Olathe is the fastest growing and fifth most populous city in the state of Kansas, and it is the second most populous city and county seat of Johnson County. As a suburb of Kansas City, the city is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by the cities of Lenexa to the north and Overland Park to the east.
Olathe had an estimated population of 108,390 in the year 2004 and is likely approaching 115,000 in 2006. It is not only one of the fastest growing cities in the state, but indeed one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. A recent article in the magazine Midwest Living named Olathe to be the second most livable city with a population larger than 100,000 in the Midwest. Olathe has the 19th highest per-capita income among US cities with a population greater than 100,000.
Olathe is located at 38°52'51"N, 94°48'11"W. 2003 Orthophoto Aerial
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 141.1 km2 (54.5 mi2). 140.3 km2 (54.2 mi2) of it is land and 0.8 km2 (0.3 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 0.55% water. Olathe has two public lakes: Lake Olathe with 172 acres (0.7 km2) of water surface, and Cedar Lake with 45 acres (0.2 km2).
As of 2004, the city of Olathe has an estimated population of 108,390, which is an increase of 15,347, or 16.5%, since the year 2000. This is also an increase of 2,908, or 2.8%, from the year 2003.
Olathe was founded by Dr. John T. Barton in the Spring of 1857. He rode to the center of Johnson County, Kansas and staked two quarter sections of land as the town site. He later described his ride to friends. "..he prairie was covered with verbena and other wild flowers. I kept thinking the land was beautiful and that I should name the town Beautiful." Purportedly, Dr. Barton asked a Shawnee interpreter how to say "Beautiful" in his native language. The interpreter responded, "Olathe".
Olathe was not the first city established in Johnson County, but it quickly became the largest and was named county seat. The city's early days were filled with violence, as pro-slavery forces from nearby Missouri often clashed with local abolitionists. These conflicts were known on a large scale as Bleeding Kansas.
As the 1850s came to a close, and as Kansas entered the Union as a Free State in 1861, the violence appeared to die down. However, a year later Confederate guerillas from Missouri led by William Quantrill surprised the residents and raided the city on September 7th, 1862, killing a half dozen men, robbing numerous businesses and private homes, and destroying most of the city in the process. Olathe was site to one of Quantrill's raids because the people of Olathe were known for their staunch abolitionist stance.
Olathe served as a stop on the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. Local stores and business were heavily dependent on travelers for their main source of income. The Mahaffie House was a popular resupply point for wagons headed westward.
After the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the trails to the west lost importance, and Olathe faded back into obscurity and remained a small, sleepy prairie town until the 1950s. With the construction of the Interstate Highway system and, more directly, I-35, Olathe was directly linked to nearby Kansas City and began an economic boom that accelerated in the 1980s and continues today.
Source:
OlatheKansas.com
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