From an ice harvest pond on Mission Creek to a community on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lake of the Forest is more than a picturesque gated community — it is a living time capsule. From an 1866 land grant in the Delaware lands, to ice harvesting on Mission Creek in 1888, to a community on the National Register, the place has gathered its meaning slowly. Seven chapters mark the turns.
1866
Before the lake
Lake of the Forest's roots reach back to an 1866 land grant following a treaty with the Delaware Tribe. Before there was a lake — before there was even a pond — there was the land itself, part of the broader Bonner Springs landscape that ran from the Kansas River to the rolling woods west of town.
For two decades the parcel that would become Lake of the Forest was farmland and timber, waiting for the dam that would change everything.
1888
The Founding
In June 1888, Henry Harrison dammed Mission Creek to create a forty-acre lake — built not for recreation, but for harvesting ice for Swift & Co. and the Union Pacific Railroad.
He named the lake for his daughter, Evelyn. For its first decades, the property was a commercial concern, not a community.
1910
The Club is formed
After ownership and financial changes, John W. McDanield took control of the property and renamed it Forest Lake.
In 1910, the Lake of the Forest Club was organized, and the property began shifting from a commercial ice operation to a planned recreational and residential lake community. Rail and interurban service tied the area to Kansas City and surrounding towns.
1920s
A community takes shape
Early life at the lake centered on boating, tennis, golf, and summer recreation, with many homes starting as seasonal "tent homes."
Through the 1920s and 1930s, year-round residency became more common, and the area gradually developed into the neighborhood seen today.
1996
A place on the National Register
In 1996, Lake of the Forest was listed on the National Register of Historic Places — recognition of the community's continuous stewardship of the lake and its historic character. The listing covered the residential community as a whole.
2014
Another listing
In early 2014, the community's nine-hole sand-green pasture golf course was added to both the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places — making it the first golf course in Kansas to earn the distinction.
Stretching 3,021 yards, with rolling hills, streams, and strategically placed trees and boulders, the course is maintained and designed by Lake Forest members themselves.
Today
Today
Today, Lake of the Forest is a year-round community of 163 homes nestled around its 40-acre lake, with residents ranging from people in their 90s to newborns and families spanning second and third generations.
The calendar still revolves around the water: boating, swimming, the 9-hole course threading the woods, and the historic clubhouse at the heart of community life. The lake itself, dammed in 1888, remains the place's organizing principle.
Today the lake anchors four distinct facets of community life — water, fairway, hearth, and neighborhood.
In warm weather the lake buzzes from sunrise to fireworks. Toddlers wade and build sand castles while adults keep watch and visit. During the week, kids practice for swim team, take lessons, and practically live in the water; weekends bring everyone in or around it.
Sailboats, canoes, paddleboats, and floating rafts share the surface with swimmers. Fishing from the shore and small boats is fun for all ages. On the Fourth of July, fireworks launched from the Island give everyone the best view of the show.
A nine-hole sand-green pasture course, 3,021 yards, threaded through rolling hills, streams, trees, and boulders. Maintained and designed by Lake Forest members themselves; listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 as the first golf course in Kansas to earn the distinction.
Summer brings one- and two-day tournaments with spirited competition, and around the Fourth of July the course hosts a Golf Cart Drive-In Movie. The rest of the year, members walk dogs, fly kites, or just cruise the cart paths.
Most clubs and groups meet at the historic clubhouse. Several dances light up the ballroom each year, porch suppers remain beloved, and Friday evening Happy Hour in the downstairs clubroom is a long-running ritual. Generations of Lake families have held weddings here.
Uniquely, the clubhouse houses one of the few remaining privately-owned U.S. Post Offices, right on community property.
163 homes nestled around a 40-acre lake, spread across winding roads climbing three levels on two sides. Located on Kansas Highway 32 between Edwardsville and Bonner Springs — minutes from I-435 or I-70, and 30 to 45 minutes from downtown Kansas City, the airport, Lawrence, or Leavenworth.
Residents range from people in their 90s to newborns, with several families spanning second and third generations. Bonner Springs school buses pick up and drop off Lake children right at the clubhouse parking lot.
The clubhouse is the place to start — community events, private rentals, and the social center of the lake.
