Permanent Exhibit

THE STRANG DEPOT AND THE FOUNDING OF OVERLAND PARK

Within the walls of Discover O.P. – and long-hidden from view – is the first commercial building in Overland Park – “The Strang Depot.”

It was the first stop along the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railroad that connected Kansas City, Missouri, and Olathe, Kansas. Painstakingly restored during the renovation of the building at 8001 Santa Fe Drive, the western exterior wall of the depot is now the centerpiece of Discover O.P.’s permanent exhibit on the founding of Overland Park by William B. Strang, Jr. in 1906.

The exhibit tells the story through historic photographs, artifacts, maps, and interactive experiences that reveal Strang’s vision for a new community and the determination it took to make that vision a reality. Visitors will discover how Strang sold residential lots to future homeowners, planted 5,000 trees to create the park-like setting he envisioned, and promoted Overland Park as a destination for recreation and leisure. Aviation Park, along with other early recreational attractions, helped draw Kansas Citians south of the city and introduced visitors to the community Strang was building.

Together, these stories reveal a man who understood that creating a successful community meant more than laying out streets and selling lots – it meant creating a place where people wanted to live, gather, play, and build a future. And at the heart of the exhibit is the restored Strang Depot wall, the tangible connection of Overland Park’s story to its very beginning.