Delve into KC history in Santa Fe Place: a guide to one of the city’s first neighborhoods

Hailed as the first organized neighborhood in Kansas City, Santa Fe Place is a neighborhood full of history and character. The historic east side neighborhood began in 1827 and sits between 27th Street to Linwood Boulevard and Prospect Avenue on to Indiana Avenue.

The community is now predominantly Black, but its history tells a powerful story about racism and segregation in Kansas City and the trials and triumphs it took to overcome those challenges.

The first person to lay claim to the acres that would soon make up Santa Fe Place was John Thornton in 1827. The land was later purchased by the Lockridge family, who began developing the neighborhood for wealthy Kansas Citians in 1893.

The neighborhood was the first in Kansas City to regulate the maintenance and upkeep of residential properties, according to Kansas City PBS. The neighborhood would be known for its strong architecture, lack of commercial properties and for catering to rich and upper class neighbors.

The Lockridge family would call the neighborhood “Santa Fe Place.” By 1931, the neighborhood put in place a racial covenant that prohibited Black people from renting, buying or living in the neighborhoods borders Santa Fe’s for at least 30 years, according to Kansas City’s African American Heritage Trail.

In 1948, the determined Dr. Dennis Madison Miller, a prominent Black Kansas City resident, became the first to integrate the neighborhood. That bold step towards equity was followed by years of litigation in the state courts.

African American families were eventually able to move in by the 1950s. The neighborhood eventually transformed into a space for affluent Black neighbors, including politicians, baseball players, doctors and more.

Alex Ellison, a longtime resident who has lived in the neighborhood with his wife since 1983, said that the neighborhood is still a goldmine, depending on how you look at it.

He said he’s happy to see the neighborhood evolve over the years and looks forward to welcoming the young Black neighbors who are starting to move into the area.

“I mean the historic nature of the neighborhood…[at] one time there were none of us,” Ellison said.

Today, many people pass through the neighborhood as tourists to see the old stomping grounds of legendary Kansas City figures including Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Bruce Watkins, Alan Wheat and Rev. Wallace Hartsfield.

“Just living around here and being able to see the history every day. That’s kind of exciting to me,” said James Brox, who has lived in Santa Fe Place since 2004 and is known as a local historian of the neighborhood.

Here are a few things you can do if you are interested in visiting Santa Fe Place on Kansas City’s east side.

Must eat or drink:

Admittedly, there aren’t that many restaurants in Santa Fe Place. When the neighborhood was first established, there were a number of characteristics that defined the area, one of those elements included the exclusion of commercial properties, according to Kansas City PBS.

Residents like Ellison suggest that people check out Black owned establishments on the outskirts of the neighborhood, including The Combine on 30th Street and Troost Avenue or Soiree in the 18th and Vine district.

Must do:

Be sure to check out all the beautiful architecture. Many of the homes in the area are shirtwaist style or bungalow homes, according to Brox. The homes in Santa Fe are also special because they were built to last and carry a lot of history, he said.

If you are a history buff, you can consider doing a walking or a guided tour of the neighborhood. The book Santa Fe Place: Moving to the Top of the Hill has a nice walking tour guide that can give you a head start as you journey through the neighborhood. You can also check out the African American Heritage Trail, which has a map of the neighborhood and a few prominent landmarks.

Those walking tours include a look at the home of Kansas City Monarch legend Satchel Paige, the childhood home of Walt Disney, Leon Jordan Memorial Park and more.

Iconic neighborhood thing:

Brox and Ellison agreed that the most iconic thing about the neighborhood is the neighborhood itself, particularly the structure and the longevity of the century old homes.

“The housing and the neighborhood is still pretty much intact,” Brox said. “It basically looks exactly like it did 100 years ago.”

Ellison moved to the neighborhood with his family in the 1980s. He said he and his wife wanted a bigger home for their growing family and they wanted to stay in Kansas City proper. He said they had friends near the area and they felt like the neighborhood had so much potential.

“We probably could have moved almost any place we wanted to in the city but we chose not to abandon the city,” Ellison said. “It’s a good neighborhood.”

How to get involved:

People who want to get involved check out the Santa Fe Neighborhood Association. The association hosts regular clean-up events and other activities for neighbors to participate in and volunteer at.

Fun fact:

In August, city officials announced plans to renovate the home of Satchel Paige, the great baseball player who was one of the first to integrate Santa Fe Place in 1950. The home will be turned into a museum in partnership with the Leroy Satchel Paige Home Corp. non profit.

The Satchel House is likely to take about three years to complete, but once it’s finished the space will include a museum, retail space and event space for the community. You can learn more about the project and how to donate by visiting satchelshouse.org.