Another outdoor fountain built as a tribute to one of Kansas City’s finest citizens is the Thomas H. Swope Memorial Fountain. Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a successful and generous land developer is well-remembered of his various charitable donations which made a significant impact on the city’s appearance and development.

In 1857, Swope arrived in Kansas City and he immediately invested in land which he likewise sold. In return for his success in the buy and sell business, he donated a piece of land for a city hospital to be built. Likewise, Thomas Swope donated 1,334 acres of land along the Blue River to the city to be used as a park in 1896. The city was overwhelmed of the donation that a city-wide holiday was declared. It will be the home of the proposed zoo and golf course.

Swope and several members of his family died under mysterious circumstances in 1909. It was his niece’s husband that was eventually tried and convicted of poisoning the family. However, the conviction was overturned on appeal and the death has remained unsolved. It was Swope’s wish to be buried in the park hence, he was buried under the floor of the Thomas H. Swope Memorial near the Swope Memorial Golf Course about nine years after his death on April 1918.

The Swope Memorial, including the fountain, was designed by the architectural firm Wight and Wight while the landscape was planned by architect George Kessler. It was Swope’s heirs who donated $20,000 for the construction of the memorial out of the total cost of $44,000. The rest of the amount was raised by a $1 each donation of various donors in order to maximize the number of contributors.

The pedestal fountain is 6 feet in height with 4 feet balustrade made of white stone. Likewise, it is comprised of a stone bowl with water pouring into a basin. The water falls gently, a striking contrast to the riotous water displays seen in other parts of the city. Rather, this memorial fountain inspires a reflection of nature. The fountain was restructured in 2003.

In 2005, the Kansas City Star listed the Thomas H. Swope Memorial Fountain as one of its ten “Fountains of Note,” citing the appropriate tribute it makes to the man who donated so much park land to the city.