Mission Hills, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County
, Kansas
, United States
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,498. The city is a suburb
of Kansas City, Missouri
, which is adjacent to the east, across the aptly named State Line Road
. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols
beginning in the 1920s as part of his Country Club District
plan.
The city started as a planned upscale community for the elite by J.C. Nichols to be built around the Mission Hills Country Club (Kansas)
on the hills above Brush Creek just south of the Shawnee Methodist Mission
. Most of the country club's property is in Kansas but its original clubhouse was in Kansas City, Missouri
, allowing it to serve liquor, which was prohibited on the Kansas side. Nichols laid out plans in 1914. He had developed the country club to enhance the value of his Kansas properties after discovering that upscale buyers were reluctant to live on the Kansas side of the state line.
Adjoining the club Nichols established the Community Golf Club. After it dramatically grew, it moved to what today is the Kansas City Country Club
. Nichols lured the Kansas City Country Club to take over the land, and the Community Golf Club went on to establish the Indian Hills Country Club
. Together, the three clubs became the most prestigious in the Kansas City metropolitan area; many rank them in order of prestige: Kansas City first, Mission Hills second, and Indian Hills third.
Nichols opposed incorporation of the community fearing that a city would not adequately meet the needs of its residents or properly enforce housing covenants. Consequently, the Mission Hills Home Company was founded on August 18, 1914. One of the most publicized early enforcements involved forbidding the family of a sick woman to enclose her porch with glass.
Faced with prospects of annexation by neighboring relatively lower income communities seeking its wealthy tax base, Mission Hills incorporated as a city in 1949.
Many of the early houses were designed by Clarence E. Shepherd, Edward Tanner and Edward Buehler Delk
.
The city's most distinctive landmark, which is used on the official city seal, is the Verona columns and reflecting pool at the intersection of Ensley Lane, Mission Drive and Overhill Road. They were conceived landscape architect S. Herbert Hare in 1924.
In 1928 Ernest Hemingway
and his pregnant wife, Pauline, stayed at the house of W. Malcolm and Ruth Lowry at 6435 Indian Lane. During this time, Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms
. He later gave an autographed copy of the book to Don Carlos Guffey, the Kansas City doctor who delivered his son Patrick. The inscription, which is now in the University of Missouri-Kansas City library, said "...with much admiration and grateful remembrance of a Caesarean that was beautifully done and turned out splendidly."
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land. However, Brush Creek runs through the northern section of the city.
The northern half of Mission Hills, north of 63rd Street, is informally called "old Mission Hills" and is dominated by opulent houses on large lots. There are two private country club
s in this section: the Mission Hills Country Club and the Kansas City Country Club
. The southern half, consisting of developments Belinder Hills, Indian Hills and Sagamore Hills, contains affluent upper middle class
residences and the private Indian Hills Country Club.
of any city in Kansas with a population over 1,000, as well as one of the highest median incomes for any city in the United States.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 3,593 people, 1,284 households, and 1,104 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,782.5 people per square mile (686.8/km²). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 653.9 per square mile (251.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.22% White, 0.08% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.17% from other races
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population. 25.2% were of English
, 21.4% German, 13.4% Irish
and 7.1% American
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,284 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.2% were married couples
living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.0% were non-families. 12.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 18.1% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $188,821, and the median income for a family was $200,000. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $62,440 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $95,405. About 1.4% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.
Mission Hills is in the Shawnee Mission
public school district
. Some families send their children to one of the many secular private schools in the city like The Pembroke Hill School
and the Barstow School
or to religiously affiliated schools such as Bishop Miege High School or Rockhurst High School.
television drama Switched at Birth
. The show is set in Kansas City, Missouri
, but the main characters live in Mission Hills.
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. The county is largely suburban, being part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, and containing many of its affluent southwestern suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 544,179. Its county...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,498. The city is a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, which is adjacent to the east, across the aptly named State Line Road
State Line Road
State Line Road is a major north–south street in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area that runs along the Kansas–Missouri border. It connects U.S. Highway 56 in the north with Route 150 in the south...
. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols
Jesse Clyde Nichols
Jesse Clyde Nichols , better known as J. C. Nichols, was a prominent developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City. He was born in Olathe, Kansas, attended the University of Kansas and Harvard University...
beginning in the 1920s as part of his Country Club District
Country Club District
The Country Club District is the name of a group of neighborhoods comprising a historic upscale residential district in Kansas City, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas, USA, developed by noted real estate developer J.C. Nichols. The district was developed in stages between 1906 and 1950...
plan.
