Farmstead History

When the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead opened more than 30 years ago, it had two miniature horses, two Shetland ponies, nine goats, six sheep, three calves, a dozen chickens, a vegetable garden, child-size replicas of a barn with a loft, a silo with a slide and a shaded seating area.

Today, the Farmstead has almost 200 farm animals and birds of prey, vegetable and flower gardens, a one-room country schoolhouse, a dairy barn, an old-time fishing pond, horse drawn wagon rides, pony rides and more. Other interesting tidbits:

• It was renamed in 1985 to honor the first Overland Park Police Officer killed in the line of duty.
• The upstairs of the main office building originally was designed as a one bedroom apartment, and there was an on-site supervisor for the first seven years.
• During its opening season, there was one supervisor and four seasonal employees. Today, there are seven supervisors, 46 seasonal staff members and 25 regular weekly volunteers.
• 11,000 visitors came to the Farmstead its first year; that's now the attendance of a typical weekend. About 500,000 visitors are expected per year by 2010.

The Farmstead is thriving and continually growing, adding new features every year.