For 24 years, the Mission Road Antique Mall was a fixture across from Corinth Square near 83rd and Mission Road in Prairie Village. However, its history went much further back…
Let’s go back to 1938 when most of Johnson County, Kansas was farmland.
In 1938, that farmland included 320 acres in the area of what is now 83rd and Mission Road named Woolford Farm, owned by Herb Woolf, the son of one of the founders of Kansas City’s Woolf Brothers.
(Woolf Brothers is its own history lesson: Their shirts were made in Kansas City and worn by many famous faces of the Wild West including Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickock.)
Herb Woolf was interested in horses, which he raised and trained at Woolford Farm.
Who’d believe that a Kentucky Derby Winner came from Kansas? In 1938, it happened. Lawrin, from Woolford Farm, won the Kentucky Derby.
So, what’s this have to do with the Mission Road Antique Mall?
Well, the Mission Road Antique Mall was built inside of the old Woolford Stables! In fact, many of the booths were in old stable pens and Lawrin’s used to have a plaque.
The Mission Road Antique Mall was a creaky, fun old place. It’s a shame that they closed it and then tore it down in 2019 to turn it into another strip mall. (There’s a smoothie bar about where the checkout/cashwrap used to be.)
We lost a bit of local history when they tore down the old stables, but Lawrin remains… He’s buried in a private cemetery at 59 Le Mans Court, just a stone’s throw from Corinth Square.
Watch Lawrin win the Derby:
Read more about the history of Woolford Farm in Prairie Village in this in-depth article: https://martincitytelegraph.com/2023/05/06/kansas-citys-kentucky-derby-winner-lawrin-from-woolford-farm/
Not looking for the Mission Road Antique Mall, rather just an antique mall in Mission, Kansas? If so, we’ve got one listed on our list of the Best Antique Malls in Kansas City.