If you find yourself traveling east to Overland Park, make sure to stop by the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop-Farm in Olathe, KS on your way there. This stagecoach and farm site are historic areas and the only operating stagecoach left along the Santa Fe Trail. Visit the historic farm and stagecoach for an experience you won’t forget.
The activities and opportunities available at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop-Farm are engaging for all members of the family. The farm hosts guests so they can discover what life on the Kansas frontier was like in the 1860s. The farm also provides learning opportunities regarding farming during the time period as well as stagecoach travel. Activities are hosted daily with special events and programs coming into the picture seasonally.
With activities for all, it’s no surprise you’ll have a good time while visiting. Take a ride in the farms reproduction of a “Concord” style stagecoach or hop on their original “mudwagon” stagecoach for an amazing journey. The farm also puts on living history programming on Saturdays in the months of April, May, September, October as well as daily Wednesday through Saturday from Memorial to Labor day.
The farm is home to a variety of animals that have inhabited the farm since its start. Animals you can find include chickens, horses, sheep, and other animals that are bred in the area.
The history of the farm is extensive and starts all the way back in 1857. James B. and Lucinda Mahaffie moved from Logansport, Indiana to Kansas and purchased the farmland after getting there. The farm encompassed 340 acres of land. The first year in operation, the couple employed the use of oxen to transport their wood frame home from downtown onto their new land. This home was occupied by the family until 1865 when a stone house, that still stands today, was built on the property.
As one of the most prosperous farms in Johnson County in the early 1860s and 1870s, the Mahaffies at times owned more land in the county as well as in other parts of Kansas. Located on the “Westport Route,” the farm was frequently passed by travelers going through land now known as the Kansas City metro region journeying to the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe trails.
Coaches started using the Mahaffie farm as a stop in 1864, but the family welcomed visitors years before starting in 1858. The farm contained a kitchen and dining hall located in the basement of the stone farmhouse to feed hungry travelers from the years of 1865 to 1870.
In 1979, the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop-Farm was purchased by the City of Olathe to preserve its rich history. It now operates as a museum and historic site for visitors from all over to come and see. To protect the farm from developments popping up around the area, the city also purchased land that laid on the east and south sides of the farm. This stagecoach is the only one preserved as a historic site and is the last one in operation along the Santa Fe Trail.
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Map from Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop-Farm to WilsonHaag:
Map from Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop-Farm to Johnson County Community College: