St. Mark Hope and Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Completed in 1914, this Kansas City landmark was constructed at a time when many Kansas City residents, businesses, and organizations moved southward from the downtown area as the city grew into a metropolis. During the early twentieth century, Troost Avenue served as home to many wealthy and upper-middle-class residents, a trend that continued until the 1930s when restrictive housing covenants and lending patterns by banks turned Troost Avenue into one of the city's racial dividing lines by the 1950s. Demonstrating change over time, the congregation is led by an openly gay, female pastor, which speaks to the more inclusive attitude surrounding the re-development of Troost since 2010.

The 3800 block of Troost Ave has profoundly changed since construction began on St. Mark Lutheran Church (St. Mark Hope & Peace) in 1914, as has the demographic makeup. Long gone are the homes, which served successful, white, middle-class residents that lined the street next to the church. Over time, Troost, once a bastion of white, middle-class activity, transitioned into a dividing line between classes, social and racial, with white residents living west of Troost and Blacks and Jewish people living east. St. Mark served that community. As a result, Troost Avenue entered into a period of decline that lasted for decades during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Today, the church remains, but the Christian (Lutheran) church is now led by a female, lesbian pastor who openly welcomes LBGTQ members -- something unheard of in the early twentieth century. The church speaks to Troost Avenue in the twenty-first century as inclusivity and diversity have become a centerpiece of its slow revival. 

The history of Troost pre-dates settlement by people of European and African descent, having once served as an Osage Nation hunting trail and path to the Missouri River. By 1825, settlers of European origin forced the vast majority of Osage to depart. The Osage traveled to southeast Kansas via the Trail of Tears. By 1865, the Osage population had decreased by 95%, and they had to purchase land in Oklahoma. Indeed, only 3000 Osage People migrated to Oklahoma, eventually settling in what is now Osage County, Oklahoma. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Benoist Troost and the United States share a birth year: 1776. Of course, Troost was born in Holland. He also served as a hospital steward for Napoleon's French Army. Troost did not see America until he moved to Kansas City in 1847 at the age of 71. The Dutch immigrant served as the city's first practicing physician, became a town trustee who helped the town incorporate, and built the area's first brick hotel. However, Troost also owned six slaves. 

Meanwhile, the former trail that would become a street named after Benoist Troost was part of a plantation owned by Rev. James Porter, the city's first Methodist preacher. His family established a plantation that included numerous slaves (as few as 40 and possibly as many as 100). After the Civil War, the Porter family began selling off some of the lots, which led to the creation of "Millionaire's Row." 

Slowly but surely, some of the wealthiest residents moved south, but the upper-middle class continued to move to the area once owned by the Porter Family. The homes that used to line the street next to St. Mark Lutheran Church were part of a home-building boom near the 3800 block of Troost around 1910. As early as 1890, the town laid out a plan for the lots along Troost, but the homes mainly arose shortly before World War I. Many of the people that filled the homes had migrated southward away from downtown Kansas City, while others arrived in Kansas City from other parts of the country. As the central business district grew crowded and dirty, prosperous or up-and-coming middle-class residents sought newer (nicer, bigger) homes near park spaces. 

Commercial properties and organizations, including churches, followed the population movement south of downtown Kansas City, moving to such places as Hyde Park and along Troost Avenue. St. Mark moved south, as well, setting up at its current location on 38th & Troost. Known as the First English Lutheran Church, the membership laid the cornerstone in 1914 and then added to the structure during the 1920s. 

Things changed for the neighborhood during the 1930s, notably after the Federal Housing Administration in 1934 ostensibly systematized residential segregation. They declined to insure mortgages in or near African American neighborhoods and otherwise backed the legal development of white-only subdivisions; the era of race-inspired restrictive covenants in the world of real estate was born. Troost Avenue served as the border between Black and White neighborhoods, with Whites living east and Blacks west, leading to Troost's decline by the 1970s. Regardless, St. Mark survived and continued to serve the community. 

In short, the area has seen its share of exclusion, from pushing out the Osage to serving as part of a large, slave-worked plantation operated by a Methodist pastor. Even the street's namesake, and town founder, Troost, owned slaves. It served the middle-class for some time before becoming a physical reminder of the continual racial and class divisions in Kansas City and the U.S. But, St. Mark reflects the changes going on along Troost Avenue. Although not part of some broader movement to restore Troost, St. Mark Lutheran Church speaks to the changes occurring on Troost and within the Christian religion. St. Mark accepted a female, openly gay pastor in 2010 and continues to be a Christian church that welcomes the LGBTQ community in 2021, a much different philosophy than that of the slave-owning Methodist pastor. Coinciding with that era, grassroots organizations have helped spur the redevelopment of Troost Avenue, with inclusivity a driving force. 

Betts, Jordan. "LGBTQ pastor reflects on journey to serve the church." KSHB-41. kshb.com. Jun 17, 2021. https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/lgbtq-pastor-reflects-on-journey-to-serve-the-church.

"Do you remember the 3800 blocks of Troost and Harrison?." Midtown KC Post (blog). midtownkcpost.com. 2016. http://midtownkcpost.com/do-you-remember-the-3800-blocks-of-troost-and-harrison/. 

"Osage Nation History." Osage Nation Foundation. osagefoundation.org. 2021. https://www.osagefoundation.org/about.

Salzman, Eric. "For decades a dividing line, Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., sees new hope." NBC News. October 12. 2018. 

Stark, Cortlynn. "Yes, Kansas City's Troost Avenue was named for a slaveholder. And that's not all we found.." Kansas City Star (Kansas City) May 28th 2021. https://www.kansascity.com/news/your-kcq/article251695313.html.