Johnson County Park and Recreation District’s (JCPRD) 44-acre Antioch Park has a long and rich environmental and communal history. Unlike much of the rest of Johnson County, the land that is now Antioch Park was never extensively developed or cultivated. What you see around you looks much like it did 200 years ago. A new History in the Parks interpretive marker, installed outside Building A, shares the area’s history. This month’s blog post recounts some of the land’s history.
Native Lands
For centuries, the area that is now Antioch Park was part of the communally held ancestral hunting territory of the Kanza and Osage Tribes. In the 1820s, the federal government removed the Kanza and Osage people to reservations elsewhere in what is now Kansas. The government then removed the Shawnee from their ancestral territory in the Ohio River Valley and placed them on a reservation that spanned modern-day Johnson County until 1854. Congress then formed the Kansas Territory and again removed the Shawnee. The influence of Indigenous people and cultures remains today in the names of streets, parks, and geographical features throughout the county.
A Shawnee Land Grant Farm
The 44 acres of Antioch Park once belonged to a 200-acre federal land grant to Kah che qua, a prominent member of Shawnee society. Despite her prominence, few written records exist about Kah che qua. The 1857 Shawnee Indian Census records show that she was widowed and living with her five children. A local missionary’s diary indicated that one of Kah che qua’s children, Anna, attended the Quaker Mission school, located just north of 63rd Street. The 1866 Census of Shawnees reported that Kah che qua grew corn, oats, and potatoes at her home in today’s Antioch Park. She was listed among the 770 Shawnees who had removed to the Oklahoma reservation in the early 1870s. It is estimated Kah che qua died before 1873.
The Oak Park Stock Farm
Kah che qua’s land became part of the landholdings of her neighbor, Shawnee Chief Graham Rogers, in the late 1860s. Rogers sold his 800 acres to Henry Coppock in 1868, including the land that is now Antioch Park. Coppock established Oak Park Farm, a stock farm where he raised mules, beef cattle, and hogs. The majority of the land ran east-west between Antioch Road and Metcalf Avenue, and north-south between 63rd and 71st Streets. Coppock also developed a large orchard, but much of the land remained wooded according to the 1874 Atlas Map of Johnson County, Kansas. Coppock sold his extensive holdings in 1880 with plans to move to Montana but ultimately stayed in Johnson County, purchasing 1,000 acres of farmland in present-day Prairie Village.
A Gentleman’s Farm and Rural Retreat
George Milburn purchased Coppock’s 800 acres with the intent of creating a gentleman’s farm – a leisure estate for Kansas City’s wealthy. Although Milburn sought fresh air for his failing health, he died just three years later in 1883. Milburn’s wife and children remained on the property for nearly four decades. Their surname was later applied to a suburban neighborhood and a country club in the area.
A series of other prominent residents seeking a retreat in the countryside purchased portions of the land after the Milburns. Grace Vernon, a widowed woman in her forties, bought what is now Antioch Park in 1923 and built “Vernon’s Nook,” a house designed like an English thatched cottage, as well as other guest houses and a horse stable. In 1946, Lathrop G. and Geraldine Backstrom purchased 44 acres with fishing ponds and wooded lands where their children rode horses. Lathrop Backstrom was one of the first members of the county’s new park board. In 1956, the Backstroms sold their land to the Shawnee Mission Park District, JCPRD’s predecessor, so that it could become the first county park.
The First JCPRD Park
As suburban developments grew after World War II, setting aside parkland became a growing priority. A county-wide vote in 1953 led to a special taxing district, and in 1955 the Shawnee Mission Park Board met to create a master plan. Land for Antioch Park was purchased the following year. Mission resident John Barkley served as the first park district superintendent and directed Antioch Park’s development.
Antioch Park’s popularity today stems from its special features. Over the years, a World War II fighter plane and “Dodge Town” fascinated children. In 1974, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza (the first Vietnam memorial in the Kansas City metro) was constructed here, funded entirely by private donations. The Helen Cuddy Rose Garden and Memorial Arboretum, as well as the park’s beautiful ponds, picnic shelters, and playground also draw visitors to this beloved park. Although one of JCPRD’s smallest parks, Antioch Park is its oldest and one of its most visited properties, guaranteeing the green space will be preserved for many future generations to come.
Learn More!
You can learn more by visiting Antioch Park to view the interpretive marker installed there. The marker is part of JCPRD’s History in the Parks (HIP) marker series, a collaborative project between the Parks and Golf Courses Division and the Johnson County Museum, part of the Culture Division of JCPRD. Similar markers about local history have already been placed in Shawnee Mission Park at Barkley Plaza, at Verhaeghe Park, Big Bull Creek Park, Meadowbrook Park, and others are underway. To learn even more about Johnson County’s history, visit the Johnson County Museum at 8788 Metcalf Ave in Overland Park – open Monday through Saturday, 9am to 4:30pm. Plan your visit at jcprd.com/Museum.
