Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail
Johnson County, Kansas, a landscape now interwoven with modern cities and suburban life, holds a significant place in the history of the American West. It was here, in this once-open prairie, that the various arteries of the Santa Fe Trail converged, becoming a single, vital pathway to the Southwest. This article explores the rich history of the Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail, detailing the key locations and stories that echo from this pivotal era.
Before the sprawling development of today, Johnson County served as a crucial crossroads for both commerce and westward expansion. Several branches of the Santa Fe Trail, originating from bustling Missouri River towns like Franklin, Fort Osage, Independence, Westport, and Kansas City, Missouri, funneled into this area. The trails united near the county’s southwest corner, continuing as one road towards the distant markets of Santa Fe.
The Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail wasn’t solely a trade route. The 1840s witnessed a surge of westward migration as emigrants, driven by dreams of fertile lands in Oregon and the promise of gold in California, began to share the trail. Springtime in Johnson County transformed into a scene of immense activity. The roads became choked with freight wagons laden with goods for trade, family wagons packed with passengers and belongings, and long strings of mules and oxen, all vying for space along the deeply rutted paths. These "traffic jams," as they might be called today, vividly illustrate the sheer volume of people and goods traversing the landscape.
The initial path of the Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail entered the county about nine miles south of the mouth of the Kansas River and east of the long-gone village of Glenn. This early route was gradually superseded by newer, more convenient pathways as the demands of westward travel evolved.
Although the landscape of Johnson County has transformed dramatically over the past two centuries, remnants of its storied past endure, inviting exploration and reflection. Urban sprawl has largely obscured the traces of the trail, but dedicated efforts have preserved key sites, allowing us to connect with the history of the Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail.
Key Sites Along the Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail
Nine-Mile Point, Prairie Village: While the Kansas City area bears little resemblance to its early days, the Missouri border remains constant. In 1823, Joseph Brown, a surveyor, and his crew painstakingly mapped the Missouri state line, using 66-foot surveying chains. They marked each mile with a large mound of dirt and rocks.
At the nine-mile point south of the Kansas River’s mouth, Brown erected a mound, as he had done at the previous mile markers. His field notes then document something significant: "to a trace leading from Fort Osage toward Santa Fe." This simple entry represents the earliest official government acknowledgment of a location on the Santa Fe Trail. The trace Brown identified was created by William Becknell’s second expedition to Santa Fe in 1822 – the first time wagons were used on the trail. By the 1840s, Santa Fe traders had shifted to a route originating in Westport, which crossed the state line about a mile north of this point.
Today, the site at Weltner Park, located at 77th Street and State Line Road in Prairie Village, features wayside exhibits detailing Joseph Brown’s 1823 survey of Missouri’s western boundary and George Sibley’s 1825 federal survey of the Santa Fe Trail.
Shawnee Methodist Mission, Fairway: The trail from Westport skirted the old Shawnee Methodist Mission, located just west of State Line Road in Fairway, Kansas. This mission, which served as a school for Native Americans from 1839 to 1862, also briefly served as the second capital of Kansas.
Missions often served as gathering points for travelers embarking on their westward journeys. In 1843, famed explorer John C. Fremont camped near the Methodist mission before venturing west, and missionary physician Dr. Marcus Whitman stayed there before joining Fremont’s party.
Three original brick mission buildings remain today as a Kansas State Historic Site and museum. Visible trail ruts to the north of the buildings provide a tangible link to the past. The mission’s blacksmith shop was reportedly used by travelers, who frequently mentioned both the mission and the Shawnee Indians it served. The mission is located at 3403 West 53rd in Fairway, Kansas.
Harmon Park, Prairie Village: Further west, Harmon Park in Prairie Village offers a unique glimpse into the trail’s physical impact. Situated on the southern branch of the trail from Westport, it’s one of the few places in Johnson County where visible evidence of the trail can still be seen. Rounded depressions in the ground, known as swales, stretch diagonally across the park. These swales were once sharply defined ruts carved into the earth by countless cattle, oxen, and wagons. Over time, slight shifts in the wagon path and natural weathering have smoothed the ruts into the gentle indentations visible today. A partnership between federal and local governments and private citizens created Harmon Park in the early 1990s to preserve these physical reminders for future generations. The four-acre city park at 7727 Delmar in Prairie Village features an exhibit explaining the visible trail ruts.
Boone’s Fork, Merriam: About six miles from Westport lay a site known as Boone’s Fork. In 1845, John C. Fremont and his party camped here for about two weeks, waiting for heavy rains to subside. This site is located along the Turkey Creek Streamway Trail, near I-35 between 74th Street and Shawnee Mission Parkway in Merriam, Kansas.
Sapling Grove Park, Overland Park: Located at the headwaters of Turkey Creek, Sapling Grove served as a popular campground from the earliest days of the Santa Fe Trail. Known for its excellent spring, the location offered wood, water, and grass – all critical resources for travelers.
In 1825-27, Indian agent George Sibley, commissioned to survey the trail, included Sapling Grove on his list of campsites, noting it as having "an excellent fountain spring, a very good place to camp." William M. Anderson, a member of William L. Sublette’s pack train to the Rocky Mountains, mentioned it in 1834.
Sapling Grove served as the rendezvous point for the Bidwell-Bartleson group, the first caravan of families to head west on the trail in 1841. Thousands of immigrants passed through here during the 1840s and 1850s. John Fremont, guided by mountain man Thomas Fitzpatrick, came through Sapling Grove in 1843. Overnight travelers camped on the hill where Comanche Elementary School now stands. It is located at 8210 Grant Street in Overland Park, Kansas.
