Colonel Kersey Coates: The Kansas City Hustler Who Built a Legacy
Alright, folks, let’s talk about a real go-getter from back in the day – Colonel Kersey Coates. This guy wasn’t just hanging around; he was building Kansas City, Missouri, into the place we know today. I mean, this dude had his hands in everything!
Kersey Coates wasn’t just some fly-by-night character. His name was practically synonymous with Kansas City’s rise to prominence. You couldn’t talk about the city without mentioning the Colonel. He was that important.
From Pennsylvania to the Wild West (Sort Of)
Kersey was born way back in 1823 in Sadsbury, Pennsylvania. His parents, Lindley and Deborah, were good Quaker folks. Dad was a farmer, but he saw something special in young Kersey and figured he was meant for bigger, brainier things. So, Kersey got a good education, bouncing around schools in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts.
Turns out, the old man was right! Kersey was a natural at languages. After school, he even taught English literature for a while. But teaching wasn’t his end game. He had his sights set on law. So, at about 25, he started studying under Thaddeus Stevens – a big-shot lawyer and politician who was a friend of Kersey’s dad. He stuck with it and got admitted to the bar in 1853.
Kansas Troubles and Taking a Stand
Now, things were getting heated up in the country. The whole slavery debate was about to explode, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act just poured gasoline on the fire. People from the North and South were flooding into Kansas to try and swing the state one way or the other.
Kersey, being the ambitious guy he was, saw an opportunity. He packed his bags in 1854 and headed to Kansas City to look after some real estate deals. But he quickly found himself smack-dab in the middle of a powder keg. Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, and Georgia were sending in some tough customers who were dead-set on making Kansas a slave state.
"Bleeding Kansas" was no joke. There were armed gangs roaming around, and murders were common. The U.S. government even had to send in troops to keep the peace (or try to, anyway). Kersey, a firm believer in freedom, sided with the Free-State folks. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, even though it made him a target for the pro-slavery crowd.
But the Free-Staters loved him. They saw him as a fearless leader, someone who was dedicated to human rights and had a sharp legal mind. He was a rock for them, and they even hired him as a lawyer to defend Governor Charles Robinson when he was accused of treason. Talk about high stakes!
Building a City, One Brick at a Time
After Kansas more or less settled down (a relative term, mind you), Kersey decided to build something lasting. He bought some land on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River and started developing an upscale neighborhood called Quality Hill. In 1855, he married Sarah Walter Chandler, a Quaker gal from Pennsylvania who had moved to the area. They had four kids and got to work.
Kansas City was starting to boom, and Kersey was right in the thick of it. He was one of those forward-thinking guys who knew how to make things happen. He helped start newspapers, plan railroads, push for good laws, and launch big businesses. He even set up a network to get Eastern newspapers to write about Kansas City, which brought in a wave of new people. This guy was all about building up his adopted home.
Before the Civil War, Kersey was involved in banking, real estate, you name it. He also got the government to help fund the Missouri Pacific and Cameron Railroads. In 1859, he and Sarah built a fancy brick house on Quality Hill. It became the place to be for the city’s elite, especially those who shared their values.
Standing Up for What He Believed In
Kersey was a staunch Republican, and he wasn’t shy about it. During the 1860 election, he was the head of the only Republican club in Western Missouri. That took guts!
When the Civil War broke out, Kersey joined the Missouri Home Guard. He ended up as a colonel and led a regiment that did some serious good during the war, especially during "Price’s Raid" in 1864.
Rebuilding After the Storm
After the war, Kansas City was a mess. It had lost almost half its population. And to make matters worse, the railroads hadn’t even reached the city yet. Leavenworth, Kansas, was looking like the new hot spot.
But Kersey wasn’t about to give up. He and his buddies picked up where they left off before the war. They convinced Eastern investors to put money into the railroads that had been planned. Before Leavenworth knew what hit them, Kersey and his crew had renewed the contract with the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad to build a branch line to Kansas City.
They also got a charter for a bridge over the Missouri River and convinced a rich company to build it. Plus, they started the Missouri River, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad and got a bunch of land from the state of Kansas for it. Kersey Coates was a man with a plan!
A City Transformed
Kersey and his partners brought in all sorts of businesses. With money flowing in from New York and Boston, Kansas City’s population exploded by over 600% in just five years after the war. Kersey was the main guy behind getting Congress and the Kansas Legislature to approve the Missouri River and Fort Scott Railroad, which he ran for several years.
He also built the fancy Coates House hotel and the Coates Opera House, which was one of the best theaters in the West. He helped start the Kansas City Industrial Exposition and Agricultural Fair Association in 1870. And when the Inter-State Fair Association was formed in 1882, he was elected president and held the job until he died.
A Legacy of Giving
In his later years, Kersey chilled out on the business stuff and focused on helping others. He quietly supported a bunch of people and gave a lot of money to charity. He was always there to help local businesses that were trying to make Kansas City better.
Kersey Coates passed away at his home in Kansas City on April 24, 1887. Civic leaders were his pallbearers, and a group of Black men asked to carry his casket to honor his fight against slavery. That tells you something about the kind of man he was.
In 1892, the city decided to fix up the area around Quality Hill. They created West Terrace Park and named the scenic road below it Kersey Coates Drive. His wife, Sarah, lived in their mansion until she died in 1897.
Sarah said it best: "He always expected great things from Kansas City… I never had the faith in the town he had."
Even though the Kersey mansion and Coates Opera House are gone now, Quality Hill still stands as a reminder of this pioneer. Kersey Coates Drive is also gone, a casualty of progress when they built the Southwest Trafficway and Interstate I-35 in the 1950s.
But even though some of the physical reminders are gone, Kersey Coates’ impact on Kansas City is still felt today. He was a true visionary who helped build the city into what it is now.