Leawood History Timeline

History Timeline History Timeline

1820–1830s

President James Buchanan deeds 1.6 million acres to members of the Shawnee Indian Nation; 600 acres owned by Dr. Greyeyes, a member of the Wyandot tribe, was sold and became north Leawood.

1856

Alexander Majors uses his home at 83rd and State Line as the headquarters for his freight business.

1857

Border Wars come to Oxford Township, then near 123rd and State Line Road in what is present-day Leawood; a local election becomes a national scandal known as the Oxford Fraud when proslavery voters pad election results in the Oxford precinct.

1869

First recorded burial takes place at what is now known as Linwood Pioneer Cemetery, 95th and Mission Road.

1871

Railroad service begins from Lawrence, Kansas, to Pleasant Hill, Missouri; originally the St. Louis, Lawrence and Denver Railroad, the company was purchased several times and abandoned between 1894 and 1922.

1877

Oxford School built at 135th and Mission Road; the one-room schoolhouse was used until the mid-1950s.

1922

Oscar G. Lee, the city’s namesake, purchases several hundred acres between 79th and 103rd streets from State Line to Belinder.

1923

Herman and Ella Voights build a limestone house that is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Voights was born in 1875 on a farm near 83rd and Mission Road.

1940

Saddle and Sirloin Club, established to support the American Royal, is built near 103rd and Mission Road. The club has indoor/ outdoor show arenas, corrals, exercise areas, and a jumper course.

1946

State Line Airpark operates near 133rd and State Line Road until 1980; an estimated 52 landings and takeoffs are recorded each week.

1948

The City of Leawood is incorporated. Platted in 1937 by Kroh Brothers Realty, the original development—now known as the Historic District—is the first of the Johnson County housing developments to be incorporated.

1950

Learado, aka Sutherland Ranch, built as a replica of a frontier village near 103rd and Mission Road; built by Bob and Barbara Sutherland, the village included a saloon, general store, jail, and fort.

1951

The first pumper fire truck purchased for the volunteer Leawood Fire Department; the city’s first fire station is built that same year, financed by the city’s first bond issue and built by Kroh Brothers for $19,000.

1951

The first commercial development— the Somerset Shops—is built at Somerset and Lee Boulevard.

1953

Leawood DriveIn opens and operates until 1976 at 123rd and State Line Road.

1953

Original Leawood City Hall is built—a colonialstyle house rented from Kroh Brothers for $250 a month. The city purchases the property and continues using it until 1994. The first city council is composed of all volunteers.

1954

Leawood Country Club built on an 11acre site near 89th and Lee Boulevard; built by the Kroh Brothers, the club is the site of social and athletic events.

1957

The Ruskin Heights tornado, which started near Ottawa, Kansas, and headed diagonally through Johnson County, demolishes buildings and trees at 151st and Mission Road. At the east end of Ironwoods Park, visitors can see a Studebaker—now on the ground— that was deposited in treetops during the tornado.

1971

Leawood elects the first woman mayor in Johnson County; Margaret Jordan serves from 1971 through 1972.

1993

Leawood Historic Commission is established to preserve the city’s heritage. Jody Craig serves as the first chair; Alice Hawk is one of the original seven commissioners and is the only member to serve on the commission continuously since.

1994

New City Hall opens on Town Center Drive.

1996

February 22: Leawood Chamber of Commerce files articles of incorporation (with 53 charter members per January 9 meeting minutes).

A snowstorm dubbed the October Surprise causes considerable damage to the city’s parks.

1999

The Saddle and Sirloin Club moves to a location near Martin City, Holmes Road and Highway 150.

2002

June: first official Taste of Leawood event takes place.

2003

Oxford School is relocated to Ironwoods Park, 147th and Mission Road, to become the site of a living history program on early 20thcentury life and schooling.

2012

The first annual chamber golf outing is held at At the Tee.

2017

A flood along Tomahawk Creek wipes out the Parks Maintenance building.

2022

October 1: Stephanie Meyer is the first woman to be named chamber president/ CEO.

2023

July 19: 11th annual golf outing, now an 18-hole tournament, takes place at Ironhorse Golf Club and it was a record-breaking year for the event.

October 6: Taste of Leawood kicks off the City of Leawood’s 75th anniversary weekend. The event returns to its full pre-pandemic lineup with 20 restaurants, live music, a mayoral address, and more!

Diane Stoddard becomes Leawood’s first woman city administrator.

A new Parks Maintenance building opens at 143rd and Kenneth Road to replace the building lost in 2017.

—information from Leawood Historic Commission, leawood.org/committees-and-boards/leawood-historic-commission, the Leawood Chamber of Commerce, leawoodchamber.org, and through conversation with April Bishop.