Howard Vanderslice (April 8, 1853 – October 10, 1929) was a

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

businessman who donated the land that forms the campus of today's

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. The institute ...

Early life

Vanderslice was born in

Great Crossing, Kentucky Great Crossing is an unincorporated community located in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. Geography Great Crossing is located in west-central Scott County at 38°12'56.1"N 84°36'21.1"W and is part of the Lexington-Fayette metropolitan ...

Scott County, Kentucky Scott County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,155. Scott County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and ...

. Vanderslice was four months old when his parents moved to Doniphan County, in the then Kansas Territory. He is portrayed as the baby being carried in the Pioneer Mother statue by

Alexander Phimister Proctor Alexander Phimister Proctor (September 27, 1860 – September 5, 1950) was an American sculptor with the contemporary reputation as one of the nation's foremost animaliers. Birth and early years Proctor was born on September 27, 1860 in Bo ...

Penn Valley Park Penn Valley Park is an urban park overlooking the Downtown Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city ...

(which portrays his grandfather Daniel Vanderslice agent to the tribes and Vanderslice's father Thomas J. Vanderslice and mother). Vanderslice gave the statue to the city in 1927. However other biographies say that he came to Kansas City in 1890. He went to school at a log school house, then attended

Highland University Highland University (sometimes called "Highland College") was an institution of higher learning located in Highland, Kansas, United States. It was established for the Sac and Fox Nation under the Presbyterian church. Origins of the school date b ...

at Highland, Kansas, until he was 19.

Career

After quitting school, he became a station agent at Iowa Point for the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad, which is now known as Burlington. He learned

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

there, and stayed until 1881 when he started his own grain business. He started the business, Emerson & Vanderslice, with his partner, D. M. Emerson, but when he died in 1882, Vanderslice took it over until 1888 when he sold it.

President Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Dem ...

appointed Vanderslice as postmaster of White Cloud, and he served in that capacity from 1885 to 1889. He was head of the Vanderslice-Lynds Mercantile Company by 1889, which became the City Ice & Storage Company. This company supplied practically all of the ice for Kansas City for nearly 9 years. Vanderslice was active in the business community and participated on several boards and in clubs. He was treasurer of the Lucky Tiger Combination Gold Mining Company, vice president of the White Eagle Oil and Refining Company, president of the Eagle Elevator Company, the

Kansas City Club The Kansas City Club, founded in 1882 and located in the Library District (Kansas City, Missouri), Library District of Downtown Kansas City, Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, United States, USA, was the oldest gentlemen's ...

, Mid-Day Club, Congressional Golf Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. He was also a Mason at Smithton Lodge Number One in Highland and members of the Orient Chapter, Oriental Commandery No. 35, and Ararat Temple of Kansas City. In 1927 Vanderslice purchased the August R. Meyer residence and at 44th and Warwick Boulevard adjacent to the about to be built

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...

. He donated the land to the

and it makes up the school's main campus. The residence was later renamed "Vanderslice Hall"

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderslice, Howard 1853 births 1929 deaths People from Scott County, Kentucky Highland University alumni Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City Art Institute alumni Philanthropists from the Kansas City metropolitan area