The Gordon Parks Museum was recently awarded a $9,229 grant from Kansas Tourism Attraction Grant for the Wayman Chapel AME Church Commemorative Park Project.

This project is part of The Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announcement on May 20, that $500,000 has been awarded in the latest round of Attraction Development Grant funding.

The church, which once stood at 301 S. Lowman St., was torn down in 2001, and a commemorative park is planned for the site.

The plans are to develop the property as a commemorative low-maintenance park with signs, photos, as a tribute to the A.M.E. church and its historical connection. This is the same church that Gordon Parks and his family attended. It was also used for a scene in the Learning Tree Film.

We are so every excited and honored to receive the Kansas Tourism Attraction Grant and we can't wait to get started on this project to keep our history alive in Fort Scott.

The goal to complete the Commemorative Park Project is by the Annual Gordon Parks Celebration Oct 3 -5, 2024.