Linwood, KS

Founded as Journeycake, named for Charles Journeycake, a chief of the Lenape (Delaware) and a Baptist minister, who founded the townsite. It was formally platted as the town of 'Stranger' on July 11, 1867 and recorded at the Leavenworth County Courthouse. The land had come out of the Delaware reserve: a treaty signed in May 1860 at Sarcoxieville, three miles north-east of present-day Linwood, distributed tribal lands to members, after which much of it was sold to railroad predecessors. source 1 source 2

The name. Three names in ten years. First Journeycake, for Chief Charles Journeycake. Platted as Stranger in 1867 for nearby Stranger Creek, but a postal conflict with Big Stranger in the north of the county forced another change. Renamed Linwood on December 20, 1877, for the linden trees growing along the river bottom - the change is credited to Senator William A. Harris, who lived in the town. A long-repeated version crediting Colonel William W. Loring is described by the local history as almost certainly apocryphal, since Loring was abroad at the time. source

Incorporated as a city in 1895. source

1. 1860A treaty signed at Sarcoxieville, three miles north-east of present-day Linwood, distributed Delaware tribal land to individual members; much of it was subsequently sold to railroad predecessors. Union Pacific construction westward had begun in September 1863, opening its first 40 miles from Wyandotte to Lawrence in 1864. source
2. 1867The Journeycake townsite was platted as 'Stranger' on July 11, 1867. source
3. 1877Renamed Linwood on December 20, 1877 for the linden trees along the river. source
4. 1903A Kansas River flood on May 29, 1903 devastated the town; 'Old Linwood' was rebuilt west of the floodplain. A second major flood followed in 1908. source
5. 2019An EF4 tornado struck on May 28, 2019, severely damaging homes in the outlying areas of the city. source

The median home sold here was built in 1988. Most of what sells was built between 1925 and 2022. 48% of sales included finished basement space beyond the above-grade footprint - which matters here, because square footage quoted above grade can understate a house considerably.

Founded by and originally named for Charles Journeycake (1817-1894), a chief of the Lenape (Delaware) elected chief of the Wolf clan in 1855 and a Baptist minister - one of the very few Kansas City metro municipalities that began as a named Native townsite. source 1 source 2

Struck by an EF4 tornado on May 28, 2019 - part of a 32-mile track across Douglas and Leavenworth counties with estimated winds of 170 mph. Linwood and south-eastern Lawrence took the worst of it; total damage across the two counties was about $48 million and eighteen people were injured, with no deaths. Homes in the outlying areas of the city were severely damaged and rebuilding ran for years afterwards. source 1 source 2

Linwood Community Library

The town's library, which maintains and publishes the local history record. source

Schools

Basehor-Linwood USD 458. Boundaries do not follow city limits. Linwood has an elementary school in town; the middle and high schools are in Basehor, about fifteen miles north. Confirm attendance area by address. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source

Getting around

On K-32 between Lawrence and Bonner Springs, on the north bank of the Kansas River and the Union Pacific line; I-70 runs a few miles north. About 25.5 miles WSW of downtown Kansas City in a straight line. source 1 source 2

Charles Journeycake (1817-1894)

Chief of the Lenape (Delaware) and a Baptist minister; founded the townsite that became Linwood and gave it its first name. source 1 source 2

William A. Harris (1841-1909)

Moved to Kansas in 1865 as a civil engineer for the Union Pacific and settled in Linwood in 1884; credited with the town's renaming for its linden trees. Served in the US House 1893-1895 and later in the US Senate, and ran for Governor of Kansas in 1906. source