Flat Rock Creek Park, Lenexa: South of Westport, the Santa Fe Trail split into two routes. Sapling Grove lay northeast of the junction, while Flat Rock or Indian Creek was to the southwest.
Until the 1860s, these two routes carried Santa Fe traders, Oregon- and California-bound emigrants, mountain men, missionaries, gold seekers, and the frontier military. Even the frontier stagecoach rumbled through this trail junction in the early 1860s.
George Sibley named the Flat Rock Creek campsite for the large rocks lining the creek bed. It was later known as Indian Creek. The creek’s low banks and solid limestone bottom made it easy for emigrants to cross.
Like Sapling Grove, Flat Rock Creek was a popular rendezvous point where travelers met a day or two out from their starting point to organize caravans, select officers, train oxen and mules, and get their bearings. Those traveling to Oregon and California drafted resolutions and laws to govern the group on the long journey ahead. Flat Rock Creek and Sapling Grove were a short day’s travel from Westport.
Today, the site is at 10-acre Flat Creek Park, 13120 West 103rd Street in Lenexa, Kansas. A large oak tree at the site is estimated to be over 100 years old, suggesting it was present when the Santa Fe Trail was in use.
Mahaffie Farmstead, Olathe: Located on the north edge of Olathe, the Mahaffie Farmstead and Stagecoach Stop sat on the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails. James Beatty Mahaffie and his wife Lucinda founded the farm in 1858. The two-story native limestone house was constructed in 1865. The Mahaffie family ran the farm until 1870 and resided there until 1886. The house’s heyday occurred in the 1860s, when dinners were served in the basement to westbound travelers. The farmstead, encompassing almost 40 acres, operates as a museum and is the only known Santa Fe Trail station open to the public. Exhibits include a Visitor Center and museum, the farmhouse, several outbuildings, the grounds, farm animals, and events connected to Bleeding Kansas, bushwhackers, and Old West Trail days. There is also a blacksmith and other era-specific artisans and outdoor exhibits.
Lone Elm Park, Olathe: Beginning in 1821, this site served as a campground and rendezvous point for travelers along the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails for several decades. It was the site of a spring (now enclosed in a small well) and offered excellent grazing for livestock. The spring was a major campsite. Over time, the "Elm Grove" was cut down for firewood, resulting in the name "Lone Elm." Eventually, the last tree was cut down, but the name remained. Artifacts from pioneer travelers were discovered during the construction of the park’s ball fields (after 2004). Today, visitors can imagine the pioneers who passed through. A wagon swale can still be seen where the trail crossed the creek. The park offers historical interpretive waysides and a large interpretive sculpture. A walking trail winds through forests and prairie lands and past three original water wells. The site is in Lone Elm Park, a 160-acre community park at the southeast corner of S. Lone Elm Road and W. 167th Street. A DAR marker is at the site.
Trail Junction and Bull Creek Campground, Gardner: The historic junction of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails is approximately one-half mile to the north in Gardner, Kansas. The Santa Fe Trail lay to the southwest, and the road to Oregon and California was to the northwest. By 1827, freight wagons loaded with goods traveled between the Missouri River frontier and Mexico’s Santa Fe. William Sublette and Moses "Black" Harris returning from the northern Rocky Mountains came down the Kansas River Valley, encountered the Santa Fe Trail, and followed it east to Independence and St. Louis, Missouri.
Between the late 1830s and the early 1850s, as many as 200,000 emigrants passed through this gateway to the Oregon Territory or the goldfields of California. During the same period, thousands of freighters also passed through this junction, heading to and from the markets at Santa Fe. The junction of the Santa Fe Trail and the Oregon/California Trails is approximately two miles west of Gardner on US Highway 56, and 0.25 mile to the north is the point where the Santa Fe and Oregon/California Trails separated. An informational kiosk is located here, describing the various trails, sites to the east and the west, and stories of the times. Native prairie grasses and plants have been planted here to allow visitors to visualize what the Trail travelers would have witnessed.
Lanesfield School, Edgerton: When Kansas was opened for settlement in 1854, settlers voted to decide if Kansas would enter the union as a slave or free state. Fighting between people on opposite sides of the issue led to the territory being called "Bleeding Kansas." A skirmish known as the Battle of Bull Creek was fought near the schoolhouse in 1856. James Henry Lane led the free-staters in this skirmish, after whom the town of Lanesfield was named. The first students were taught in a log cabin in 1867. In 1869, the stone schoolhouse was built, which still stands today. At its peak, the settlement boasted a population of about 100 people, two churches, and a two-story hotel. However, when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad was built through the area in 1870, it bypassed Lanesfield. That same year, the nearby town of Edgerton was created to service the railroad, and people immediately began to move. Lanesfield’s post office closed in September 1870, and almost all the people and buildings had been removed to Edgerton within five years. The stone schoolhouse continued to serve farm families in the area until 1963, when it finally closed its doors. Today, the school, which now serves as a museum and is listed as a National Historic Site, is the only building left in this old Santa Fe Trail settlement. Adjacent to the school is a nature trail. An observation tower provides a birds-eye view of the skirmish site between the Free-State Kansans and the Missouri Border Ruffians.
The Johnson County, Kansas Santa Fe Trail serves as a reminder of the nation’s westward expansion. Though time and development have changed the landscape, careful preservation efforts allow us to experience the stories and physical remnants of this pivotal period in American history.