Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity parish has been an important part of Lenexa’s history since 1876. Prior to building a church, Lenexa Catholics shared a pastor with St. Joseph’s parish in Shawnee, and services were held in the Krumm home.

The present church building was constructed in 1910-1911 by local workers using local materials to replace a remarkably similar white frame church which stood on the site of the present rectory. The frame church had been built in 1882 at a cost of almost $1200. In the spring of 1910, the parish decided it was time to build a larger, more prominent church. The new church was constructed in stone and designed in a simple, modified Romanesque Revival style. Romanesque Revival is characterized by rounded arches, barrel vaulting, deeply recessed windows, and rough-faced masonry construction. Buildings in this style appear massive, solid, and heavy. The church has a modified Latin cross floor plan and a central steeple above the entrance.

Mr. and Mrs. Max Zahner donated the Kansas limestone needed to construct the impressive new church. The stone was quarried about a quarter of a mile north of the church site. Mrs. William Strang, wife of the founder of the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway, donated one of the stained glass windows. Other parishioners donated the majority of the other building materials and volunteered much of the labor. Excavation began in fall 1010, and the church was completed and dedicated in 1911. Through the dedicated efforts of the parishioners, the expense of constructing such a stone structure was reduced in half. The total cost was only $16,000.

With the new church finished, the parish began using the old frame church as a school. It served this purpose until 1917, when a new school was built.

The parish outgrew the stone church and built a new facility in 1974, but fortunately they have maintained the historic structure. The interior of the church was rehabilitated in 1992 at a cost of $150,000, almost ten times the original construction cost. The interior remains in excellent condition, with the only major alteration being the removal of the marble communion rail in front of the altar in the late 1960s. More than eighty years after it was built, the church continues to serve the congregation for weddings and other special occasions. Located at the southwest corner of 91^st and Pflumm, Holy Trinity Church is a landmark in downtown Lenexa.

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