The Kansas of long ago was wide open—plains scoured by a series of Ice Age glaciers and wandering rivers had become vast, level expanses under a limitless sky. Prior to the 1700s the area was sparsely populated; gradually, a growing number of native tribes discovered the richness of the glacial silt soil and the abundance of bison. The eastern portion of the state was home to many tribes which maintained individual languages and customs: Plains, Wyandotte, Sioux, Osage, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Kanza, Arkansas, Otto, Dahcotah and Ogillahah tribes all called the region home and helped establish the natural passage that would come to be known as the Santa Fe Trail.
A European presence extended into eastern Kansas in the early 1500s with the explorations of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. The land was first claimed by France, then ceded to Spain as a sop after the country's loss in the French and Indian War. The area was contested until Spain ceded it back to France in 1800; the next year, France sold eastern Kansas to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and the region was fair game for the Manifest Destiny of the U.S. government.
Kansas didn't have to wait long—in 1802, hunter and trapper James Pursley followed a well-traveled trail to New Mexico to do some trading, following a route that travelers started to call the Santa Fe Trail. As trade heated up between merchants in Missouri and trappers in New Mexico, the trail evolved into the Santa Fe Road. Increased traffic and commerce in the area resulted in friction with native tribes still attempting to live on the land's resources. As a solution, the U.S. government negotiated a treaty in 1825 with the Shawnee Indians in Missouri; in exchange for surrendered land in Missouri, the tribe received an equivalent amount of land on a reservation in what is now Johnson County, Kansas.
A new era began for the formerly nomadic tribe that had up until then lived in eastern woodlands; the move to the plains necessitated much adaptation as the Shawnees became farmers. In 1829 the Rev. Thomas Johnson (for whom the county is named) moved to the reservation, where an Indian Manual Labor School was created. Native American children were tutored in English, manual arts, agriculture, and Christianity.
Kansas Territory became official in 1854, populated by a curious mix of passionate abolitionists and independent pioneers who supported Kansas as a "free state" because it was economically advantageous to keep slave owners out of the territory. On the front edge of the Civil War, Kansas became a state in 1861 and joined the Union. Even prior to the advent of the Civil War, pro-slavery factions warred with abolitionists and free soil advocates in Kansas. Ironically, a number of the free soil advocates were less interested in abolishing slavery and more interested in keeping African Americans out of Kansas altogether. Soon after a "free state" and Union victory, the U.S. government also recommended getting the Indians out, moving whole tribes south to what was being termed Indian Territory.
Since 1821, a large city just over the Kansas-Missouri state line had begun to evolve into a major stop on the trail, railroad, and road systems. By the early 1900s, Kansas City was a burgeoning metropolitan center and had changed from trading post to destination. In 1905 William B. Strang, Jr., was staying in Kansas City with a relative when he explored the area to the west of the city and recognized its potential as a bedroom community for the metro area. Strang was particularly intrigued by a plot of land owned by several farm families and situated on a bluff; the combination of high ground and proximity to the city led him to purchase the land and start laying out a series of new communities. Thus Overland Park was created—the name is reputed to be a combination of the vision of a "park-like" city crossed with the alternate name for the Santa Fe Trail (Overland Trail).
In support of his newly-created bedroom community, Strang went on to develop an interurban train line with trolley service to Kansas City. The Strang Land Company grew busy selling off individual lots of land in business and residential segments of the new town. The city founder also had his hand in the development of Airfield Park in 1909, which combined a landing strip, aviation school, hangars and a grandstand for the locals who were fascinated with flying. Many renowned aviators made Overland Park a stop, including the Wright Brothers; an airplane industry grew up around the airfield that has continued to present day.
Thanks to Strang and other early residents of the area, Overland Park was gradually becoming a viable entity on its own merits. As an attempt to manage the swift growth in Overland Park, Mission, and Prairie Village, these collective communities were organized into an urban township form of government under a law passed by the Kansas legislature in 1940. The reborn entity, Mission Urban Township, was able to form a governmental body but lacked the right to zone or plan independently. In combination with the repercussions of the Dust Bowl days and World War II, Mission Urban Township experienced a time of stasis in the late 1930s and early 1940s, followed by a boom in residential development. In 1951, the Kaw River flooded Kansas City while the community on the bluff stayed nice and dry, and Mission Township began to see an influx of slightly damp folks. The current system of government was insufficient to deal with the resultant growth and development, leading to separation of the township communities into municipalities and the incorporation of Overland Park in 1960.
The 1960s and 1970s ushered in a period of individuation, as Overland Park established its own infrastructure of schools, businesses, and city services. Very early in its formal existence, Overland Park government initiated the practice of citizen surveys to target key concerns of the populace and to measure satisfaction with quality of life. This proactive approach has led to a balanced approach to development and growth, as well as innovative juvenile delinquency and learning disability programs created in the 1970s.
Since the 1980s, Overland Park has experienced a fairly consistent boom pattern, with growth in population, industry and reputation. While continuing to look forward, the city administration has also appreciated its past by supporting extensive renovations of the historic downtown area during the early 1990s. Present day Overland Park has been a regular on national ratings for quality of life, education, affordable housing, appeal to businesses, and population growth. It's a young community in many ways, with a mature approach to living and contributing.
Historical Information: Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW Sixth Avenue, Topeka, KS 66615; telephone (785)272-8681