Beneath this stone is buried a capsule containing papers and items used in celebrating the American Revolution Bicentennial in Johnson County, Kansas. Placed on this Thanksgiving Eve November 24, 1976 A.D. by the Johnson County Bicentennial . . . — — Map (db m69376) HM
According to the agricultural census of that year, Beatty Mahaffie produced 2000 bushels of corn on this farm in 1865. The average Johnson County farm produced 667 bushels. This small field is slightly less than one acre in size. With forty bushels . . . — — Map (db m34460) HM
Perhaps the greatest test of the pioneers' spirit was the loss of children like Asa Smith to the harsh and unforgiving elements of the frontier. His tiny marker stands today at the intersection of K-19 and K-7 Highways. It is joined by this . . . — — Map (db m69377) HM
For over three decades starting in 1827, Elm Grove Campground, one mile east of near the bridge on Cedar Creek, was an important frontier camp site. Thousands of Santa Fe traders, Oregon and California emigrants, missionaries, mountain men, . . . — — Map (db m20093) HM
Stagecoaches carrying passengers of the Barlow and Sanderson stagecoach line pulled into the side yard of the house. This outside door led to the cellar of the house where Lucinda Mahaffie, her daughters, and hired help served meals to hungry . . . — — Map (db m34496) HM
Front, top of base:
To all chaplains who ministered to those men and women who stood in harms way as sentinels of our freedom
Front, on base:
George L. Fox
George Fox was the oldest. Up in Vermont they called him "the . . . — — Map (db m312565) HM WM
Plaque on ground:
This monument honors, recognizes and serves Gold Star Families and the legacy of their Loved Ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.
The Homeland . . . — — Map (db m312560) WM
Olathe captured the attention of the nation, and of the world, in 1970, 1971 and 1972, with four fund-raising drives to provide holiday furloughs for 28 Olathe servicemen then stationed in the Vietnam war zone.
Olathe was the first community . . . — — Map (db m69378) HM WM
J.B. Mahaffie is building, on his farm just east of town a large two story dwelling house.
Olathe Mirror - July 20, 1865
In 1857, James B. (Beatty) and Lucinda Mahaffie moved to Olathe from northern Indiana with four children. In . . . — — Map (db m34503) HM
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
Lone Elm is one of the most historic and important frontier trail camp sites in America and was used as a campground and rendezvous point for all three of our nation's great western roads to the frontier.....the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California . . . — — Map (db m34334) HM
"Travelers came to look upon it as an old friend - they felt an attachment for the tree that had so often sheltered and shaded them from storm and sun..."
W.W.H. Davis (1853)
Lone Elm Park was purchased by the City of Olathe in 2000 to . . . — — Map (db m34339) HM
James and Lucinda Mahaffie served stagecoach passengers and other travelers at this farm starting in 1858. The stone farmhouse was built in 1865. Today, Mahaffie Stagecoach & Farm Historic Site is the only stop left on the Santa Fe Trail that is . . . — — Map (db m312507) HM
The Lone Elm Campground
The land here at Lone Elm met the three requirements for a stopover for travelers on the trail...wood, water, and grass. Wood for campfires and wagon repairs, water for the support of people and animals, and grass for . . . — — Map (db m34342) HM
The agricultural censuses for 1860, 1865, and 1870 make it clear that J.B. Mahaffie had one of the most valuable farming operations in the township.
In 1865, J.B. owned 570 acres of land, with 240 of them enclosed by fence. The total cash value . . . — — Map (db m34529) HM
Why does a race car driver pull into the pits, or a truck driver leave the highway to visit a truck stop? The Mahaffie stagecoach stop offered similar services.
Need repairs or new tires? The federal census for 1865 lists a "R. Vickard" - . . . — — Map (db m34546) HM
"I am glad to get into Kansas again..."
