Southmoreland Park

Southmoreland Park, originally called Squirrel Park, was landscaped, according to tradition, by George E. Kessler, a landscape architect. The park was acquired by gift to what was then the Town of Westport from William Rockhill Nelson, the founder and then publisher of The Kansas City Star newspaper. Construction took place in 1897.

The park became part of the Kansas City park system when the Town of Westport was incorporated into the city of Kansas City in 1897. Some of the remaining limestone walls are probably from the original design.

In 1912 a tennis court was constructed in the park (later removed in 1943). In 1914 a bubble drinking fountain was erected and a large part of the stone retaining walls on the north and west sides of the park were replaced. In 1938 three roque courts (a kind of croquet played on a hard court) were constructed (later removed).

The park features many fine trees, including honey locusts. A small stream, occasionally dry, runs through the park. The two long sides of the park (along Oak Street and Warwick Boulevard) have stone walls which at the north end (45th Street) attain a height of about 12 feet.