Pictured above: John Roe, 1823-1920
Many of us are familiar with the names Roe Boulevard, Roeland Park. Roe Highlands, and Roe Manor Heights. They are all part of the legacy of Irish immigrant John Roe.
Roe was born in 1823 in County Meath, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in 1850, and five years later married Mary Roseanna Clarke, the daughter of Irish immigrants. Roe was granted a homestead patent in Daviess County, Missouri, and there he raised cattle and grew corn. The farm became so prosperous that he was able to buy 260 acres of land in northeast Johnson County, Kansas, from Alexander Johnson, a son of Thomas Johnson, who was the founder of the Shawnee Methodist Indian Mission. Roe built a cattle business, and when the cattle were ready for market, they were driven down what is known today as Johnson Drive to the railroad station in Merriam. Roe eventually bought a total of 1600 acres from various members of the Johnson family.
In 1890, Roe and his wife Mary began construction of a beautiful home they named The Cedars of Merriam on the northwest corner of Johnson Drive and Roe. For sixty years, the two-story home with sixteen rooms was a landmark in Johnson County. Roe was a staunch supporter of progress in northeast Johnson County. He encouraged the county government to build hard-surface roads and to supply the area with natural gas and electricity.
Roe granted an easement across his property to William Strang, the founder of Overland Park, who developed the Missouri & Kansas Interurban Railroad so that appropriate development would improve the suburbs of Johnson County. Additionally, Roe provided money to finance the Strang Line rail system, which ran from Rosedale through downtown Overland Park and finally to Olathe. The Wornall family, who descended from Thomas Johnson’s daughter Eliza, also sold their farm to Strang in 1905. The Strang Line began operations in 1906 and lasted until 1940; it offered Johnson County residents an opportunity to work in Kansas City before automobile ownership and highways were common.
When Roe died in 1920, his cattle business ended. His children found that although they owned many acres of land in the county, they were actually “cash poor.” They began selling the land piece by piece in order to pay taxes. The sites of St Agnes Church at 5250 Mission Road and the Roeland Park community pool located at 47th and Roe were donated by the family to lessen their tax burden.
Roe’s daughters Isabella, Catherine, Margaret, and Ellen, finally sold The Cedars of Merriam and 280 acres to businessman Charles Vawter in 1937. Vawter began developing the acreage just before WWII; however, most construction was delayed until materials became available again in 1947. Vawter called his community Roeland Park to recognize the contributions made by the Roe family. Their name was also given to the city of Roeland Park when it was incorporated on July 2, 1951. In 1958, The Cedars of Merriam was demolished to create the cloverleaf interchange that today connects Johnson Drive and Roe to Highway 56.
— Written by Susie Whitfield, Volunteer