Washita Station on the Strang Line and the Old Mission Golf Course

In 1906, entrepreneur William Strang completed the Kansas-Missouri Interurban Railroad, which ran from Rosedale, Ks to Olathe Ks. The Strang Line, as it came to be known, connected what was then the largest city in Johnson County, Ks. with Kansas City, Ks. and Kansas City, Mo. In an effort to create customers for his new rail line, Strang help found towns along the route, most notably Overland Park in 1906. The community of Washita grew up around the Strang Line station built at 47th and Washita in today's Roeland Park, Ks. Washita was most famous as the location of the clubhouse for the Old Mission Golf Course, which served the community from 1929 to 1955.

In 1904, Kansas City livestock dealer Herman Beers purchased about 40 acres at present day County Line Road and Mission Road in Roeland Park, Ks. This land was platted into a neighborhood called Shawnee Place and it is the oldest neighborhood in Roeland Park, Ks. In 1905, Beers granted an easement across his land to William Strang's Kansas-Missouri Interurban Railroad, commonly known as the Strang Line, which placed a station at about 47^th and Washita St. (47^th Terrace and Reinhardt today). The Shawnee Place neighborhood and surrounding area came to be known as the community of Washita after the Washita Station. 

The land immediately to the south of Washita was owned by the Roe family and was used for a variety of purposes over the years. The Santa Fe trail had crossed part of this land and wagon ruts were visible well into the 20th century. In 1922, it was the site of a 10-day carnival called Boosterville, which included a camp of 1200 tents, aviation demonstrations and appearances by the governors of Missouri and Kansas. Later it became home to a summer camp for the YWCA.

However, this spot is most remembered as the location of the Old Mission Golf Course, which operated from 1929 through 1955 on land leased from the Roe family. The clubhouse and pro shop building was located on the Strang Line at what is today the 47^th Terr. cul-de-sac adjacent to the Washita Station. The Old Mission Golf Course was a fee course, which meant that you didn't have to be a member in a country club in order to play, you just had to pay the greens fee. For this reason it became very popular with golfers all over Johnson County and Kansas City, Mo., the vast majority of whom couldn't afford a country club membership. Moreover, the course had easy access via the Strang Line.

In 1932, the FBI arrested notorious gangsters Francis Keating and Thomas Holden, the so-called Keating-Holden Gang, on the Old Mission Golf Course. Keating and Holden were associates of gangsters Machine Gun Kelly and Frank Nash and had robbed numerous banks across the Midwest. The FBI had a tip that the two were hiding out in Kansas City, which at the time was under the influence of the Pendergast political machine and a safe haven for gangsters. Knowing that Keating and Holden were obsessed with golf, undercover agents staked out the Old Mission Golf Course until July 7, 1932, when they showed up and were arrested. As an added bonus, wanted bank robber and kidnapper Harvey Bailey was with them and was also arrested.

In the late 1940s, the Roe family was under pressure to sell what remained of their once extensive family farm. In 1947, they sold off a section of the land and the golf course was shrunk to 18 holes. They gifted much of the remaining land to the Catholic Church for the construction of St. Agnes Church and School and Bishop Miege High School. The Shawnee Mission School District purchased a portion for the Old Mission Jr. High School as well. The rest of the land was sold to developers in 1955 and the course was closed. The Fairway Manor neighborhood of Roeland Park is located on the former golf course.

"Relentlessly, Government Tracks Down Union Station Murderers." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) October 10th, 1934. , 1-2.

"Bailey to Kansas Today." The Kansas City Times (Kansas City) July 12th, 1932. .

"A Contrast in Buildings as Club Builds Near Old Mission." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City) January 5th, 1930. .

Conrad, Edward A.. Heartland Traction; The Interurban Lines of Kansas City. Heartland Rails Publishing Co., 2006.

"Forty-Third Street Affair Grows as Time Nears for Home Coming." The Kansas City Kansan (Kansas City, Ks.) June 11th, 1922. .

"Homes on Old Mission." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) October 6th, 1946. .76.