Votaw Colony Museum, Incorporated is a nonprofit organization committed to identifying and reconnecting descendants of the Exodusters to each other, and connecting Kansas pre-Civil War and Civil War history to descendants of slaves and Exoduster descendants.
Our task is to bring to life the experiences and stories of the ex-slaves and freedmen who built Votaw Colony. We are dedicated to preserving this history by documenting stories that have been passed down, as well as collecting and housing historical documents and artifacts which speak to the lives and experiences of the Votaw colonists.
Nat Fitz is the founder of Votaw Colony Museum, Inc. An old newspaper article that was sent to his parents sparked his interest in Votaw Colony. Fitz discovered that a house from the colony was still standing in Coffeyville, Kansas. It was divided into four sections, loaded onto hay wagons, and moved from the Votaw Colony location to Coffeyville. Mrs. Olga Heaven, a descendant of Paul Davis, owns the house.