Interurban railroad helped spur early growth of this KC-area county seat

The important role that Olathe played in Johnson County’s history is often overlooked.

Founded in 1857 as a stop along the Santa Fe Trail, Olathe (its name means “beautiful” in the Shawnee Indian language) snagged the county seat well before most of Johnson County’s bigger cities even existed.

Park Street, pictured in this postcard from the late 1920s, was the center of activity from the beginning. In fact, the first permanent county courthouse occupied the second floor of the Harry Case Building on Park just west of Cherry Street where the courthouse square sits now. (It was replaced in 1892.)

The Park Cherry Building with its distinctive tower dates back to 1879. Over the years, it housed a bank, shops and professional offices. J.C. Nichols, an Olathe native, occupied it for a while during the early days of his real estate career.

From 1927 to 1984, the Trail Theater showed movies in the eastern half of the building.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing shown here are the tracks bisecting Park Street.

Those tracks carried the Strang Line Interurban between Kansas City and Olathe. The brainchild of William Strang, Jr., the gas/electric commuter railroad opened in 1906. But as paved roads began to stretch further and further from the city, ridership steadily declined.

In 1940., the operation shut down for good.

Ironically, one of the stops that Strang created halfway along the 23-mile route fared much better. By the time Overland Park was incorporated in 1960, the young town had already grown to twice the size of Olathe.

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This story was originally published October 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.