Shawnee, KS

Shawneetown was incorporated on August 10, 1856 and is the oldest town in Johnson County. The Shawnee had established their reservation headquarters on this ground in 1828, on land granted under 1825 treaties covering roughly 1,600,000 acres across present-day Johnson, Wyandotte and Douglas counties. White settlement followed the Kansas-Nebraska Act of May 30, 1854; J.D. Allen is recorded as the first white settler in the area in 1857. source

The name. Named for the Shawnee tribe, whose reservation headquarters were established here in 1828. The city's Charles Bluejacket statue, installed in 2003, commemorates a Shawnee leader. source

Incorporated as Shawneetown on August 10, 1856; re-incorporated as Shawnee, a third-class city, on June 10, 1922; second-class city January 29, 1957; first-class city October 22, 1971. source

1. 1828Shawnee tribe establishes reservation headquarters in the area following the 1825 treaties. source
2. 1856Shawneetown incorporated; designated the first Johnson County seat the following year. source
3. 1862William Clarke Quantrill and his guerrillas raided Shawnee on October 17, 1862, burning most of the structures; the town took years to rebuild. source
4. 1875Most Shawnee people were removed to Oklahoma Indian Territory. source
5. 1960First city hall built with a $65,000 bond issue; Shawnee adopted the city-manager form of government in 1974. source

The median home sold here was built in 1995. Most of what sells was built between 1959 and 2023. That closely matches the Census figure of 1990 for all housing, so sales are broadly representative of the stock. 67% 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.

Census records the mix as 70.4% single-family detached, 7.5% single-family attached, 21.1% in multi-unit structures., with 73.7% owner-occupied. source

By property type, sales broke down as Single Family (832), Townhouse (59), Patio/Villa (35), Condo/Loft (10).

Shawnee was a truck-farming town - growing vegetables for the Kansas City market - and its living-history museum, Shawnee Town 1929, interprets exactly that period. source

Shawnee Mission Park, at West 79th Street and Renner Road in Shawnee, is a 1,600-acre park, the largest in Johnson County and the most visited park in Kansas. source

Shawnee Town 1929

Living-history museum in downtown Shawnee recreating the town as a truck-farming community in 1929. Founded as Old Shawnee Town in 1966. source

Shawnee Mission Park

1,600 acres at W. 79th St. and Renner Rd. Land bought under the Johnson County park district's first bond issue in 1956; dedicated May 30, 1964. Includes Shawnee Mission Lake, marina, off-leash area and mountain-bike trails. source

Charles Bluejacket statue

Installed 2003, commemorating the Shawnee leader. source

2 subdivisions in Shawnee had enough closed sales in the last twelve months to report on individually.

Schools

Shawnee Mission School District (USD 512) and De Soto USD 232. Boundaries do not follow city limits. Shawnee Mission USD 512 lists Shawnee among the 14 cities inside its boundaries, and De Soto USD 232 also operates schools inside Shawnee (Horizon Elementary at 7210 Chouteau and Belmont Elementary at 5805 Belmont Drive). A given Shawnee address can fall in either district - check the address, not the city name. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source

Getting around

Interstate 435 crosses the city; K-7 runs north-south along its western side; Shawnee Mission Parkway and Johnson Drive are the principal east-west arterials toward Kansas City. Kansas City International Airport is on the far north side of the metro. source

Employers located here

TriRx Pharmaceuticals. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.