Loose Park · KS.City

Loose Park is one of Kansas City’s most popular urban parks at 75 acres + the site of the 1864 Battle of Westport — the largest Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River.¹² Donated to KCMO in 1927 by Ella C. Loose in memory of her late husband Jacob L. Loose, the park combines historical battlefield, public landscape, the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden (one of the major US urban rose gardens), and the nearby Wornall House Museum into a defining KC civic space.²³

History

Pre-park era + Battle of Westport (pre-1927)

At the time of the Civil War, the land that became Loose Park was owned by William Bent, the frontier trader + wagon-train leader. Seth Ward bought the property in 1871 after Bent’s death; in 1896 the newly incorporated Kansas City Country Club leased part of the Ward property for $1 a year plus taxes and used it as a golf course until 1927.² The Battle of Westport (battle-of-westport) was fought across this land + adjacent ridges, culminating on October 23, 1864 after three days of fighting around Kansas City (October 21-23).¹

The battle was the largest Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi, with approximately 30,000 Union and Confederate troops engaged — roughly 22,000 Union soldiers against some 8,500 Confederate cavalry. The Union victory under Major General Samuel R. Curtis over Sterling Price effectively ended Confederate hopes of controlling Missouri.¹

The Wornall House (now Wornall House Museum) — nearby at 6115 Wornall Rd, about a mile south of the park — was used as a field hospital during the battle.⁴

Donation + park founding (1927)

In 1926, Ella C. Loose bought the 75-acre tract from the estate of Hugh Ward (Seth Ward’s son) so it could become a park honoring her late husband Jacob L. Loose — founder of the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, maker of Sunshine Biscuits — who had died in 1923. She gave the property to the City of Kansas City in 1927.²

Hare & Hare landscape design

The Hare & Hare landscape architecture firm of Kansas City — the same firm that designed the broader Country Club District landscape for J.C. Nichols — is credited among the designers of the city’s early parks, including Loose Park.⁵ The park’s design featured:

Naturalistic landscape elements (Olmstedian tradition)
Curving walking paths
Multiple garden areas
Open lawns + tree groves

S. Herbert Hare designed the Rose Garden’s circular plan.³

Loose Park Rose Garden (1931)

The municipal rose garden in Loose Park began in 1931, when a group of citizens under the leadership of Laura Conyers Smith established the Kansas City Rose Society; the garden was renamed the Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden in her honor in 1965.²³ The first garden contained 120 rose plants; it has grown into one of the most-significant urban rose gardens in the central United States, with about 3,000 roses of nearly 130 varieties in the 1.5-acre garden.²³

The Rose Garden is the most-photographed component of the park + a major destination for weddings + civic events.²

Modern era (1930s-present)

Loose Park has remained one of KC’s most-active urban parks across decades. Major features today:

The Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden — flagship attraction
Multiple fountains — see loose-park-fountains
Battle of Westport historical markers — placed throughout the park
Walking paths + tree-lined lawns
Public art + sculpture installations
Annual events — including Battle of Westport commemorations

Architecture + landscape

The park’s design features:

Naturalistic Olmstedian landscape
75 acres of green space²
Multiple garden areas including the Rose Garden + perennial garden + memorial garden
Tree canopy of mature specimens
Civil War-era historical markers integrated into the landscape
Multiple fountains + water features

Cultural significance

Loose Park is one of Kansas City’s most-significant public spaces + a defining KC civic landscape. The combination of:

Civil War battlefield history (Battle of Westport)
The Rose Garden as flagship attraction
Wornall House Museum nearby
75-acre scale
Year-round programming

establishes Loose Park as a defining KC park experience.

The park’s role in KC’s collective memory of the Civil War + Battle of Westport makes it KC’s primary Civil War commemorative landscape.

Visiting

Address: 5200 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64112
Public access: Free; open 5 a.m.-midnight daily²
Best time to visit: Spring (Rose Garden) through fall
Annual events: Battle of Westport commemorations (October); Rose Garden events (peak bloom in June)

Neighborhood context

Neighborhood: Loose Park / Country Club Plaza adjacency
Nearby landmarks: Wornall House Museum (about a mile south), Country Club Plaza (north), Brookside (south)

Sources

Kansas City Public Library, Civil War on the Western Border — “The Battle of Westport.” — asserts: largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi; fought October 23, 1864; ~22,000 Union troops under Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis vs ~8,500 Confederate cavalry under Sterling Price; decisive Union victory; ~1,500 killed, captured, or wounded on both sides; Price’s Army of Missouri virtually disintegrated afterward. ↩ ↩² ↩³
Kansas City Parks & Recreation — “Loose Park.” — asserts: 75 acres; major Battle of Westport site (est. 29,000 involved); land owned by William Bent at the time of the battle; Seth Ward bought it in 1871; Kansas City Country Club leased it as a golf course from 1896 to 1927; Ella Loose bought the property from the Hugh Ward estate in 1926 and gave it to the city in 1927; Jacob Loose founded the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company (Sunshine Biscuits) and died in 1923; rose garden begun 1931 under Laura Conyers Smith / Kansas City Rose Society, first garden 120 plants, today about 3,000 roses of nearly 130 varieties in 1.5 acres; park hours 5 a.m.-midnight daily; weddings by permit. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Kansas City Rose Society — “Our Garden: Laura Conyers Smith Municipal Rose Garden.” — asserts: Kansas City Rose Society established 1931 under Laura Conyers Smith; garden renamed for her in 1965; circular layout designed by landscape architect S. Herbert Hare; 1.5 acres; ~3,000 roses of nearly 130 varieties; 2008-09 renovation added ~1,200 new roses; Italian stone fountain dedicated 2002; maintained in partnership with the KCMO Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
John Wornall House Museum (Wornall/Majors House Museums) — “The John Wornall House.” — asserts: the house was used as a field hospital during the Battle of Westport in the U.S. Civil War; museum located at 6115 Wornall Rd, Kansas City, MO 64113. ↩
KC Studio — “The Legacy of Hare & Hare” (Cydney Millstein) — asserts: Sid J. Hare and later his son S. Herbert Hare joined forces with landscape architect George Kessler in designing the city’s first parks, including Loose Park. ↩