Mission Hills, Kansas

Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,498.[6] The east city limits is the Kansas-Missouri state line at State Line Road. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols beginning in the 1920s as part of his Country Club District plan.

Mission Hills, Kansas
City
City Sign at corner of 56th Street and State Line Road
Location within Johnson County and Kansas
KDOT map of Johnson County (legend)
Coordinates: 39°0′49″N 94°36′54″W
CountryUnited States
StateKansas
CountyJohnson
Incorporated1949
Area
 • Total2.04 sq mi (5.28 km2)
 • Land2.04 sq mi (5.28 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
928 ft (283 m)
Population
 • Total3,498
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
3,547
 • Density1,741.29/sq mi (672.24/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
66208
Area code913
FIPS code20-47350[4]
GNIS ID0479020[5]
Websitemissionhillsks.gov

History
Kansas City Country Club, 2008

An Indian mission was established at the town's site in the 1830s, hence the name of the later settlement.[7]

The city started as a planned upscale community for the elite by J.C. Nichols to be built around the Mission Hills Country Club (Kansas) on the hills above Brush Creek just south of the Shawnee Methodist Mission. Most of the country club's property is in Kansas but its original clubhouse was in Kansas City, Missouri, allowing it to serve liquor, which was prohibited on the Kansas side. Nichols laid out plans in 1914. He had developed the country club to enhance the value of his Kansas properties after discovering that upscale buyers were reluctant to live on the Kansas side of the state line.[8]

Adjoining the club Nichols established the Community Golf Club. After it dramatically grew, it moved to what today is the Kansas City Country Club. Nichols lured the Kansas City Country Club to take over the land, and the Community Golf Club went on to establish the Indian Hills Country Club. Together, the three clubs became the most prestigious in the Kansas City metropolitan area; many rank them in order of prestige: Kansas City first, Mission Hills second, and Indian Hills third.[9]

Nichols opposed incorporation of the community fearing that a city would not adequately meet the needs of its residents or properly enforce housing covenants. Consequently, the Mission Hills Home Company was founded on August 18, 1914. One of the most publicized early enforcements involved forbidding the family of a sick woman to enclose her porch with glass.[10]

Faced with prospects of annexation by neighboring relatively lower income communities seeking its wealthy tax base, Mission Hills incorporated as a city in 1949.[11]

Many of the early houses were designed by Clarence E. Shepherd, Edward Tanner, and Edward Buehler Delk.[11]

The city's most distinctive landmark, which is used on the official city seal, is the Verona columns and reflecting pool at the intersection of Ensley Lane, Mission Drive and Overhill Road. They were conceived by landscape architect S. Herbert Hare in 1924.[12]

In 1928 Ernest Hemingway and his pregnant wife, Pauline, stayed at the house of W. Malcolm and Ruth Lowry at 6435 Indian Lane. During this time, Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms. He later gave an autographed copy of the book to Don Carlos Guffey, the Kansas City doctor who delivered his son Patrick. The inscription, which is now in the University of Missouri-Kansas City library, said "...with much admiration and grateful remembrance of a Caesarean that was beautifully done and turned out splendidly."[13]

Geography
Detailed map of Mission Hills

Mission Hills is located at 39°0′49″N 94°36′54″W (39.013705, -94.615083).[14] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.02 square miles (5.23 km2), all of it land.[15] However, Brush Creek runs through the northern section of the city.

The northern half of Mission Hills, north of 63rd Street, is informally called "old Mission Hills" and is dominated by opulent houses on large lots. There are two private country clubs in this section: the Mission Hills Country Club and the Kansas City Country Club. The southern half, consisting of developments Belinder Hills, Indian Hills and Sagamore Hills, contains affluent upper middle class residences and the private Indian Hills Country Club.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
19501,275—
19603,621184.0%
19704,19815.9%
19803,904−7.0%
19903,446−11.7%
20003,5934.3%
20103,498−2.6%
2019 (est.)3,547[3]1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]
2013 Estimate[17]

According to Forbes Magazine, Mission Hills ranks as the 3rd wealthiest municipality in the country.[18] Mission Hills has the highest median household income of any city in Kansas with a population over 1,000, as well as one of the highest median incomes for any city in the United States.

