We Are Headed to Mahaffie
About the Farm:
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.
A Brief History
Arriving in Olathe in 1857 from Logansport, Indiana, James B. and Lucinda Mahaffie purchased the farm site you can visit today:
In 1858, the Mahaffies used oxen to move the wood frame home from the downtown lot they purchased in November of 1857 to their new holdings, about a mile outside of town.
The family lived in that home until the new stone house that still stands was finished late in 1865.
Along with their 340 acre farm, the family owned more land – in Johnson County and at times, elsewhere in Kansas. The Mahaffie farm was one of the most prosperous in Johnson County in the 1860s and early 1870s.
The farm is located on the “Westport Route” of the Santa Fe Trail, which also carried travelers leaving Westport, Missouri and crossing what is now the Kansas City metro region for the Oregon and California Trails as well as the Santa Fe Trail.