Strang Carriage House

Built in 1915, the Strang Carriage House was constructed for railroad magnate William B. Strang, the founder of the city of Overland Park and the first electric rail line. The carriage house was used to house the personal vehicles while his chauffeurs lived on the second level. Many of the surrounding projects built by Strang have since been demolished, but his old carriage house remains as one of the oldest buildings still standing in Overland Park. The building was renovated in 1998 and now serves as the site of the Overland Park Historical Society.

William B. Strang (1857-1921) first came to Kansas in 1885 after making a name for himself in the railroad business. Throughout much of his career, Strang worked to build several railroads throughout the United States. He finally landed in Johnson County, Kansas in 1905, where he started construction of his interurban rail line and established the subdivision of Overland Park in 1906. As his wealth grew, Strang constructed his carriage house in 1915 to house his personal carriages and automobiles, while the second floor of the building served as a residence for his chauffeurs.

As the United States was expanding west, much of the land development happened along the railroads so it often fell upon the railroad magnates to plan those developments. William B. Strang Jr. was one such magnate and in 1905, he purchased 600 acres of suitable land south of Kansas City for the purpose of building a residential suburb. Some of the region had been damaged by the Kansas River flooding in 1903, so Strang bought land on higher ground with the hopes of protecting residential areas from flood damage. It was his idea to connect Kansas City to its new suburb with an electric interurban railway. This would allow easy access for city dwellers to escape into the rural country, while simultaneously giving suburban residents quick access to employment in the city.

In 1906, Strang established the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway to run a trolley from Kansas City to his newly developed city Overland Park. Strang established this and many other construction projects in Overland Park, including the town's first airstrip. Strang’s initial ambitions for Overland Park fell victim to the expanding metro area of Kansas City, which eventually grew to engulf the suburb. Many of his infrastructural contributions to the Kansas City area, including his trolley car line and the air strip, have since been demolished. However, several streets and buildings in Overland Park are named in honor of Strang and his contributions to the town.

Strang inhabited Overland Park from 1905 until his death in 1921. For some time after his death, the carriage house was rarely used and fell into disrepair. It is one of the most well constructed of its era and since 1998, it has been the headquarters of the Overland Park Historical Society. The historical society heavily renovated the interior of the building, however, it still features its original wooden doors and limestone exterior. The Strang Carriage House also houses a small museum with several small collections of local artifacts.

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