On Holden Street at Market Street, on the left when traveling north on Holden Street.
Listed in the National Register
of Historic Places
April 7, 1995
Constructed of locally quarried sandstone, the present Johnson County Courthouse is the oldest of four Missouri courthouses designed by architect George E. McDonald of Omaha, . . . — — Map (db m85430) HM
Father of the Santa Fe Trail
William Becknell led a small group out of Franklin in 1821 on the first trip along what would be known as the Santa Fe Trail. If his trip across the Great Plains was successful, the group would make money trading . . . — — Map (db m46932) HM
On Holden Street at Market Street, on the left when traveling north on Holden Street.
To commemorate
the organization of
Johnson County
on December 13, 1834,
and the location of
the county seat at Warrensburg
on December 13, 1836.
—————————
[On bell]
Johnson . . . — — Map (db m85434) HM
On Main Street south of Gay Street, on the right when traveling south.
Here in 1870, George Graham Vest delivered his Eulogy to the Dog in the Old Drum Case. The building served as a seat of justice, a meetinghouse, and vital record keeper in the county's formative years. It was the scene of a murder, Civil War . . . — — Map (db m85353) HM
On Young Avenue at US Hwy 50 Access Ramp, on the left when traveling east on Young Avenue.
One of Missouri's early western prairie towns, Warrensburg was founded in 1836 as seat of Johnson County, organized in 1834. The town is named for Martin Warren, a pioneer settler, and the county for United States Vice President Richard M. . . . — — Map (db m85327) HM
On Shawnee Mission Parkway near Melrose Lane, on the right when traveling east.
The Santa Fe Trail went through two decades of change in the Kansas City area before evolving into it's final form by about 1840. In the early years of that decade it also became the route of the Oregon Trail and California Trail.
1821 - . . . — — Map (db m50679) HM
On 80th Street at Santa Fe Drive, on the right when traveling west on 80th Street.
The Trip Ahead
The Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails proved to be both challenging and exhilarating for the travelers in the caravans passing near here. Letters and diaries are filled with the adventures, excitement, and hardships . . . — — Map (db m99328) HM
On West 79th Street at Santa Fe Drive, on the right when traveling west on West 79th Street.
Constructed in 1906, this building served
the Missouri-Kansas Interurban Railway as a
power plant and a repair station. Founded
by William B. Strang, the railway transported
passengers between downtown Kansas City,
Missouri and Olathe, Kansas, . . . — — Map (db m251949) HM
On East Red Bridge Road east of East 110th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Why Did The Historic Trails Go Where They Went?
When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, trade with the United States soon followed. William Becknell and five companions from the Franklin, Missouri area were the first to use . . . — — Map (db m199377) HM
On Metcalf Avenue south of 87th Street, on the right when traveling south.
The heritage of Johnson County, Kansas extends back to the native peoples who occupied this land prior to European exploration and settlement. In the 1700s, French explorers, trappers and traders engaged with the Kansa and Osage natives of this . . . — — Map (db m226610) HM
On East Poplar Street at North Kansas City Road, on the right when traveling west on East Poplar Street.
Founded in 1857, Olathe was strategically located on the Santa Fe Trail. In the era of horsepower, the new town was a day's journey from Independence, Missouri. As time passed, Olathe's population and commerce grew, and a faster connection with . . . — — Map (db m20270) HM
On Shawnee Mission Parkway near Melrose Lane, on the right when traveling east.
Westport
Westport, along with Independence, was a major outfitting point for the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. Founded in 1834 by John C. McCoy and platted around the trading post he built the previous year, Westport's early . . . — — Map (db m50723) HM
Establishing the Foundation
Depots connected small communities to larger markets, which created growth in rural Johnson County in the late 1800s. Squire Charles A. Bradshaw and his wife Sarah knew that a depot in Lenexa would promote . . . — — Map (db m312347) HM
With the opening of the Kansas Territory in 1854, people from everywhere began to converge on Kansas. The fertile and inexpensive land available in the territory attracted David Gee Campbell, a Tennessee native. Campbell loaded his wife and their . . . — — Map (db m46857) HM
Historic Frontier Trails cut through the territory now known as Merriam. Hundreds of thousands of people emigrated [sic – immigrated] to the western frontiers along the Oregon and California Trails. The Santa Fe, Oregon and California Trails . . . — — Map (db m46856) HM
From the late 1600’s until the early 1800’s, the Kansa (or Kaw) Indians lived in northeast Kansas. The Indian word Kansa means “People of the South Wind,” and both the state of Kansas and the Kansas River take their name from this . . . — — Map (db m46854) HM
On 80th Street at Santa Fe Drive, on the right when traveling west on 80th Street.
Imagine seeing Santa Fe Trail wagon trains coursing through Overland Park! Around you swirls the sights and sounds of wagons creaking, oxen braying, and wagon masters shouting commands. You are standing between two historic branches of the Santa . . . — — Map (db m99307) HM
The heyday of the trails had come and gone by the time William B. Strang Jr. platted out a residential development in this area in 1905. To promote his real estate plans and bring people out from Kansas City, he developed a trolley car railroad, . . . — — Map (db m100267) HM
On Main Street at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling south on Main Street.
This is the oldest surviving courthouse designed by George P Washburn of Ottawa. Before coming to town, Washburn had worked for the Kansas City architectural firm of Cross and Taylor where he supervised construction of Union railroad depots . . . — — Map (db m67586) HM
On Pennsylvania Avenue at Westport Road, on the right when traveling north on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Price's Raid
Confederate General Sterling Price brought three mounted divisions from Arkansas into Missouri, September 19, 1864. Fighting several small battles he marched slowly north toward St. Louis, then struck westward to Jefferson City. . . . — — Map (db m20868) HM
Like the majority of Johnson County's
landscape, the land around you at
Meadowbrook Park has undergone
numerous changes over time.
Residents' needs and preferences in
different eras shaped how the land
was used and who used it. In . . . — — Map (db m286644) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
