Mahaffie Farmstead - Olathe, Kansas - Homesteads on Waymarking.com

The J.B. Mahaffle house in Olathe sits approximately 500 to 600 feet north of the old Kansas City road, the former route of the Santa Fe trail. It is situated on a 13-acre tract at the east edge of the city and is a small working farmstead. Additional tracts to the north and east are part of the same farm operation. Originally the house was one mile from Olathe but eastward expansion has brought it within the city limits. Development is now occurring in the vicinity of the Mahaffie house.

The Mahaffie house was originally a one and one-half story five-room frame structure. It was built in 1857 at an unknown site in Olathe and moved to Mahaffie's claim in 1858. A two story native stone addition in the vernacular style was built to the south in 1865. It was connected to the frame structure which was then (or perhaps later) raised to two stories. The house measures 40 feet across the south facade; the stone addition extends back to the north 20 feet while the east and west facades of the frame house measure 24 feet, giving an overall length of 44 feet on the east and west sides. The north facade of the wood house measures 32 feet.

The main facade, which is part of the 1865 stone addition, faces the Kansas City road. This part of the house is two stories high with a basement. The stone has been laid in a squared rubble, and the roof which is surfaced with asphalt shingles is pitched. The house has a simple boxed cornice with a plain frieze. The chimneys break the roofline at the peak, a brick one on the east side and a stone chimney on the west. The doorway has been centrally placed. Entrance is through double wood doors and screen doors which have been set in a simple wood frame. The one story porch supported on Tuscan columns which originally extended the length of this facade has been shortened although the raised foundations still remain. A balustrade encloses the flat roof of this porch, and access can be gained to this area through a centrally placed second story doorway. This door has been recessed and has sidelights. Originally there were two aligned windows on each story to either side of the central bay, but the space between windows on the first story has been infilled with another window. The window lights have an interesting configuration. The upper pane has been divided into two rows with four lights each and a wider row of three lights. The lower panes have not been divided into lights.