What’s the Oldest House in the Kansas City Area? You Asked and We Made Ourselves at Home
Our panel went live in historic Three Gables to answer a question from Del Candler, left, who asked curiousKC about the oldest house in metro. Find the full video below for this answer plus discussion around real estate over time in the area. (Kelly Lynch-Stange | Flatland)
Published March 19th, 2018 at 10:40 AM
Retired teacher Del Candler can trace her ancestors’ arrival in Jackson County to the 1840s, and wondered what structures remain from that period and Kansas City’s origins. She asked curiousKC, “What is the oldest house still standing in the Kansas City area?”
With help from the Missouri Valley Room at the Kansas City Public Library and the book Kansas City: A Place in Time edited by Bradley Wolf, curiousKC found a list of the oldest, still standing homes in Kansas City. As far as we currently know, a house called Three Gables is the oldest, and was dated to 1824. It had some additions and is a rare example of gothic architecture in our area.
Three Gables is now home to the Real Estate Store, which is owned by Mike Yeates and Andrew Mackey. When they acquired the property a few years ago, the house was in rough shape and the yard overgrown. They’ve worked diligently with the help of their families to bring Three Gables back to life and graciously allowed curiousKC to host on site a Facebook Live about Candler’s question.
For Candler, the live show brought a new perspective.
“I was surprised to find out that there were such early settlers in the Liberty area,” Candler said. “I have been inspired to research the history of the house my grandparents lived in. I didn’t know that was available.”
Joining Candler for the Facebook Live discussion were Michael Wells from the Missouri Valley Room, Bradley Wolf who is Kansas City’s City Historic Preservation Officer, and Mike Yeates with the Real Estate Store. In addition to discussing Three Gables, the panel chatted about researching house history and changing housing demands.
Flatland
We’re live at Three Gables (The Real Estate Store) for our second round of the #curiousKC Facebook Live series. Today, we’ll answer this question submitted by curious reader, Del Candler: What is the…
We captured photos of several of the oldest houses in the Kansas City area, and for a longer list of the oldest houses and other buildings in Kansas City, check out Kansas City: A Place in Time.
The Area’s Top 4 Oldest Homes
— Lindsey Foat is the community engagement producer for Kansas City PBS. Follow Flatland @FlatlandKC.
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An older house is in Gladstone: the Atkins-Johnson Farm. The original log cabin was built in 1821, added on to, then covered with clapboard. The City of Gladstone was able to purchase the house and about 4 acres from the remaining heirs. It’s now on the National Historic Register, free to tour, and open to the public. In the restoration, a section of interior wall was opened and left so that the public can view the original construction.