Vernon School was originally known as the Colored School of Quindaro., and was a stone building,
replaced by a four-4oom brick structure after the turn of the century. It was later named Vernon
School after Bishop William T. Vernon, of Western University and Registrar of the U.S. Treasury.
This school had its own school district, No. 17, with an all African-American school board. The
current building was constructed in 1936 by the WPA and still operated as a segregated school.
After annexation of the Washington District by the KCKs Public Schools (USD 500) in 1967, the
school was discontinued and the pupils transferred to the Quindaro Elementary School (two blocks
south), which is, itself, descended from the all-white Quindaro School. The Vernon School building
later housed the Vernon Community Center, and was placed on the Register of Historic Kansas
Places 21 August 2004.
Vernon School is Officially Historic: Sept, 2004 - "The Vernon School, a haven of education for
African-American students prior to school integration, has been placed on the Register of Historic
Kansas Places. The Vernon School, built in 1936, is a one-story brick structure located at the corner
of 27th Street and Sewell Avenue. The current building was build as a replacement for the Colored
School of Quindaro, which served freed slaves, but had become overcrowded and a fire hazard. The
school was named for Bishop William Tecumseh Vernon, a president of the defunct Western
University, which also served African Americans. The Vernon School was an all-black institution until
1972, when Quindaro Elementary School was built as part of the KCKs Public School's desegregation
efforts.
Link for Vernon School History - Built in 1936 by the WPA