus in the family dugout, teaching basic literature, arithmetic, moral values, and hygiene.

In 1881, Zach and his brother, Thomas Fletcher, built the limestone St. Francis Hotel, named in honor of his wife. Also housing a restaurant on the building's first floor, this would become the most popular and longest lasting hotel in town, and was just one part of whole Fletcher spread. On the same lot as the St. Francis Hotel, Z. T. Fletcher ran his general store and post office, and Jenny Fletcher ran a millinery and dress shop. On the south side of this lot, Zach and Thomas Fletcher ran a successful livery business.

The Fletchers continued to play a prominent role in education in the community. When Nicodemus organized School District #1, Graham County's first formal school, in 1879, Z. T. Fletcher was on the school board. He also allowed the school to meet in his dugout and later the St. Francis Hotel until an official schoolhouse was built in 1887.

Z. T. Fletcher worked hard to help his community develop and to enrich its civic life. In 1880, he served as a delegate for Graham County to the Kansas Convention for Colored Men, and throughout his life served on Graham County Republican Committee. Related to local politics, Zach Fletcher served several years as Nicodemus Township's Justice of the Peace, presiding over marriages and handling various legal matters. Fletcher was also a member of the Nicodemus Cornet Band and Nicodemus Land Company. The Nicodemus Land Company gave away town lots to anyone who would agree to improve on the land, encouraging economic growth in Nicodemus.

Like other growing Great Plains towns, Nicodemus urgently wanted a rail connection. In 1887, the community chose a group of seven businessmen, including Zach and Thomas Fletcher, to negotiate with the Missouri Pacific Railroad about a potential route through Nicodemus. Unfortunately, Nicodemus failed to secure a railroad line, dimming the prospects for Nicodemus’s growth.

Z. T. Fletcher sold his town lots to W. R. Hill in the late 1890s, though he still continued to run each business, even as the town began to decline and community members moved. At some point in the early 1900s, Fletcher did eventually close the St. Francis Hotel, though he continued to run his other businesses and contribute to town life.

Zachariah T. Fletcher died on February 24th, 1927, and was buried in the Nicodemus Cemetery. The St. Francis Hotel still stands and is owned by the Switzer family.

Learn more about Black Homesteading in America.

Sources

• 1880 U.S. Census. United States.
• Burden, Don, et al. Historic Resources Study, Nicodemus National Historic Site. Omaha, NE: Midwest Regional Office, National Park Service, 2011.
• Hamilton, Kenneth Marvin. "The Settlement of Nicodemus: Its Origins and Early Promotion." In Promised Land on the Solomon: Black Settlement at Nicodemus, Kansas, edited by Gregory D. Kendrick. U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Rocky Mountain Region, 1984.
• "Nicodemus Township." The Reveille-New Era, July 20, 1916. Kansas Historical Open Content (1800-2001) on Newspapers.com.
• O' Brien, Claire. "With One Mighty Pull": Interracial Town Boosting in Nicodemus, Kansas." Great Plains Quarterly 16, no. 2 (Spring 1996).
• Patent Details - BLM GLO Records
• Schwendemann, Glen. Nicodemus: Negro Haven on the Solomon. Topeka, KS: State of Kansas Commission on Civil Rights, 1971.
• "Zachariah T. Fletcher," Find A Grave, last updated July 29, 2009. Zachariah T. Fletcher (1846-1927) - Find a Grave Memorial