History
Mission Hills Country Club (Kansas)
The Mission Hills Country Club is a private club and golf course in Mission Hills, Kansas.The Club, on the banks and hills of Brush Creek, was founded on June 30, 1914, largely through the efforts of J.C. Nichols, who was also developing the upscale planned community of Mission Hills...
on the hills above Brush Creek just south of the Shawnee Methodist Mission
Shawnee Methodist Mission
Shawnee Methodist Mission was a camp established by missionaries in 1830 to minister to the Shawnee tribe of Native Americans, relocated to its present location in 1839. It was also the second capital of the Kansas Territory, holding that designation from July 16, 1855, to the spring of 1856...
. Most of the country club's property is in Kansas but its original clubhouse was in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, allowing it to serve liquor, which was prohibited on the Kansas side. Nichols laid out plans in 1914. He had developed the country club to enhance the value of his Kansas properties after discovering that upscale buyers were reluctant to live on the Kansas side of the state line.
Adjoining the club Nichols established the Community Golf Club. After it dramatically grew, it moved to what today is the Kansas City Country Club
Kansas City Country Club
The Kansas City Country Club, founded in 1896, is a country club in Mission Hills, Kansas, USA, an affluent suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the club for which the Country Club District and the Country Club Plaza of Kansas City are named...
. Nichols lured the Kansas City Country Club to take over the land, and the Community Golf Club went on to establish the Indian Hills Country Club
Indian Hills Country Club
The Indian Hills Country Club is a private club and golf course in Mission Hills, Kansas.The club was organized as the Community Golf Club in 1918 by J.C. Nichols on land adjoining the Nichols' Mission Hills Country Club. In 1922 it temporarily moved to land that is now the Kansas City Country Club...
. Together, the three clubs became the most prestigious in the Kansas City metropolitan area; many rank them in order of prestige: Kansas City first, Mission Hills second, and Indian Hills third.
Nichols opposed incorporation of the community fearing that a city would not adequately meet the needs of its residents or properly enforce housing covenants. Consequently, the Mission Hills Home Company was founded on August 18, 1914. One of the most publicized early enforcements involved forbidding the family of a sick woman to enclose her porch with glass.
Faced with prospects of annexation by neighboring relatively lower income communities seeking its wealthy tax base, Mission Hills incorporated as a city in 1949.
Many of the early houses were designed by Clarence E. Shepherd, Edward Tanner and Edward Buehler Delk
Edward Buehler Delk
Edward Buehler Delk was a prominent architect who designed many landmark buildings in the Midwest and Southwest regions of The United States.Delk was born in 22 Sep 1885 Schoharie, New York. He graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1907...
.
The city's most distinctive landmark, which is used on the official city seal, is the Verona columns and reflecting pool at the intersection of Ensley Lane, Mission Drive and Overhill Road. They were conceived landscape architect S. Herbert Hare in 1924.
In 1928 Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and his pregnant wife, Pauline, stayed at the house of W. Malcolm and Ruth Lowry at 6435 Indian Lane. During this time, Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant in the ambulance...
. He later gave an autographed copy of the book to Don Carlos Guffey, the Kansas City doctor who delivered his son Patrick. The inscription, which is now in the University of Missouri-Kansas City library, said "...with much admiration and grateful remembrance of a Caesarean that was beautifully done and turned out splendidly."
Geography
Mission Hills is located at 39°0′49"N 94°36′54"W (39.013705, -94.615083). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land. However, Brush Creek runs through the northern section of the city.
The northern half of Mission Hills, north of 63rd Street, is informally called "old Mission Hills" and is dominated by opulent houses on large lots. There are two private country club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
s in this section: the Mission Hills Country Club and the Kansas City Country Club
Kansas City Country Club
The Kansas City Country Club, founded in 1896, is a country club in Mission Hills, Kansas, USA, an affluent suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the club for which the Country Club District and the Country Club Plaza of Kansas City are named...
. The southern half, consisting of developments Belinder Hills, Indian Hills and Sagamore Hills, contains affluent upper middle class
Upper middle class
The upper middle class is a sociological concept referring to the social group constituted by higher-status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term "lower middle class", which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle class stratum, and to the broader term "middle...
residences and the private Indian Hills Country Club.
