Overland Park

Sister cities

• Bietigheim-Bissingen

History

In 1905, William B. Strang Jr. arrived and began to plot subdivisions along an old military roadway, which later became the city's principal thoroughfare. He developed large portions of what would later become downtown Overland Park. On May 20, 1960, Overland Park was officially incorporated as a "city of first class", with a population of 28,085. Less than thirty years later, the population had nearly quadrupled to 111,790 in 1990, increasing to 173,250 as of the 2010 census. Overland Park officially became the second largest city in the state, following Wichita, Kansas, after passing Kansas City, Kansas in the early 2000s. Population growth in the city can mainly be attributed to the traditional greenfield suburban development, appreciated on the city's annexation map. Overland Park's last annexation attempt, in 2008, garnered widespread news coverage after massive outcry from affected residents. Overland Park now has a combined land area of and spans nearly the full north–south length of Johnson County. Since the expansion of Overland Park, state legislators have amended laws governing annexations to require a majority vote of affected residents in all future annexations over . On April 13, 2014, a pair of shootings committed by a lone gunman occurred at the local Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and Village Shalom, a local Jewish retirement community. A total of three people were killed in both shootings. The suspected gunman was described as a man in his seventies. He was later identified as Neo-Nazi agitator and perennial candidate Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. He was convicted of the attack and sentenced to death, dying in prison of natural causes on May 3, 2021.

Geography

Overland Park is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of Interstate 435 and U.S. Route 69 immediately east of Olathe, the county seat. The city center is roughly south-southwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. One of the river's tributaries, Turkey Creek, flows northeastward through the extreme northern part of the city. South of Turkey Creek, the majority of the city lies in the watershed of the Blue River. Several of the river's tributaries run east-northeast across the city; from north to south, these include Indian Creek, Tomahawk Creek, and Negro Creek. In the far southern part of the city, two more tributaries, Coffee Creek and Wolf Creek, join to form the main stem of the Blue River itself. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of of which is land and 0.53 square mile (1.38 km) is water. Overland Park lies in the transition zone between North America's humid subtropical climate and humid continental climate zones, typically experiencing hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  31,839
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,461
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  25,981
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,256
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,669
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,324
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  18,928
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  18,884

Largest nearby schools

• Olathe North Sr High
  High · Olathe · 2,230 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Olathe Northwest High School
  High · Olathe · 1,952 students · 16:1 ratio
• Olathe East Sr High
  High · Olathe · 1,903 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Olathe South Sr High
  High · Olathe · 1,841 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Shawnee Mission East High
  High · Shawnee Mission · 1,697 students · 17:1 ratio
• Olathe West High School
  High · Olathe · 1,662 students · 15.5:1 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