How did the home of the famous Swopes become the RLDS Campus? In 1904, Margaret Swope sold twenty-five acres of the Swope property to the Utah LDS church. Then in 1922, she announced the Swope Mansion and the remaining twenty acres would be for sale. Leaders of the RLDS believed it would make a good recreation park with the mansion hosting the Independence Institute of Arts and Sciences. To raise more funds, a mass meeting was held on the Stone Church lawn. A large chart was setup on the lawn, marked off in 550 squares of one hundred dollars each. By the end of the meeting, all squares had been sold. Sixty vehicles and a campaign band wagon paraded through Independence raising another thirteen thousand dollars. All of Eastern Jackson County was invited to the opening celebration on July 4, 1923, and an estimated five thousand people attended. The new campus hosted baseball, volleyball, croquet, horseshoes, and band concerts. On Saturday nights, films were shown at an open air forum seating three thousand viewers. The next year, Ten thousand folks celebrated July 4th on the campus.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 21:08:59 +0000
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