Mahaffie News
October is full of fun at Mahaffie! Cemetery Tours, October 15,16, & 17, the Way Cool - No School Day Camp on October 22 and 23, plus Trick or Treat OFF the Street on October 24, and our stagecoach operates on Saturdays and Sundays in October. Saturday October 31 is the last day for the stagecoach for the 2009 Living History Season. For details, www.olatheks.org/mahaffie/events. Check out our Facebook page for more pictures of the Wheat Harvest and other activities! Become a fan! www.facebook.com, type in Mahaffie to find us! Wheat Harvest begins on July 16 as part of Thursday Family Fun Nights at Mahaffie Thursday July 16 as part of our Family Thursday Fun nights, we began harvesting the wheat with a horse drawn reaper. The reaper, used to harvest wheat, oats and other grains was manufactured in 1870 by the Champion Company of Springfield, Ohio. The Champion company merged with other companies in the late 19th Century and ultimately became part of the International Harvester Corporation. As part of the continuing collaboration with the Early American Museum in Mahomet, Illinois, Mahaffie recently acquired the horse drawn reaper. The Early American Museum is located just west of Champaign County Forest Preserve District's Lake of the Woods Park. James 'Beatty' Mahaffie is credited with growing the first commercially successful crop of wheat in Johnson County. Mahaffie hauled his wheat to Wynadotte County in the late 1850s before mills were established in Johnson County. Over 80 people turned out to help with the beginning of the harvest. Many hands make light work and we greatly appreciate all of the visitors that came to help! Affordable Season Pass program at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm, purchase your 2010 Season Pass today! Buy your Season Pass at Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm for fun all of 2010! Season Pass holder receive benefits such as FREE admission to Mahaffie, including special events such as the Wild West Show and Bullwhacker Days, 10% discount in the Gift Shop, Trailsides newsletter, FREE activities on Thursday nights in June and July, and a special Season Pass event on Saturday December 11, 2010. Cost for an individual Season Pass is $35 for Olathe Residents and $40 for non residents and a Family Pass (includes up to six names) for $50 for Olathe residents and $55 for non residents. For more information, click www.olatheks.org/Mahaffie/SeasonPass or call 913.971.5111 or email: mahaffie@olatheks.org. Heritage Center Highlights Besides the assembly space, the new facility features a gift shop, exhibit galleries for Mahaffie and the Olathe Historical Society, offices, and restrooms. Custom-engraved bricks, purchased by individuals and entities, will line the front sidewalk of the new center. Bricks can still be purchased and proceeds will benefit programming and operations of the new facility. In the spring, landscapers will surround the exterior of the facility with native plants, trees and nineteenth century ornamental flowers. A unique aspect of the facility is that it will be available for rent for corporate meetings, business meetings, wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners, family reunions, and birthday and anniversary celebrations. "I can't help, but think that if JB & Lucinda (Mahaffie) were here today they would be amazed at the interest the community has in their farm and the outpouring of support for this great new facility," said Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop's Historic Site Manager Tim Talbott. Funding Sources Used for the Building The Mahaffie Historic Site contains the only remaining stagecoach stop open to the public on the Santa Fe Trail and is a certified historic site on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail by the National Park Service. For more information about the Mahaffie Heritage Center and the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site, 1200 Kansas City Rd., Olathe call (913) 971-5111. 
The 10,000-square-foot "Heritage Center" is built on about eight acres at the northwest corner of Kansas City Road and Ridgeview Road. The Heritage Center features a 2300-square-foot assembly room with a working fireplace and adjacent catering kitchen facilities with a pass-thru window to the outdoor patio.
And a life-size relief sculpture of a stagecoach, passengers and six horses will be installed on the property in May near the corner of Ridgeview and Kansas City roads. The bronze sculpture by artist Kwan Wu is the Olathe Sesquicentennial Committee's Legacy Gift to the city.
The heritage center is being funded through $900,000 raised by Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farm Historic Site's Foundation in partnership with $1.65 million from the retail sales tax fund approved by the Olathe City Council. There were also generous contributions from the following:
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