Fairway

History

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. In the 1820s, the federal government reserved this area for use by the Shawnee people, who had ceded their lands east of the Mississippi River to the United States. In 1839, Methodists established the Shawnee Methodist Mission here to operate a school for the Shawnee and try to convert them to Christianity. Later it was named the Shawnee Indian Manual Labor School and also accepted Native American boarding students, then closed in 1862. The site is now owned by the Kansas Historical Society, designated as a National Historic Landmark, and is operated by the city of Fairway as a museum. In the 1930s, as Kansas City suburbs were developing, a developer named J.C. Nichols. laid out a subdivision near a golf course. It was named Fairway from its proximity to several driving ranges. Fairway was incorporated in 1949 and is known as "The City of Trees". Fairway formed its own police force in 1949 with the appointment of a town marshal. This position was succeeded by police chiefs.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,116
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,438
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  21,634
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,299
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,959
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,969
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,670
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  16,214

Largest nearby schools

• Shawnee Mission East High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,697 students · 17:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission West High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,640 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission Northwest High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,626 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission South High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,586 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission North High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,568 students · 14:1 ratio
• Blue Valley North High
  High · Overland Park · 1,414 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• Indian Hills Middle
  Middle · Shawnee Mission · 850 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Westridge Middle
  Middle · Shawnee Mission · 811 students · 14:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 3.1 — 2007-03-23
  5 km N of Nortonville, Kansas
• M 3.3 — 2005-05-18
  Missouri