Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past

by David W. Jackson

Swope Park's Lake of the Woods ripples to 100

It’s one of my favorite places in Kansas City, perhaps because it is connected with my earliest and most fond childhood memories. It may also be somewhat of a secret to those unfamiliar with Swope Park beyond the developed landmarks (namely the Kansas City Zoo and Starlight Theater) near the Park’s formal entrance off Meyer Boulevard and Swope Parkway.

I’m referring to the Lake of the Woods which, as it turns out, is a man-made lake created 100 years ago this summer.

A horseshoe-shaped lagoon was excavated early in spring 1908, and the reservoir that was to supply it was formed by building a huge dam 35-foot high and nearly 100-feet long across a small branch through which the waters of the Big Blue River escaped into a natural basin. The area of the water surface of the Lake of the Woods is 10 acres. The lagoon, which is 6-feet lower than the lake, is 25 ½ acres (it measures exactly a mile in length around its outer bank).

Thus was the ‘confluence’ of the Lake of the Woods. A 1908 Kansas City Times article reported that, “It lies in a hollow encircled by a chain of low hills a quarter of a mile south of the park suspension bridge over the Blue. The sides of the hills are covered by a dense growth of trees that extend to the water’s edge. In the summer, their overhanging branches will form shady retreats for exploring canoeists to penetrate. A row around the lagoon, which is three-quarters of a mile in extent, through the canal and to the extreme southeastern part of the winding lake will provide an afternoon’s exercise for the stoutest paddler.”

The suspension bridge is the famous “swinging bridge” that, like the lagoon, is now incorporated as part of the experience of the Zoo’s African exhibit.

By mid-December 1908, a “park driveway” (later named Gregory Boulevard) was being graded and prepared for surfacing that would skirt the west bank of the canal and cross the dam to connect with the county road south of the park (termed “Hickman Mills Pike” that became Oldham Road).

Lots have changes have taken place at this location in the last decade. Most notably, Oldham Road—which once meandered north from Lake of the Woods past the Lagoon, swimming pool, picnic areas and ball fields northward to 63^rd Street—was closed at Lake of the Woods when the Zoo expanded. The former, stone Lakeside Nature Center and Park Ranger post (where patrol officers mounted on horseback were stationed) are presently closed; adaptive reuse ideas are still being sought.

Celebrate Lake of the Woods’s 100^th Anniversary with me as I fondly recall one of my earliest childhood memories that percolates around that little pool.

On several occasions my “Grandma Pat” Campbell bagged homemade popcorn (in the days before microwaves make popcorn easy) into empty plastic Wonder bread sacks. After my half day of kindergarten at Blue Ridge Elementary in Raytown, the school bus dropped me off at my Grandparents’ house, and Grandma and I would often drive to the Lake of the Woods. We would feed a flock of fidgety white ducks where a new shelter house has recently been constructed. The ducks were so rambunctious that this 5-year-old would have to stand on the concrete picnic tables to keep from getting pecked. When our Wonder bread bags of popcorn were empty, it was home to watch cartoons like Wonder Dog, then a “cat nap” (as Grandma called it) before supper.

Enjoy the scenic beauty of Lake of the Woods, and make your own memorable moments with loved ones as you enjoy the natural amenities of Swope Park’s remaining natural areas.

Privacy Statement