JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS FINAL HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY REPORT Executive Summary September 2009 Prepared by Cheryl Musch and Melissa Fisher Isaacs Kansas State Historical Society Project Number 20-92-70122-003 Project funded by the Johnson County Heritage Trust Fund TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.....1 PROJECT METHODOLOGY…..2 Reconnaissance Level Survey and Inventory…..2 Comprehensive Level Survey.....4 Products.....4 JOHNSON COUNTY’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT REFLECTS ITS HISTORY…..6 Pre-White Settlement in Johnson County, 1670-1854…..6 Early White Settlement, 1855-1900…..9 Early Suburbanization, 1901-1944…..18 Post World War II Housing Boom, 1945-1960…..30 PRESERVATION RESOURCES…..36 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH…..41 INTRODUCTION The final report summarizes the results of a survey identifying historic resources conducted by the Johnson County Museum in Johnson County, Kansas, from 1991 to 2008 for the Historic Preservation Office of the Kansas State Historical Society. Over the past 17 years, a significant number of the pre-1950 structures in Johnson County have been surveyed by the Johnson County Museum. This survey is part of a larger project to document historic architectural resources in the state of Kansas, funded by a historic preservation survey grant from the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior and administered by the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office. The purpose of this survey was to identify Johnson County’s historic architectural resources. The survey and resulting data will provide a basis for comprehensive preservation planning and for education about the county’s historic resources. As stated in the National Park Service’s Guidelines for Local Surveys, To make effective use of historic resources, to respect their value and extend their lives, it is necessary to integrate historic preservation into community planning. This is the immediate reason for undertaking a local historic resources survey; to gather the information needed to plan for the wise use of a community’s resources. The project was guided by a survey master plan drafted in 1991, which included a multi-year reconnaissance level survey, comprehensive surveys of selected properties, and eligibility assessments and nominations for the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places. This plan identified priorities for reconnaissance survey areas, beginning with areas which are under development pressure and have historic resources which may be threatened. The plan also defined the historic context, common property types, and a timetable for the project. From 1991 to 2008, structures on Johnson County’s 302,720 acres were surveyed by six project managers and 91 trained volunteers. At the reconnaissance level, 9,213 Kansas Historic Resources Inventory Reconnaissance Forms were completed. The focus of the project was on identifying pre-1950 structures in the county. Reconnaissance level surveys led to the identification of resources for comprehensive survey and research, which led to nominations of properties to the State and National Registers. Guidelines for the study were provided by the Kansas Historic Preservation Department and the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. This historic resources survey was financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, a division of the United States Department of the Interior, and administered by the Kansas State Historical Society. 1 Additional funding and support was provided by the Johnson County Heritage Trust Fund and the Johnson County Museum. PROJECT METHODOLOGY The key steps in the methodology for this project were: 1) To conduct a reconnaissance level field survey and compile an inventory of the historic resources in the county. 2) To evaluate the potential significance of selected properties through a comprehensive level survey. 3) To develop a report with findings from the surveys and develop a historical context statement. Reconnaissance Level Survey and Inventory Reconnaissance level surveys were the most labor intensive part of the project, taking place over 17 years with 91 trained volunteers, in addition to project managers, staff and interns. The Kansas Historic Preservation Survey Manual defines a survey as a site visit to every building, site, and structure in the survey area that is older than 40 years old. For the purpose of this project, the focus was on resources built before 1950. The order in which the surveys were conducted was determined by the project manager, museum director, and the Johnson County Historic Preservation Advisory Committee based on the following factors affecting survey priorities: 1) Geographical distribution of historic resources 2) Historic resources facing immediate threats 3) Local and statewide priorities 4) Potential for listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places The first years of the survey concentrated on rural areas in a corridor that would be affected by the proposed 21st Century Parkway. Slated for construction in 2000, this highly controversial beltway has not been built. Figure 1 illustrates the preferred (in bold) and alternative routes of the parkway as it was proposed in 1992. 2 Figure 1: The proposed route of the 21st Century Parkway, 1992. Courtesy of Howard Needles Tammen & Bergendoff. Subsequent priorities were guided in part by the Johnson County Rural Comprehensive Plan (JCRCP). The JCRCP was first adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in 1986; the plan is reviewed annually by the Johnson County Planning Commission and has been updated six times in the intervening years. The Johnson County Rural Comprehensive Plan encourages retention of agricultural uses and operations within appropriate areas and development in existing growth centers and corridors. The trend in construction in the county through its history is expansion from the northeast corner of the county into undeveloped rural land to the south and west. In training sessions at the Johnson County Museum, survey volunteers learned about the county’s history, building types, architectural styles, and how to complete survey forms. Each volunteer was assigned an area to survey that was part of the current project area defined in the survey master plan. Within these areas, surveyors located and photographed each structure with an estimated date of construction before 1950, and completed a Kansas Historic Resources Inventory Reconnaissance Form for each structure. Volunteers then submitted their forms to the project manager who reviewed them for completeness and accuracy. Any necessary additions and corrections were made by the project manager. In addition to the designated survey areas, the project manager surveyed structures which were endangered, scheduled for immediate demolition, or suggested by individuals with specific information about the properties. When forms were completed, the original forms with 3" x 5" black and white photographs attached were submitted to the Historic Preservation Office of the Kansas State Historical 3 Society. In addition, the Museum retained an archival copy of each of the forms with a 3" x 5" copy of the black and white photographs for this project. These photographs have been included in the Museum’s permanent collection, and each has been assigned a unique accession number. The information on the forms and descriptions and digital images of the photographs are also retained in a PastPerfect database with the rest of the museum’s collection catalog. As part of a project made possible by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and from the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners through the Heritage Trust Fund (HTF), survey photographs taken in 2005 and earlier were digitally scanned as both 150 dpi JPEG and 600 dpi TIFF files. The JPEG files were uploaded to the JoCoHistory.org website for easy access by the public. The JPEG and TIFF files are also stored at the Museum. Photographs taken since 2005 have also been scanned to these specifications, and are stored by the Museum. Future plans call for making these more recent images accessible via JoCoHistory.org as well. A Historic Preservation Advisory Committee met regularly with the project manager and museum director. This committee assisted in defining priority areas for survey and discussed strategies for preserving the county’s historic resources. The project manager also met with local agencies including the Edgerton Historical Society, Leawood Historic Commission, the Lenexa Historical Society, the Olathe Historical Society, Old Shawnee Town, Monticello Historical Society, Overland Park 2000, the Overland Park Landmarks Commission, Shawnee Historical Society, Westwood neighborhood associations, and city and county planning departments to discuss the project and its findings. Comprehensive Level Survey One of the objectives of the reconnaissance level survey was to identify properties that are potentially significant in local history and to prepare detailed histories and descriptions to document those properties, in some cases for State or National Register designation. A few hundred properties were identified as candidates for further research. After review and initial research, approximately 50 were deemed appropriate for comprehensive research. During the survey period, nine additional properties were placed on the National Register of Historic Places, bringing the total in the county to fifteen. Five were placed on the Register of