KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Mayor Kay Waldo Barnes, officials of the Kansas City school district and the Park District, as well as Church leaders and 60 members of the nearby Riverview Ward joined together at Troost Lake Park to place a marker on the historic site of the first schoolhouse in Kansas City.
Mayor Barnes began her remarks by noting that this event was a prime example of how Kansas City is an area of partnerships and the value of different groups working together to make good things happen. The placement and dedication of a marker at the historic site was made possible by cooperation between the Jackson County Parks and Recreation District and the Church.
A separate marker, designating the Church as a sponsor of the park, illustrates the partnership. The mayor, as well as the deputy superintendant of the school district, emphasized the importance of the event and marker as honoring the value of education and learning, and challenged area parents, children and teachers to think about education and aspire to improve schools.
The schoolhouse, which also functioned as a meetinghouse for members of the Colesville Branch, was used from l832 until the main body of the saints were expelled from Jackson County in the winter of l833.
Though it is uncertain when the building was demolished, local historian Bill Curtis states, "There was a newspaper article in l9l5 showing that the building was still standing. You could see bullet holes from the 'Mormon' War in the sides of the school."
As illustrated by the raised figures on a beautifully sculpted plaque attached to the granite monument, the Prophet Joseph Smith participated, along with 10 elders, in the laying of the logs for the schoolhouse.
