Frisco Depot and Northern Pacific Caboose; Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park

Part of the Lenexa Historical Society Complex, the Frisco Train Depot and Museum is operated inside a former Lenexa train depot that was constructed from 1912-1913. The depot is located next to a Northern Pacific/Burlington Northern caboose car. The two historic structures are located next to many others, each of which were moved to create a history complex in Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park. The complex also has a replica sod home, a train caboose, a prairie schooner wagon, and an herb garden. The complex is run jointly between the City of Lenexa and Lenexa Historical Society volunteers, who give guided tours to visitors.

The Frisco Train Depot was originally located near the corner of modern-day Pflumm Road and Santa Fe Trail Drive in Old Town Lenexa. A depot had existed at that location since the late 1870s, and the current building was the third depot built after fire destroyed the first two. It was constructed from 1912-1913 and restored in 1988. The depot today houses a museum about early modes of transportation. Outside the depot, on a partial set of train tracks, is a Northern Pacific/Burlington Northern caboose car.

Located nearby, one can also visit the relocated Wiedenmann station, which was part of the Missouri & Kansas Interurban Railroad (more commonly known as “The Strang Line” after William Strang, who had developed it and was also the founder of Overland Park.) The small depot, perhaps more accurately referred to as a wait station, offered shelter for riders who made one of the eleven to eighteen daily trips offered by the Strang Line between Olathe and Kansas City. That wait station was originally located in the Morrison Ridge neighborhood. The Strang Line operated from downtown Kansas City to the Johnson County metro area, stopping at Rosedale, Shawnee, Overland Park, and Lenexa, and terminating at Olathe. The commuter line ran parallel to the old Santa Fe Trail and connected suburbanites to jobs and shopping in the city. It operated electric trolleys from 1906 to July 1940, when it could no longer compete with automobiles and a new highway system.

The complex is maintained by the City of Lenexa and operated with the help of the Lenexa Historical Society. Volunteers from the historical society conduct guided tours of the sites, assist researchers with access to archival material, develop public programs, and design and create museum exhibits. Local Boy Scout troops constructed a replica sod house and also donated almost 250 hours to make improvements to the Herb Garden with a new pergola in 2009. A dedicated set of volunteers weeds, waters, and maintains the garden weekly.

Legler Barn Museum is the main structure on the Lenexa Historical Society Complex. The barn was built in the 1860s out of native limestone by Adam Legler, a Swiss immigrant to Kansas. It was originally located at 95th and Quivira Streets, adjacent to the Santa Fe Trail. The barn was dismantled in 1972 and held in storage at a quarry. It was reconstructed and slightly enlarged at its current location in Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in 1982-83. [1] The museum contains two gallery spaces detailing the history of Lenexa from the first Native Americans to the Santa Fe Trail to agriculture. There are also displays about notable residents and themed temporary exhibits. The building is also the home to the Legler Barn Quilters, a group that has been regularly gathering since 1987 to demonstrate hand quilting. [2] The museum also has a prairie schooner Conestoga wagon which is brought out for special events. It is outfitted with supplies and tools that would have been used by pioneers making their way across the plains.

1.      “Legler Barn.” Lenexa Historical Society Official Website. Accessed December 3, 2019. https://lenexahistoricalsociety.org/legler-barn/.

2.      Stokes, Keith. “Legler Barn Museum.” Kansas Travel Blog. Copyright 2007-2014. Accessed December 3, 2019. http://www.kansastravel.org/lenexa/leglerbarnmusem.htm.

3.      Wood, Toni and Jilian Mincer. Wow!: Where Families Can Find Awe & Wonder in and Around Kansas City. Kansas City, MO: Kansas City Star Books, 2000. Accessed December 3, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=hMI1t9CbFAkC&dq.

4.      “Strang Line Interurban Railroad.” The City of Westwood, Kansas Website. Accessed December 3, 2019. https://www.westwoodks.org/index.asp?SEC=B720C158-D4BB-48BB-9B95-BAC760271F79&DE=3B04A948-5DC9-41AE-8820-40FBE06A1144.