Hopkins Orphan Became Kansas City Mayor, US Congressman

Henry Jost was born in New York, but lost both of his parents by the time he was five. He came to Hopkins at the age of 5 as part of the Orphan Train Movement.

The Orphan Train Movement was an effort to take orphans out of crowded Eastern cities and take them to foster homes in rural parts of the Midwest. Over 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, abused, and homeless children were relocated through this movement, which lasted from 1854 to 1929.

Jost had trouble finding a family who wanted him in Hopkins, bouncing around five different homes before finally finding a place. However, he made the most of his time, rising to become a Justice of the Peace in Hopkins.

He would graduate from Kansas City Law School in 1898, and worked for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in 1909 before becoming elected Kansas City Mayor in 1912. He served until 1916, and later served as 5th District Congressman from 1923 to 1925.

While Jost was Mayor, he was known as the “Orphan Boy Mayor.” Union Station was constructed, and the Federal Reserve Bank was established during his time there.