Demographics
According to Forbes Magazine, Mission Hills ranks as the 3rd wealthiest neighborhood in the country. Mission Hills has the highest median household incomeHighest-income places in the United States
-100 highest-income places with at least 1,000 households:This is a list of the 100 richest places in the United States with at least 1,000 households. This is the most common list used for referring to the richest communities in the country, as it eliminates any places with insignificant populations...
of any city in Kansas with a population over 1,000, as well as one of the highest median incomes for any city in the United States.
As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,593 people, 1,284 households, and 1,104 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,782.5 people per square mile (686.8/km²). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 653.9 per square mile (251.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.22% White, 0.08% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.17% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population. 25.2% were of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 21.4% German, 13.4% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and 7.1% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,284 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.0% were non-families. 12.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 18.1% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $188,821, and the median income for a family was $200,000. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $62,440 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $95,405. About 1.4% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Shawnee Mission, Kansas is a name created by the United States Postal Service to describe an area of Johnson County, Kansas that contains numerous towns. Parts of southern Overland Park are not part of Shawnee Mission as they were annexed from unincorporated Stanley and use zip code 66085...
public school district
Shawnee Mission School District
The Shawnee Mission School District is one of the major school districts in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Located in northeast Johnson County, Kansas, the school district enrolled approximately 40,000 students in the 2009-2010 school year...
. Some families send their children to one of the many secular private schools in the city like The Pembroke Hill School
The Pembroke Hill School
The Pembroke Hill School is a nonsectarian, coeducational, private preparatory school for about 1,200 students in preschool through 12th grade, separated into four sections: preschool-2nd grade , 3rd-5th grade , 6th-8th grade , and 9th-12th grade...
and the Barstow School
The Barstow School
The Barstow School, founded in 1884 by Mary Louise Barstow, is a nonsectarian, coeducational, independent preparatory school in southern Kansas City, Missouri, USA.The Barstow School enrolls approximately 650 students from Preschool through Grade 12...
or to religiously affiliated schools such as Bishop Miege High School or Rockhurst High School.
Libraries
The Johnson County Library serves the residents of Mission Hills.Notable people
- George BrettGeorge Brett (baseball)George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
, Hall of Fame baseball player - James EllroyJames EllroyLee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
, writer - Thomas FrankThomas FrankThomas Frank is an American author, journalist and columnist for Harper's Magazine. He is a former columnist for the Wall Street Journal, authoring "The Tilting Yard" from 2008 to 2010....
, founder of The BafflerThe BafflerThe Baffler is a left-wing magazine of cultural, political, and business criticism that was founded in 1988 and published until the spring of 2007. It was revived in 2009, with the first issue of Volume 2 published in January 2010...
and author of What's the Matter with Kansas?What's the Matter with Kansas?What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America is a book by American journalist and historian Thomas Frank, which explores the rise of populist anti-elitist Conservatism in the United States, centering on the experience of Kansas, Frank's native state...
, a book that frequently discusses Mission Hills - Matt GogelMatt GogelMatthew John Gogel is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour.Gogel was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended Bishop Kelley High School. He has lived most of his adult life in Kansas. He attended the University of...
, former PGA TourPGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
professional golfer, current Golf Channel sportscaster - Kevin HarlanKevin HarlanKevin Harlan is an American television sports announcer. The son of former Green Bay Packers executive Bob Harlan, he currently broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS. Harlan is also a play-by-play announcer for the NBA on TNT...
, CBS and TNT sportscaster - Donald J. Hall, Sr.Donald J. Hall, Sr.Donald J. Hall Sr. is the chairman of the board and majority shareholder of Hallmark Cards, the world's largest greeting card manufacturer and one of the world's largest privately held companies. Hallmark's headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.. He and his wife, Adele, live in Mission...
, billionaireBillionaireA billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
chairman of Hallmark CardsHallmark CardsHallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts.... - Tom WatsonTom Watson (golfer)Thomas Sturges Watson is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and now mostly on the Champions Tour....
, renowned professional golfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er - Carrie Westcott, PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
's Playmate of the Month in September, 1993 - Cheryl WomackCheryl WomackVerna Cheryl Womack is an entrepreneur who founded Kansas City, Missouri-based VCW and National Association of Independent Truckers, Inc...
, immigrant's daughter who built multimillion dollar trucking insurance company
In the Media
Mission Hills is the setting for the ABC FamilyABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
television drama Switched at Birth
Switched at Birth (TV series)
Switched at Birth is an American television series that premiered on ABC Family on June 6, 2011 at 9:00 ET/PT. The one-hour scripted drama revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth and grew up in very different environments...
. The show is set in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, but the main characters live in Mission Hills.