A look back in time at the county seat: It was a ‘beautiful’ start

In 1857, yet another town in what eventually became Kansas was named by those with Shawnee Indian heritage.

Town founder John T. Barton, an Indian agent, struck by the magnificence of the prairie and wildflowers, asked a Shawnee Indian friend his native word for beautiful.

Olathe was born in the center of what became Johnson County, named for the Rev. Thomas Johnson, founder of the Shawnee Indian Mission.

The Olathe Townsite Corporation — under Barton, Charles Osgood and others — laid out a grid of streets and began selling lots to settlers. Boundaries were roughly oriented around the main thoroughfares of Santa Fe Street and Kansas Avenue and made up four square miles. The town grew rapidly beating out Princeton to become county seat.

A public square where the first building was erected served as grocery, drugstore and the first hotel in the early days. Other settlers arrived, farmed and opened businesses, and by 1860 the population was 341. Today, the 60.4-square-mile city is estimated at 143,000 and growing, said Jimmy Mack, the city of Olathe’s communication specialist.

“The profile of Olathe is changing,” said local historian Bob Courtney, adding that he means both physically, and the way the area is used.

The downtown library, having outgrown its space will move to a new location and in its place will be two multi-storied apartment buildings facing each other.

Built north of Santa Fe, they will be owned by the developer, and leased by the city. The buildings will also contain businesses.

The new county courthouse at Santa Fe and Kansas will replace the existing one, he said.

It was not always smooth sailing, said local historian Bob Courtney. Leading up to the Civil War, tension between pro-slavery and abolition factions kept the area in turmoil. Even reaching statehood as a Free State in 1861 did not stop guerrilla leader William Quantrill and his raidersfrom destroying much of Olathe and killing residents in 1862. Two other pro-slavery raids ensued during the war. The Union military post built to protect the town was decommissioned in 1865.

Like some of its neighbors, such as Lenexa, Olathe was a stop on the three trails to the west — the Santa Fe, Oregon and California. An area from Olathe to Gardner it is the only place in the country the three trails coincide. Preserved today from that era is the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm, now a city owned museum and historic site at 1100 Kansas City Road.

James Beatty Mahaffie and Lucinda Mahaffie bought a farm site in 1857 on the Westport Route of the Santa Fe Trail, which served the three westward routes. Contracted by the Barlow, Sanderson and Company Stagecoach line to provide a rest stop for their coaches, the family soon had a successful business.

The basement of their stone farmhouse served as many as 100 travelers a day by 1867. The arrival of the railroad in 1869 heralding the demise of the stagecoaches did not impact the family’s fortunes, as Mahaffie worked to bring the railroad to Olathe. Today, the successor of that line, the BNSF, runs two mainline tracks with approximately 150 trains a day. One track has been elevated to permit ease of vehicular traffic and the other has established a “quiet zone” so the trains horns do not interrupt proceedings in the courthouse.

Settlers arrived from Missouri, Arkansas and Indian Territory during the 19th century. The commercial district grew near the intersection of Park and Cherry streets. M.G Miller opened a grocery and acquired buildings around it about the turn of the century. Among the oldest still standing is the Park-Cherry building.

In the 1880s, Courtney said, the Hyer Boot Company was asked to design a boot with a pointed toe and a higher heel — perhaps the first cowboy boot.

Each era left its mark. During the Great Depression, the Works Progress administration employed many local people to improve and build the city’s streets, construct a pool and build the first permanent post office. World War II saw the construction of the Olathe Naval Air Station that trained many a pilot into the jet age until it was decommissioned in 1969. Now the New Century AirCenter, located at the former military base, contains a business park and its proximity to the railroad and I-35 has made it an intermodal center.

World War II created a pent-up need for housing, jobs and education as the service men and women came home. Beginning circa 1950, the growth rate has climbed steadily. Today Olathe has five high schools, 10 middle schools and 36 elementary schools. It’s home to MidAmerica Nazarene University and the Kansas State School for the Deaf, the location of the only independently owned and public museum about Deaf History, arts and culture in the United States: The William J. Marra Museum is at 450 E. Park. Marra, who was deaf, taught at the school for 38 years.

The Olathe Community Hospital opened in 1953 with 30 beds. It is now the longest-standing hospital in Johnson County, said Mike Jensen, vice president of marketing and external affairs for the medical system. It has relocated twice in order to accommodate the growth. Led by Frank Devocelle, its former president and CEO, moved to its present location in 1987 and rebranded to Olathe Medical Center and has 300 beds.

The Olathe Unified School District is the largest employer in Olathe followed by Garmin, Farmers Insurance, and the Medical Center.

The city has listened to its residents and created parks, trails, nature centers and other amenities such as Lake Olathe and a summer concert series. Th city is working on the recurring theme for a vibrant downtown.

The city is not resting on its prior successes, said Mayor Michael Copeland. It has created Olathe 2040: Future Ready, a strategic plan to be ahead of the game.

“The world is moving at a pace faster than ever,” Copeland said, “and we are committed to staying ahead of it.”

The document will focus on five areas: Future Ready, Economy, Exceptional Services and Infrastructure. It is designed as a living document to “address tomorrow’s issues today” not to put on the shelf and gather dust.

“2019 saw $140 million invested in Olathe by new businesses,” said Mayor Michael Copeland, “and more than 730,000 square feet of new commercial construction that added up to more than 3,000 jobs in Olathe.”

The city has listened to its residents and created parks, trails, nature centers and other amenities such as Lake Olathe, offering fishing and boating. But the city is not resting on its prior successes.

It has created Olathe 2040: Future Ready a strategic plan to be plan ahead.

“The world is moving at a pace faster than ever,” Copeland said, “and we are committed to staying ahead of it.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "A look back in time at the county seat: It was a ‘beautiful’ start."