Honoring one of KC's finest citizens
Like many of the fountains spread throughout Kansas City, the Thomas H. Swope Memorial Fountain was built to honor a person who had an important impact on Kansas City’s development. For the city known as “The City of Fountains,” it is a very logical form of tribute. In this case, the person in question was Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a successful land developer whose charitable donations to the city helped to make it what it is today.
When he arrived in Kansas City in 1857, Swope immediately began investing in land. His quick success from buying and selling land allowed him to donate a piece of land for a city hospital to be built. His largest donation came in 1896, when he gave 1,334 acres of land along the Blue River to the city. He had intended to turn the land into a farm. The undeveloped land was named Swope Park, and there was such excitement in the city at the announcement of the donation that a city-wide holiday was declared. In following years a zoo and a golf course would be formed on the donated land.
Swope was known as a quiet bachelor who lived in a mansion with several members of his extended family. He, and several other family members, died under mysterious circumstances in 1909. His doctor, who was also his niece’s husband, was eventually tried and convicted of poisoning the family. However, the conviction was overturned on appeal and the death has remained unsolved.
It was Swope’s wish to be buried in Swope Park. The Swope Memorial was not ready until 1918. The memorial, including the water fountain, was designed by the architecture firm Wight and Wight, and the landscape architect George Kessler. The money needed to build the memorial, $44,000, was raised by a donation of $20,000 from his heirs. The remainder of the sum was paid by contributions that were limited to $1 each, in order to maximize the number of donors.
Swope’s remains were buried under a stone slab at the center of the terrace that makes up his memorial. A brass relief of his face is affixed to a wall inside the mausoleum. The memorial is reminiscent of a Greek temple with granite columns. Two sculpted lions sit on either side of the memorial. Located at one of the highest points in Swope Park, it is clearly visible from the entrance. The terrace drops down by way of a set of stairs to a lower terrace, and this is the location of the water fountain.
The simple water fountain, dedicated in 1922, is comprised of a stone bowl with water pouring into a basin. The water falls gently, a striking contrast to the riotous water displays seen in other parts of the city. Rather, this memorial fountain inspires a reflection of nature. In 2005, the Kansas City Star listed the Thomas H. Swope Memorial Fountain as one of its ten “Fountains of Note,” citing the appropriate tribute it makes to the man who donated so much park land to the city.