City of Firsts

Merriam was a pioneer and leader in the development of the Johnson County area and recorded several local firsts. Before Overland Park was incorporated in 1950, Merriam was home to the county's first high school, then known as Shawnee Mission Rural High School. Antioch Park, a forty-four acre park established in 1956, was the first major park established in Johnson County and today remains one of the most popular parks operated by the Johnson County Park and Recreation District. The first permanent library building in the Johnson County Library system was built in Merriam at Antioch Road and Shawnee Mission Parkway, and the Antioch site now serves as a library branch after the system's remarkable growth. Johnson County Community College began in 1969 in Merriam, holding classes in the former Merriam School building and other buildings on Merriam Drive. In 1962, Shawnee Mission Medical Center became the first full-service hospital serving Johnson County citizens. Merriam also made one of the earliest applications for Industrial Revenue Bonds to finance construction of the Montgomery Ward Customer Service Center, now known as GE Consumer Finance, and it was the first city in Johnson County to offer franchise tax rebates to qualifying citizens under income guidelines. Merriam also had the first Bell telephone office in Johnson County, established in the back of the post office building in 1908, where operator Marie Campbell knew all of her customers' phone numbers from memory.

Merriam, Kansas · United States