The Thompsons: Keeping the Dream Alive

In 1908, William Lackman sold his farmhouse, its furnishing, and the surrounding property to Kansas City horse and mule dealer Frank Thompson. Having been victims of floods in 1903, 1904, and 1908, Thompson, his wife Carrie, and young son, Hugh, saw the estate much like the Lackmans once did – as a symbol of hope for the future.

The family prospered in their new home. Because of the railway that William Lackman had helped create, the Thompsons were able to sell horses and mules all over the country – to businesses, the New York Police and a buyer in the south for work in the cotton fields. During World War I, Frank and Hugh even supplied 1000 horses to the U.S. Cavalry for shipment to France. Thompson’s farm was efficient with its own spring for water and its own electric light plant. In 1932 when the farm’s electricity was switched to Kansas City Power & Light, the original barn burned down due to defective electrical wiring. Thompson turned this misfortune into an opportunity and built a new brick barn that lacked no innovations.

Hugh Thompson left the estate in 1922 and married. After Frank Thompson passed away in 1936, Hugh Thompson and his wife Mary and their six children continued to maintain the family farm. And when Hugh Thompson retired, his sons continued to run the farm. This was yet another chapter in the story of a rare community legacy.