Zimmerman Park
Numerous parks were built by private corporations or real estate developers during the 19th century. The Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad built an amusement park in 1880 to attract city dwellers to the country near Merriam. Other privately developed parks were built in Olathe during the 1880s, but Zimmerman Park near Stilwell was unique.
Located three miles northwest of Stilwell, Zimmerman Park represented the lifelong endeavor of one person — Adolph Zimmerman. This German immigrant spent much of his life creating and lovingly tending the 79-acre park so that others could learn to enjoy nature.
A wheelwright and blacksmith by trade, Adolph Zimmerman purchased the land in 1879. He toiled daily for thirteen years — clearing brush and planting thousands of cedar trees — to create a lush park in a once overgrown, desolate valley.
A 1938 Kansas City Star article reported that visitors numbered in the thousands. At age 90, Zimmerman continued to work in his garden and speak with park visitors.
The YMCA acquired the park after Zimmerman’s death in 1943. Cabins, a swimming pool, a caretaker’s house and a barn were built on the site to accommodate campers. The park was re-named Camp Red Cedar Forest — no doubt for the thousands of large cedar trees Zimmerman planted along the bluffs.
The YMCA operated the camp until 1988, when a private owner purchased the property. In the spirit of Adolph Zimmerman, outdoor nature programs continued on the site under the direction of Outdoor Education Laboratories.
--ALBUM vol. 9, no. 4 (fall 1996)