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("FDR") told the audience in Syracuse, Kansas in 1936. The president was returning to Washington, D.C. after a campaign trip by train to Colorado. When he reached Olathe . . . — — Map (db m21671) HM
"These is a romance about the stage coach that will never die. Its jolly driver with his six-in-hand, the merry passenger with his jokes ans stories, and the stations along the road where we used to stretch our tired limbs will long linger like a . . . — — Map (db m20096) HM
This marker commemorates the men and women who achieved American independence. These Patriots, each believing in the noble cause of liberty, valiantly strove to found a new nation.
1775-1783 — — Map (db m312513) WM
The Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail began in 1821 when William Becknell led a small group of men on a trading expedition from frontier Missouri to colonial Santa Fe. Mexico had recently declared its independence from Spain and abolished . . . — — Map (db m34340) HM
Robert R. Osborne - Olathe banker, businessman, and philanthropist, 1904-2001. His longstanding community leadership and unfailing support for those in need helped shape Olathe and its institutions. The art works in this plaza are intended to . . . — — Map (db m69380) HM
Stagecoach drivers were an interesting group by many accounts. Good drivers were sought by stagecoach companies for their skills in driving. They exercised authority similar to ship captains over their coaches and the passengers traveling with . . . — — Map (db m34507) HM
Plaque on top:
Memorial to Stanley T. Adams
B. May 2, 1922 D. April 19, 1999
Medal of Honor Recipient- Korean
Olathe, Kansas is proud to honor one of their own
Marker on ground
Citation: M/Sgt. Adams, Company A, . . . — — Map (db m312546) HM WM
Friends or business associates coming to call on the Mahaffie family used the front door of the house. Stagecoach passengers and other travelers used the side door to reach the dining hall in the cellar, and had no need to enter the private, family . . . — — Map (db m34504) HM
This barn is thought to be the oldest structure standing on the Mahaffie farm. While the siding was replaced at least twice, the frame underneath probably dates to about 1860, when the Mahaffies established the farm and their first home. In 2009, . . . — — Map (db m34542) HM
Our reproduction chicken coop is based on an original coop built in Missouri in the mid-1800s. The sloped gabled-ends provide a perfect place for the chickens to roost, and the doors underneath make it easy to clean out the building.
The . . . — — Map (db m34472) HM
In 1857, Newton Ainsworth claimed this land and allowed the trail travelers to continue camping here. A decade later, the railroads began to make their way west and the great overland trails became a part of history. The need for camping at Lone . . . — — Map (db m34357) HM
The oxen and Conestoga wagon sculpture was originally commissioned in 1994 for use at the Kansas Visitors Center at 119th & Strang Line Road. When the Center closed in 2002 the sculpture was awarded to the City of Olathe. The sculpture has been . . . — — Map (db m34337) HM
The Travelers
For more than four decades, tens of thousands of travelers camped here. The Lone Elm campground was one or two nights out from the frontier "jumping off" points on the Missouri River. The great lone elm tree that gave this . . . — — Map (db m34355) HM
Thanks to archaeological digs carried out in the early 1980s, we know that the Mahaffies' original smokehouse stood about 15 feet behind you, closer to the ice house.
Smokehouses, like ice houses, offered a way to preserve food. In the . . . — — Map (db m34549) HM
You are traveling in the path of countless men, women, and children who passed this very home in the 1860s! When you turned into the parking lot, you pulled off the Westport Route of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails. And now, you're . . . — — Map (db m34470) HM
Conceptualized by Heart of America's own Craig Shannon and Mike Whalen, "Wheels of Progress" represents the evolution of transportation depicted by 4 giant wheels. One in stone to symbolize the prehistoric era, one in wood to symbolize the middle . . . — — Map (db m99462) HM
Buck and Tip, the Mahaffie oxen, are four years old. They are accurately called "oxen" now that they have reached maturity. Until they reach four years of age, young oxen-in-training are properly referred to as working steers. Weighing in about . . . — — Map (db m34514) HM
