Lenexa, Kansas. City and Business guide.

Welcome to Lenexa, Kansas.

Lenexa is a city in Johnson County, Kansas and a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. The population was 40,238 at the 2000 census. It is well known for being home of "The Great Lenexa Barbeque Battle".

This storefront sits on the corner of Pflumn and Oak in downtown Lenexa, Kansas. Photo by felixtcat, August 2006
Twelve years before the town of Lenexa was platted in 1869, a young man named James Butler Hickok staked a claim on 160 acres at what is now the corner of 83rd and Clare Road. At about the same time, a census of the Shawnee Indians living in the area was being taken. One of the residents was listed as "Na-Nex-Se Blackhoof," the widow of Chief Blackhoof, who was the second signer of the 1854 treaty that ceded 1.6 million acres (6,500 km²) of the Kansas Shawnee Indian reservation to the U.S.Government. A few miles east in Westport, Missouri, was the start of the Old Santa Fe Trail. It meandered through the southeast part of Lenexa on its way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Life in eastern Kansas was about to change dramatically.

Later, Mr. Hickok became a scout for the Free-State Army, a sharpshooter and eventually, Wild Bill Hickok, legendary lawman of the Old West. In 1865, shortly before Na-Nex-Se died, the Kansas and Neosho Valley Railroad was organized to take advantage of favorable new land laws. It later changed its name to Missouri River, Ft. Scott and Gulf Railroad and in 1869 purchased a right-of-way from C.A. Bradshaw with the stipulation that the railroad build a depot on the property. Mr. Bradshaw then sold 10.5 acres to Octave Chanute, a railroad civil engineer, who platted a town in 1869. Legend states that the town was first proposed to be named Bradshaw, but he modestly refused and the name "Lenexa," a derivation of the name Na-Nex-Se, was adopted.

The award-winning Johnson County Library provides access to ideas, information, experiences and materials that support and enrich people's lives. The Library includes 13 locations throughout Johnson County, including the Lackmand Library in Lenexa.

Lenexa's convenient location and eight hotels, offer a great stop for tour groups traveling through the Midwest. Lenexa is home to the Lenexa Conference Center located in the renovated Thompson Barn. The conference center combines historic charm with technology for a truly unique meeting experience.

We call Lenexa Kansas City's "brightest star," because of all these things and more. Lenexa is a growing suburban community with a thriving business climate, endless parks, nationally-ranked school districts and an array of distinctive choices for shopping, dining and entertainment. Conveniently located to major highways, Lenexa offers easy and affordable access to the metro area's major attractions and state-of-the-art meeting facilities. When you are here you are always close to the action, but have plenty of room to relax and move at your own pace.

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