Last updated: March 11, 2024
Place
Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site
Photo/Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Historic Site.
Quick Facts
Location:
1200 E Kansas City Road, Olathe (between Two Trails Park and Olathe North High School)
Significance:
The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site is the only working stagecoach stop left along the Santa Fe Trail. It demonstrates the important role of small farmsteads (and their owners) in opening trade with New Mexico.
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places; Certified Site
MANAGED BY:
As the only working stagecoach stop left on the Santa Fe Trail, Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm offers unique experiences and opportunities that engage visitors of all ages in discovering 1860s farming, life on the Kansas frontier, and stagecoach travel.
Arriving in Olathe in 1857 from Logansport, Indiana, James B. and Lucinda Mahaffie purchased the farm site you can visit today.
It is believed the Mahaffies started serving travelers from their first home as early as 1858. By 1864, coaches began using the farm as a stop. Late in 1865 and until about 1870, coach passengers and other hungry travelers took their meals in the basement of the “new” stone farmhouse, designed to serve as a kitchen and dining hall.
Site Information
Location (1200 E Kansas City Road, Olathe (between Two Trails Park and Olathe North High School)
Available Facilities
The Mahaffie Farmstead is the only known Santa Fe Trail station that is open to the public. It is owned and operated by the city of Olathe.
Exhibits
The house, which is situated on almost 40 acres of land, has been converted into a museum and gift shop. It frequently hosts events connected to Bleeding Kansas and bushwhackers. There is an in-house blacksmith and other various era-specific artisans, along with an outdoor exhibit.