Atkins—Johnson Farm
Placed 2010
The weather was cold and rainy, and about 30 attended the potluck at Happy Rock Park West in Gladstone for the dedication. The dedication was held at the park, rather than the site, as getting to the farmhouse would have been difficult given the weather. Several persons did speak, and I presented dedication remarks as well as recognizing those members of NSDKC present. Photos of the new marker and farmhouse will have to be taken later due to the weather. The City of Gladstone and The Friends of Atkins-Johnson have much work ahead of them to restore the site. Work has been underway for 18 months or better, and much progress is visible.
Gary Hicks, 2010 President
The link to the Google Map for the farm shows the street address on a map. Change the view to Satellite for a view of the farm house. You'll see a white square to the north of the school.
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Atkins—Johnson Farm
In 1824, William Allen, of Howard County, Missouri, applied for and received a land patent for the original 80 acres of land and later purchased additional land where the Atkins-Johnson Farm is today. Soon after, 130 acres of the land was sold to John Hightower. While there is no record of an exact date, sometime between 1824 and the early 1830s, a log cabin was built on the farm.
Jonathan Q. Atkins purchased 130 acres of land from Hightower in 1834. Between 1850 and 1860 he modified what had become a two-story log cabin, by building a framed structure around it, known as “I-House” type construction. The farm became known as a social center in early Clay County and was home to many business ventures including a steam sawmill, blacksmith shop, stables, wagon and wheel works and a working farm complete with livestock. The home remains today on the original site it was built on.
Rudolph Schroeder sold the farm in 1920 to Mary A. Johnson. Later Emmett Johnson, her oldest son, bought the farmstead. Various Johnson family members lived and farmed on the property until 1991, making such improvements over the years as adding a kitchen, connecting to natural gas and installing an indoor bathroom. From 1991 to 2004 tenants leased the farm.
This home, owned by only five families, was recognized as the oldest continuously lived in home in Clay County, Missouri until it was purchased in 2005 by the city of Gladstone. The Atkins and Johnson families represent 155 years of home ownership and the evolution of the Missouri farmstead. Today, it is recognized as a National Register of Historic Places site, preserving the way of life endured by Missouri farmers in the early 1900s.
