Charles S. Keith House

Completed in 1914, this mansion was the residence of coal baron and former Kansas City Mayor Charles S. Keith. Designed by the local architectural firm of Shepard, Farrar, and Wiser, the mansion was built in the Georgian Revival architectural style and featured 22 rooms, six bathrooms, and a beautifully landscaped lawn. In 1920, prominent real estate and Country Club Plaza developer J.C. Nichols purchased the home and lived here until his death in 1950.

Charles S. Keith was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 28, 1873. His father, Richard Keith, had recently returned to his home state of Missouri in 1871, as he had spent the previous seven years living in California after escaping prison for his role as a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War. As Kansas became the second leading coal producer, Richard Keith started The Central Coal & Coke Company. It became the largest mining and distributing coal company in the West. In 1907, Richard Keith's successor, W.C. Perry, died, and Charles Keith succeeded him as president of the business.

After seeing financial success, Keith designed and built his iconic Westport mansion in 1913. Designed by the local Kansas City architectural firm of Shepard, Farrar, and Wiser, the home was completed the following year. Costing around $75,000 (adjusted for inflation is over $2.2 million today), the Georgian Revival-style house featured 22 rooms and six bathrooms, first-floor walls finished in ornate mahogany, walnut, and quartered oak, and a grand, Elizabethan-style library. The extensively landscaped grounds were designed by the local landscape architecture firm of Hare and Hare, with large terraces, a formal garden containing unique specimens, and a lily pond that has since been replaced by a swimming pool. Keith only lived in the home for a few years as he never felt comfortable with its opulence; it became the home of Kansas City real estate and Country Club Plaza developer J.C. Nichols in 1920.

Shepard, Farrar, and Wiser had their greatest period of success in the years between 1887 and 1931, and was responsible for the design of over 600 residential buildings in Hyde Park and Mission Hills areas of Kansas City. Hare and Hare completed several significant projects in Kansas City, including the original landscaping work on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum and, perhaps most notably, the design of the Kansas City Parks and Boulevard System and the master plan of the Country Club Plaza. Keith held many positions of power in the city's business community, including serving as the Director of the Kansas City Power and Light Company.

During much of Charles Keith's life, the political realm of Kansas City was almost entirely controlled by the extensive Pendergast political machine. Through a network of bribes, fraud, and organized crime, Tom Pendergast served as a power broker for anyone who wanted to get ahead in the local political landscape. This all eventually came crashing down when Tom Pendergast was arrested for evading taxes on bribery payments in 1939. This left Bryce B. Smith, who had been placed in office by the Pendergast political machine, as mayor. For a time, Smith tried to work with the city council, but by 1940, it became clear that to move past Pendergast, the city needed a new mayor. Smith resigned on January 5, 1940.

The city council chose Charles Keith to finish the last two months of Smith's term as mayor until they could organize an election. Keith remained busy with his coal and lumber companies, so after two months as interim mayor, he opted not to run for re-election and retire from politics. As a result, his term as mayor was the second-shortest in the city, with 1855's John Johnson recording 35 days in office. Charles S. Keith died in St. Luke's Hospital in 1945 at the age of 72. As a businessman, Keith participated in and led numerous organizations and public events in Kansas City.

Green, George Fuller. A Condensed History of the Kansas City Area: Its Mayors and Some V. I. P.s. Kansas City, Missouri. The Lowell Press, 1968.

Larsen, Lawrence. Hulston, Nancy. Pendergast!. Columbia, Missouri. University of Missouri Press, 2013.

Blackwell, Claire. Keith, Charles S. Residence, MO State Parks. Accessed July 13th 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Keith%2C%20Charles%20S.%20Residence.pdf.

"Richard H. Keith Dies After Lingering Illness." The St. Louis Republic (St. Louis) October 18th 1905. , https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1905-10-18/ed-1/seq-11/#date1=1890&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=Charles+Keith+S&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=5&state=Missouri&date2=1920&proxtext=Charles+S.+Keith&y=11&x=9&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2 sec, 11-11.

Value of $75,000 from 1913 to 2022, CPI Inflation Calculator. Accessed July 13th 2022. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1913?amount=75000#:~:text=Value%20of%20%2475%2C000%20from%201913,cumulative%20price%20increase%20of%202%2C852.48%25..