Olathe, Kansas, United States

🇺🇸 Olathe is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

History Olathe was founded by John T. Barton in the spring of 1857. He rode to the centre of Johnson County, and staked two quarter sections of land as the town site. He later described his ride to friends: "…the prairie was covered with verbena and other wild flowers. I kept thinking the land was beautiful and that I should name the town Beautiful". Purportedly, Barton asked a Shawnee interpreter how to say "Beautiful" in his native language. The interpreter responded, "Olathe".

Olathe was incorporated in 1857, and while not the first city in Johnson County, its rapid growth led to it being named the county seat in October 1859. Rising tensions across the nation over the issue of slavery led to numerous clashes between abolitionist settlers and neighboring slave state Missouri. These clashes further escalated and become a part of the greater conflict known as Bleeding Kansas. With the admission of Kansas into the Union as a free state in 1861, violence began to dissipate. Peace continued to elude Olathe for many years to come, however. In 1861, Union officials and local military forces created a military post in the city. It housed one company of troops along with the local militia.

On September 6, 1862, William Quantrill led a surprise raid of guerrilla Confederates against the city, which resulted in a half dozen deaths and the destruction of most of the city. Quantrill captured the outpost and tried forcing the men to swear an oath to the Confederacy. The oath was deemed invalid in November 1862, since the guerrillas were not considered legitimate enemy military units. Kansas militia continued to occupy the Olathe military post through the rest of the Civil War.

Confederate forces attempted two further raids against the city. The first happened on August 20–21, 1863, as Quantrill was passing through on his way to Lawrence, Kansas (see Lawrence Massacre). The second raid occurred October 24–5, 1864, when Confederate Major General Sterling Price, with a force of 10,000 men, passed through on their retreat south (see Price's Raid). With the Confederate surrender, the military post was decommissioned in August 1865.

Olathe served as a stop on the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Santa Fe Trail. Catering to travelers was the main source of income for local stores and businesses. The Mahaffie House, a popular resupply point for wagons headed westward, is today a registered historical site maintained by the City of Olathe. The staff wears period costumes, and stagecoach rides and farm animals make the site a favorite among children. Visitors can participate in Civil War re-enactments, Wild West Days, and other activities.

After the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the trails to the west lost importance, and Olathe faded into obscurity and remained a small, sleepy prairie town.

History: 20th century In the 1950s, the construction of the interstate highway system and, more directly, Interstate 35, linked Olathe to nearby Kansas City, Missouri. The result was tremendous residential growth as Olathe became a part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In the 1980s, Olathe experienced tremendous commercial growth, which also drew more residents. Olathe's population is estimated to have surpassed 100,000 in 2001, and later projections showed Olathe's growth continuing as the city expanded into the farm fields south, west, and north of town.

History: 21st century In 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Olathe the 24th-fastest growing city in the nation. The same year, CNN and Money ranked Olathe number 11 on its list of the "100 Best Cities to Live in the United States".

Geography Olathe is bordered by the cities of Lenexa to the north, Overland Park to the east, De Soto to the north-west, and Gardner to the southwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 60.42 square miles (156.49 km²) of which 59.66 square miles (154.52 km²) are land and 0.76 square miles (1.97 km²) is covered by water. Olathe has two public lakes: Lake Olathe with 172 acres (0.70 km²) of water surface and Cedar Lake with 45 acres (0.18 km²).

Olathe's Black Bob Park is named after Hathawekela Shawnee Chief Black Bob.

Demographics The 2020 United States census counted 141,290 people, 50,070 households, and 37,409 families in Olathe. The population density was 2,282.8 per square mile (881.4/km²). There were 51,820 housing units at an average density of 837.2 per square mile (323.3/km²). The racial makeup (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 73.89% (104,405) white or European American (71.27% non-Hispanic white), 5.98% (8,444) black or African-American, 0.52% (735) Native American or Alaska Native, 4.48% (6,336) Asian, 0.09% (125) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 4.77% (6,739) from other races, and 10.27% (14,506) from two or more races.

The racial and ethnic makeup (where Hispanics are excluded from the racial counts and placed in their own category) was 71.27% (100,691) White alone (non-Hispanic), 5.85% (8,262) Black alone (non-Hispanic), 0.29% (414) Native American alone (non-Hispanic), 4.45% (6,293) Asian alone (non-Hispanic), 0.08% (115) Pacific Islander alone (non-Hispanic), 0.44% (620) Other Race alone (non-Hispanic), 5.24% (7,410) Multiracial or Mixed Race (non-Hispanic), and 12.38% (17,845) Hispanic or Latino.

Of the 50,070 households, 40.1% had children under the age of 18; 60.0% were married couples living together; 20.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 20.2% of households consisted of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.8 and the average family size was 3.3. The percent of those with a bachelor's degree or higher was estimated to be 32.7% of the population.

27.7% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 104.9 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $96,548 (with a margin of error of +/- $1,957) and the median family income was $105,927 (+/- $2,403). Males had a median income of $54,705 (+/- $1,766) versus $36,251 (+/- $2,111) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $45,840 (+/- $1,393). Approximately, 3.9% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those ages 65 or over.

Economy Olathe's commercial and industrial parks are home to many companies, including Honeywell, Husqvarna, ALDI, Garmin, Grundfos, and Farmers Insurance Group. Although Farmers Insurance is based in Los Angeles, California, Olathe has more of its employees than any other city in the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration, a agency of the United States Department of Transportation, administers and maintains an air traffic-control centre in Olathe, designated Kansas City Center or ZKC. Kansas City Center is one of 20 regional traffic-control centres that cover United States airspace. Johnson County maintains an airport in Olathe, Johnson County Executive Airport. The airport is the second-busiest in the state.

Largest employers Among the largest employers in the city are: Olathe Unified School District; GARMIN International; Farmers Insurance; Olathe Medical Center; Johnson County; Convergys; City of Olathe; Honeywell (Bendix/King); Mid-Central Sysco; TransAm Trucking.

Education The city of Olathe is served by the DeSoto, the Olathe, Spring Hill, and Blue Valley School Districts. As of 2008, 26,894 students are enrolled in the Olathe School District. The Olathe School District has 36 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and five high schools: Olathe North, Olathe South, Olathe East, Olathe Northwest, and Olathe West.

Olathe is the home of MidAmerica Nazarene University and the Kansas School for the Deaf (established in 1861).

Transport: Air Olathe is served by: • Johnson County Executive Airport • New Century AirCenter

The closest airport with airline service is Kansas City International Airport in Platte County, Missouri.

Transport • Johnson County Transit operates a bus system throughout the county, including Olathe. • BNSF Railway's Chicago-Los Angeles main line runs through Olathe.