2. On behalf of the Independence Ladies Benevolent Society

2: Where Elsa "The Unmarried" Tindall greets wealthy newcomer Cedric Lloyd

Hale Alcorn was one of the few white men who regularly visited Independence. As an immigration agent for the Southwestern Pacific Railroad, Hale recognized the unmet desire among American settlers for land to call home.

When he met Edward McCabe in Kansas two years earlier, Hale saw the chance to grow the market for the railroad by meeting the desire among Negroes hungry for land, security, and homes. He and Edward formed the Independence Town Company and platted the town on land unclaimed during the 1889 land run.

When Edward McMann and Hale Alcorn conceived of Independence, they started by surveying the land. Then Mr. Alcorn filed the land patent with the federal government and paid for the one-hundred-and-sixty-acre townsite. Edward formed the Independence Town Real Estate and Immigration Association, which he ran from an office on the eastern side of McMann’s Restaurant & Rooming House.

Now, Edward traveled the southeast, promoting Independence to blacks with the means to carry themselves to the Territory and make a new life. For a commission of the fee that went to Mr. Alcorn, Edward guaranteed homesteaders a town lot upon their arrival, the promise of even more land when the Kiowas land run opened, and the dream of a genuine chance at freedom and prosperity.

Hale used his own travels as a railroad immigration agent and his increasing political power in the Territorial Capital in Destry to promote the town to blacks around the country.

Now, as Hale stepped away from the coach’s door, a tall, dark-skinned man in a tailored waistcoat, frock coat, and pressed trousers stepped down from Grady’s buggy. The newcomer appeared mature, perhaps around forty, and delight lit his round brown eyes as he looked at his welcome party.

"Well, good morning, ladies," he said in a smooth, deep voice.

Elsa Tindall stepped forward. “Good morning, Mr. Lloyd. I am Mrs. Elsa Tindall, a widow."

"You have my condolences, Mrs. Tindall," Cedric said, with a small dip of his afroed head.

"I have persevered, Mr. Lloyd,” Elsa said, straightening her spine, which pushed her meager breasts against her bodice. “A necessary trait in this land. On behalf of the Independence Ladies Benevolent Society, please allow me to welcome you to Independence.”

“And what a welcome it is," Cedric said as he beamed at the women. "I could not have dreamed of a more promising arrival." He grinned at Hale. “Such a bevy of angelic faces suggests that Independence may well be the Negro paradise of which you have boasted.”

“Oh, I assure you it is, Mr. Lloyd,” Elsa said, stepping forward to Cedric even as Hale opened his mouth to respond. “Our young town is no more than two years old, but already we boast a barbershop, a watch shop, a bank, a common school, and two churches."

"And now I have come to build a cotton mill," Cedric said.

"Indeed," Elsa said as she placed his hand on her arm and turned Cedric toward the boardwalk stairs. “Tell me,” she said, as she led him into the McMann Restaurant and Rooming House. "Is there a Mrs. Lloyd who might enjoy our bakery and our dress shop?”