Swedish Immigrants Settle in Volker

The Swedish Evangelical Mission Church in the Volker neighborhood was once a center of Swedish life in Midtown. In 1940, the church still stood at the corner of 42nd and Terrace Streets. The history of the surrounding block shows the diverse cultures that settled the area, with Swedish and other immigrants moving into the homes built shortly after the turn of the 20^th century.

As part of our Uncovering History Project, the Midtown KC Post is examining each block in Midtown. A set of 1940 tax assessment photos is available for many blocks.

This 1907 Tuttle and Pike map of the block shows only a handful of houses. Just to the left, one of the area’s earliest residents, George Vogel, still owned a large parcel of land.

The block is part of Epperson’s Addition, where a 1902 newspaper ad offered potential buyers easy terms on lots priced at $9-$12 a foot. A few years later in 1907 lots were selling for $18-$20 a foot in the subdivision which boasted of graded streets, sewers, water, gas line and an easy walk from the Westport or Roanoke streetcar line.

By 1920, residents of the block spoke a variety of native languages, with immigrants from Ireland, Sweden and Germany living alongside folks born in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.

The major landmark of the block was the Swedish Covenant Evangelical Church, sometimes referred to as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Church. The church was established in Kansas City in 1887, moving into the 42^nd and Terrace building in 1911 as Swedish immigrants, like many other Kansas City residents, moved to the new “suburbs” like Volker.

Historic photos courtesy Kansas City Public Library/Missouri Valley Special Collections.