PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. — Located in northern Johnson County, Kansas, reaching from 63rd to 95th Street, and taking up about six miles of “JoCo,” Prairie Village is currently home to over 22,000 people.
What the town is now was originally all farmland – and home for the Osage and Kanza tribes.
In the 1920’s, the J.C. Nichols company began developing more on the Kansas side.
“They did different sights and signs in Mission Hills… Fairway in 1937, and pretty quickly sold out all the house sites they had there,” longtime resident and retired city council member Steve Noll said.
They set their sights on going south, coming across 63rd Street. The town was initially built on the motto “Living better, for less” compared to Mission Hills or Fairway. But construction on many homes was put on hold until after World War II.
Things really began to take off for Prairie Village after the war, according to Noll
“It really became the place to be. You’ve got thousands of returning World War II veterans… to be able to achieve having their own home,” Noll said.
Because of its quaint neighborhoods, good schools, low crime rate, and family-oriented community, the town is sometimes referred to as “Perfect Village.”
“We joke even to this day, ‘Well, we’re not the Perfect Village, but we really try to be,’” Noll said.
Prairie Village is often ranked as one of the best places to live in not only the Midwest, but the entire United States.
“When we bought a house here in 1983, you bought a house here, lived in it for a few years, and then you moved on. We’re still here, and staying here for the rest of their lives,” Noll said.
“Everyone really has the best interests of the community at heart.”
