Kansas City tourist information

The French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans to spot the area that came to be known as Kansas City, doing so via a six-day canoe trip up the Missouri River in 1673. The French settled in the lower Missouri Valley, first at St. Louis in 1765 and later Chouteau Landing in 1821 by François Chouteau, at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers.

A Farm on the River
John McCoy established Westport in 1833 along the Santa Fe Trail, three miles away from the river. McCoy and a group of investors bought a farm between Westport and the river in 1839 and established the Town of Kansas. 1850 is considered to be the city's formal incorporation date.

Slavery
By that time, The Town of Kansas and Westport, along with nearby Independence were critical points in westward expansion. Not only did three major trails— Santa Fe, California, and Oregon—start from Jackson County, the area was ripe with animosity as the Civil War approached. As a slave state, Missourians tended to sympathize with the southern states. With Kansas petitioning to enter the union under the new doctrine of popular sovereignty, many from the area crossed into Kansas to sway the state towards allowing slavery, at first by ballot box and then by bloodshed.

The Union Wins
During the Civil War, the Town of Kansas was in the midst of battles, almost all of them victories by the Union. The August 1862 Battle of Independence stunted a Confederate advance into northern Missouri (settled by pro-slavery Virginians), and the October 1864 Battle of Westport effectively ended Confederate efforts to occupy the city. However, a successful raid on Lawrence, Kansas led by William Quantrill forced General Thomas Ewing to issue General Order No. 11, forcing the eviction of residents in four counties, including Jackson, except those living in the city and nearby communities, or those whose allegiance to the Union was certified by Ewing.

Explosion
After the Civil War, the Town of Kansas grew rapidly. The selection of the city over Leavenworth, Kansas for the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad bridge over the Missouri River brought about significant growth. The population exploded after 1869, when the Hannibal Bridge, designed by Octave Chanute, opened. The boom prompted a name change to Kansas City in 1889 and the city limits to extend south and east. Kansas City, guided by architect George Kessler, became a forefront example of the City Beautiful movement, developing a network of boulevards and parks around the city. The relocation of Union Station to its current location in 1914 and the opening of the Liberty Memorial in 1923 capped this movement. Further capping Kansas City's growth was the opening of the innovative Country Club Plaza development by J.C. Nichols in 1925.

Hemingway, Disney, Harlow and Rogers
Kansas City also served as a launching pad for several storied careers. Ernest Hemingway wrote for the Kansas City Star during World War I. Walt Disney moved to Kansas City and established his first animation studio (Laugh-O-Gram Studio) at 31st and Locust in 1923. Several early screen actors, including Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers and Craig Stevens, grew up in Kansas City.

Crooked City Manager
At the turn of the century, political machines attempted to gain clout in the city, with the one led by Tom Pendergast emerging as the dominant machine by 1925. A new city charter passed that year made it easier for his Democratic Party machine to gain control of the city council (slimmed from 32 members to nine) and appoint a crooked city manager. The machine fell in 1939 when Pendergast, riddled with health problems, pleaded guilty to tax evasion. The machine, however, gave rise to Harry S. Truman, who quickly became Kansas City's favorite son.

Beating St Louis
After World War II, the city experienced considerable sprawl, as the affluent populace bolted for Johnson County, Kansas and eastern Jackson County. However, many also went north of the Missouri River, where Kansas City had incorporated areas during the 1920s and in 1963. The population of the city proper dipped, but over the past 15 years has rebounded to nearly 450,000. Not only has growth in annexed areas (as far north as Smithville and south as Cass County) contributed to the growth, but also successful efforts to revitalize the downtown area. Such growth and ability to annex surrounding areas has allowed Kansas City to easily surpass St. Louis as the largest single municipality in the state of Missouri.