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The humble beginning of Kessler Park, or North Terrace Park, and the inauspicious struggle over its acquisition, belies its reputation as what many would later consider one of the best representations of George Kessler's work in Kansas City. Its history begins with a tiny portion of the park, a five and one half acre tract on Prospect Point, which was purchased in 1870 by Jackson County. The site was improved by nearby residents out of fear that the city would use it as a site for a pest house. (Some sources claim it was used as a pest house and burial ground for contagious diseases until 1885 when it became city property). When in 1893, the Board of Park and Boulevard Commissioners outlined their plans for a city wide park system, there were many who were critical of the site selection, particularly of the North Bluffs~ They called the site a "squirrel pasture", with land "too rugged for a goat to climb", but Kessler saw the perfect opportunity there to bring the beauty and serenity of the country into the city. He planned to connect the two existing promontories above the cliffs, Prospect Point and Scarritt Point, with a cliff side drive that would periodically afford a view of the river below and give "the impression of being isolated from all habitation and disturbing intrusions of city life". He then planned to create a Concourse by filling a deep valley with tons of earth so visitors could enjoy a breathtaking view of the Missouri River from a high expanse of land. On the Concourse he planned a Collonade in the grand tradition of the Beaux Art school. However, as an interior park being planned for a previously settled portion of Kansas City, the rugged site also represented one of the few choices left. North Terrace Park became the battleground over which the opposing forces of the park movement in Kansas City fought.
Under the provisions of the 1893 Act which established the board, or commission, a park, a portion of which would become North Terrace Park, was sought to be acquired by condemnation. This case was appealed by a property owner to the Missouri Supreme court, which declared the Act invalid in 1895. The defects of the Act were corrected in a city charter amendment in 1895, and the first acquisition of park lands began in 1895 and 1896.
In the meantime, opposition to the park system plan had been organizing. Led by the powerful Taxpayers League, the anti-park forces held rallies and mass meetings. Repeal ordinances were introduced to the city council, but were eventually voted down. Nelson's voice through his newspaper, the Kansas City Star, was credible, and his ridicule of the Taxpayer's League was effective. After years of wrangling, the opposition began to weaken because it could offer no alternative to Kessler's plan. As beauty began to replace ugliness along Independence Boulevard, The Paseo, Gladstone Boulevard and Cliff Drive in North Terrace Park, more and more Kansas Citians became excited about the parks and boulevards system.
Finally in 1900, the Missouri Supreme court rejected all arguments in the case involving the condemnation process for land in North Terrace Park. Opponents of parks admitted defeat. Success in the courts was due in great part to Delbert J. Haff, the board's first attorney, who masterfully designed the financing of the plan through special property taxes and fought the legal battles during those early turbulent years. Later, in 1909, Delbert Haff would become president of the park board.
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