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 3,498 people in 1,253 households, including 1,066 families, in the city. The population density was 1,731.7 inhabitants per square mile (668.6/km2). There were 1,326 housing units at an average density of 656.4 per square mile (253.4/km2). The racial makup of the city was 96.8% White, 0.2% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8%.[2]

Of the 1,253 households 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79.7% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 14.9% were non-families. 12.9% of households were one person and 8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.07.

The median age was 47.1 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 14.3% were from 25 to 44; 35% were from 45 to 64; and 18.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 3,593 people in 1,284 households, including 1,104 families, in the city. The population density was 1,782.5 people per square mile (686.8/km²). There were 1,318 housing units at an average density of 653.9 per square mile (251.9/km²). The racial makup of the city was 98.22% White, 0.08% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.09%.[4] 25.2% were of English, 21.4% German, 13.4% Irish and 7.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

Of the 1,284 households 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 81.2% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.0% were non-families. 12.5% of households were one person and 7.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.06.

The age distribution was 29.6% under the age of 18, 3.1% from 18 to 24, 18.1% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% 65 or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median household income was $188,821 and the median family income was $200,000. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $62,440 for females. The per capita income for the city was $95,405. About 1.4% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Typical residence in Mission Hills, Kansas, 2008
Verona Columns, 2009

Mission Hills is in the Shawnee Mission public school district. Some families send their children to one of the many secular private schools in the city like the Pembroke Hill School and The Barstow School or to religiously affiliated schools such as Bishop Miege High School or Rockhurst High School.

Libraries

The Johnson County Library serves the residents of Mission Hills.

In the media

Mission Hills is the setting for the ABC Family television drama Switched at Birth. The show is set in Kansas City, Missouri, but the main characters live in Mission Hills.

Mission Hills was ranked number 3 on the Forbes list of America's most affluent neighborhoods.[19]

Notable people

Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Mission Hills include:

References
  1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "2010 City Population and Housing Occupancy Status". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  7. Capace, Nancy (2000). Encyclopedia of Kansas. Somerset Publishers. p. 236. ISBN 9780403093120.
  8. "A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans". Lewis. 10 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  9. William S. Worley (October 1993). J.C. Nichols and the Shaping of Kansas City: Innovation in Planned Residential Communities. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-0926-2.
  10. McKenzie, Evan (10 August 1994). Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government. Yale University Press. p. 40 – via Internet Archive. Mission Hills Kansas 1914.
  14. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  15. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  16. United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  17. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  18. "Slide Show: America's Most Affluent Neighborhoods". Forbes.
  19. Vardi, Nathan (18 January 2011). "Slide Show: America's Most Affluent Neighborhoods". Forbes.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  20. "Barbara Bollier's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  21. "Henry Bloch's obituary". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  22. Senter, Jay (2014-03-24). "Mission Hills' George Brett provided inspiration — and now a signed jersey — to pop star Lorde". Prairie Village Post. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  23. Davis, Mark (2015-08-22). "Marcelo's moment: Saving Sprint is biggest challenge of Claure's already impressive life". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  24. Quinn, Patrick (2009-10-13). "James Ellroy: The 'Demon Dog' of Crime Writing". Crime Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  25. Martin, David (2009-11-23). "Thomas Frank: Meat eater, proud Lancer". The Pitch. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  26. "Matt Gogel". Golf Channel. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  27. "Founder J. C. Hall". Hallmark Cards. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  28. "Kevin Harlan". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  29. Pace, Eric (1993-08-02). "Ewing M. Kauffman, 76, Owner Of Kansas City Baseball Team". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  30. "Watson, Tom". Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  31. "Carrie Westcott". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  32. "Her Vision Embraces the World: After Succeeding on Her Own, She Now Owns a Nonprofit That Honors Businesswomen Around the Globe". Redorbit.com. June 27, 2006. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  33. "David Wysong's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
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