The Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum

In 1952 residents living in the northland area referred to as Linden, decided to incorporate to fend off the city of Kansas City which had started to annex land north of the river 2 years prior. Thus the city of Gladstone born - the metro's most generic, boring and artificial suburb. Recently city leaders realizing that since they are completely surrounded by KC and have no where to grow, started working on reasons for people to want to live in or visit the city named after a telephone prefix. Gladstone now has a new glossy fake downtown and The Atkins - Johnson Farm and Museum; the city's only museum or cultural attraction. A large plot of land on Gladstone's eastern edge has been turned into a heritage area which encompasses the preserved homestead built in the 1840s. The house can be toured and there are also out buildings, a community garden, picnic areas and a concrete walking trail that leads to The Big Shoal historic cemetery.It is hard to believe once you are on the property that you are in still in Gladstone and not many miles away in the rural countryside.Is this a destination worthy of driving across the metro to see? Probably not. There are many types of these preservation type projects around, but it does seem to be an underutilized space for area residents to learn a little history, hike the countryside or gather for a picnic in the shade of some tall trees on a spacious farmhouse lawn.