Westwood, KS

The community traces to a stone house built in 1898 at 4958 Rainbow Boulevard by John and Catherine Swatzell. Catherine was a granddaughter of Captain Joseph Parks, head chief of the Shawnee, who received roughly 1,290 acres in this corner of what is now Johnson County under an 1854 treaty. Parks died in 1859 without a will and his heirs disputed the division of the land for some sixty years before it was awarded to Catherine. source

The name. The city took the name of Westwood View, the elementary school that already stood on the site before incorporation. Missouri already had a Westwood east of the state line, which is why the Kansas city is almost always written with its state attached. source

Incorporated as a city in 1949 (the City of Westwood gives the date as June 7, 1949). Development accelerated after the Second World War, when residents first organized as the Hudson Mission Homes Association to get streets and utilities into the area; incorporation followed. Original boundaries ran from 47th Street on the north to Rainbow Boulevard on the east, with annexations in 1960 adding the Westport Annex and Westport View areas. source 1 source 2

1. Woodside Village, a mixed-use redevelopment at roughly 47th Place and Rainbow Boulevard, was approved as a TIF project - a stated investment of more than $105 million covering renovation and expansion of the Woodside Racquet Club, over 36,000 square feet of retail space and 334 residential units. It is a very large project relative to a 0.41-square-mile city. source
2. 1854Captain Joseph Parks, head chief of the Shawnee, received roughly 1,290 acres covering this ground under an 1854 treaty; after his death in 1859 the estate was contested for about sixty years before passing to his granddaughter Catherine and her husband John Swatzell. source
3. 1898The Swatzells built the stone house at 4958 Rainbow Boulevard that is treated as the origin point of the community. source
4. 1949Post-war residents formed the Hudson Mission Homes Association to bring in streets and utilities; the area incorporated as the City of Westwood in 1949. source

The median home sold here was built in 1944. Most of what sells was built between 1920 and 2020. That closely matches the Census figure of 1950 for all housing, so sales are broadly representative of the stock. 38% 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.

A separately incorporated Johnson County city of well under half a square mile, wedged between the state line and four other small cities - one of the metro's tightest clusters of independent municipalities, where a few blocks can cross three city limits. source

Hosts University of Kansas Health System outpatient facilities, including the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion and the Westwood Medical Pavilion, at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Belinder Road. source

Swatzell stone house, 4958 Rainbow Boulevard

Built 1898; the structure the city treats as its point of origin. source

Woodside Village / Woodside Racquet Club

Mixed-use town-center redevelopment at 47th Place and Rainbow Boulevard built around the existing racquet club. source

Schools

Shawnee Mission School District (USD 512) - Westwood View Elementary carries the name the city itself was named after. Boundaries do not follow city limits; the Shawnee Mission district covers a large part of north-eastern Johnson County across many separate municipalities. Confirm attendance area by address. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source

Getting around

Rainbow Boulevard and Shawnee Mission Parkway (K-10 spur corridor) are the two main streets; 47th Street continues east across the state line toward the Country Club Plaza. Downtown Kansas City, Missouri is about 4.6 miles NNE in a straight line. source 1 source 2

Employers located here

The University of Kansas Health System - Westwood Medical Pavilion and Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.