Kansas City, Missouri Timeline: A Laid-Back Look at KC History

Kansas City, Missouri Timeline: A Laid-Back Look at KC History

Alright, history buffs and casual readers alike, let’s take a chill stroll through the past of Kansas City, Missouri. Forget the stuffy textbooks – we’re doing this timeline KC style: relaxed, a little quirky, and full of fascinating tidbits.

The Early Days (1800s): From Trading Post to Booming Town

• 1819: Picture this: the first steamboat chugging up the Missouri River. It’s a game-changer, folks!
• 1821: A guy named François Chouteau sets up shop – Chouteau’s Landing – right where the Kansas River meets the Missouri. Also, Missouri officially becomes a state. How ’bout that?
• 1827: Independence, MO, is founded. A big deal, as it becomes a major jumping-off point for westward expansion.
• 1828: The Santa Fe Trail gets its official survey. Adventure awaits!
• 1831: Independence starts cashing in on the Santa Fe trade. Cha-ching!
• 1833: Westport enters the scene. Another key spot for traders and pioneers.
• 1838: "Town of Kansas" is born, along with Westport Landing. Things are starting to take shape!
• 1846: Population hits 700. It’s a small town with big dreams.
• 1850: "Town of Kansas" gets officially organized. Feels like we’re finally getting somewhere. The Santa Fe trade is centered here.
• 1852: Time for a name upgrade! "Town of Kansas" becomes "City of Kansas." Fancy.
• 1853: Missouri officially incorporates the "City of Kansas." It’s official, people!
• 1854: "Bleeding Kansas" era kicks off. Things get tense as the slavery debate heats up.
• 1857: The City Market, a KC institution, is formally established. Get your fresh produce here! The Chamber of Commerce also joins the game. Plus, the first City Hall pops up downtown.
• 1860: Population jumps to 4,418. The city’s growing fast!
• 1863: A tragic event: the collapse of the Union Women’s Prison. A dark chapter that fueled tensions during the Civil War era.
• 1864: The Battle of Westport. A major clash during the Civil War, fought right here in KC.
• 1865: The Pacific Railroad arrives, making KC a major transportation hub. All aboard!
• 1867: The first meeting of the Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education takes place. Education is important!
• 1869: The Hannibal Bridge opens. The first railroad bridge across the Missouri River! And we get streetcars pulled by mules and horses.
• 1870: Population explodes to 32,260. KC is booming!
• 1871: The Kansas City Bar Library Association was formed.
• 1872: Elmwood Cemetery was established.
• 1875: Fetterman Circulating Library was in business.
• 1878: The Union Depot opens in the West Bottoms.
• 1880: Population hits 55,785. Keep ’em coming!
• 1882: The Kansas City Club is founded. High society, here we come! Plus, the first electric lights flicker to life.
• 1885: The Kansas City Art Institute is founded. Walt Disney, no less, would later attend. Plus, the first overhead electric trolleys in the U.S. are used here.
• 1887: The Kansas City Athletic Club was founded.
• 1888: The Board of Trade Building was constructed.
• 1889: "Kansas City" as we know it is formed by merging Westport and the City of Kansas.
• 1890: Population soars to 132,716.
• 1889: Kansas City Public Library opens.
• 1890: The New York Life Building was built.
• 1890: The Emery Bird Thayer building was built.
• 1892: The Court House was built. Plus, a second City Hall is built on the same land as the first. The City Beautiful Movement begins.
• 1895: The Kansas City School of Law was founded.
• 1896: Swope Park is established. Thanks, Colonel Swope!
• 1897: The City Workhouse Castle opens. Also, Children’s Mercy Hospital is established.
• 1899: The American Royal kicks off as a cattle show. Yeehaw! Plus, the Convention Hall was built. And construction of North Terrace Park began.

The 20th Century: Growth, Tragedy, and Triumph

• 1900: The Democratic National Convention comes to town! Also, the Federal Building is completed. Population is 163,752.
• 1903: The Automobile Club of Kansas City is active.
• 1903: The Missouri River floods, leaving 22,000 people homeless. A devastating event.
• 1908: The City Hospital was built. Another flood in June damaged Kansas City, though not as disastrous as the one in 1903.
• 1909: The Kansas City Zoo opens in Swope Park.
• 1910: Hallmark is established. Get ready for those greeting cards! Population is 248,381.
• 1911: The Kansas City Symphony is formed.
• 1913: Cook Paint and Varnish Company was established.
• 1914: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City opens. Also, The Paseo YMCA opens. A new Union Station Depot was built.
• 1915: The Kansas City Polytechnic Institute was established. The first Union Depot was demolished.
• 1917: Rockhurst College opens.
• 1919: Truman and Jacobson Haberdashery opened.
• 1920: Population is 324,410.
• 1921: Walt Disney founds Laugh-O-Gram Studio. A legend begins!
• 1922: American Royal building on Stockyards property was completed.
• 1922: WPE radio begins broadcasting.
• 1923: Fairyland Amusement Park opens. Also, Laugh-O-Gram Studio files for bankruptcy and closes.
• 1926: Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre opened. Liberty Memorial opens.
• 1927: The Downtown Airport opens, dedicated by Charles Lindbergh.
• 1928: The Republican National Convention is held in June. The F. W. Woolworth Building was constructed.
• 1931: Kansas City Power and Light Building constructed.
• 1933: The Kansas City Massacre at Union Station. A dark day in KC history. The old Federal Building is razed and replaced by a new one.
• 1936: Holy Land Christian Mission was founded.
• 1937: The third Kansas City City Hall is built. Still in use today!
• 1945: Harry S. Truman, from nearby Independence, becomes President. A KC connection to the White House!
• 1946: Linda Hall Library was established.
• 1948: Harry S Truman wins the Presidential election. Also, the Crest Drive-In opened on July 1, 1948, located in the Hickman Mills district. Industrial Bearings Transmission, now IBT, Inc., was founded at 1625 Grand.
• 1951: The Great Flood of 1951. Another major disaster for the city.
• 1954: The U.S. Weather Bureau’s Severe Local Storms Unit moves to KC. Good to know we have storm experts here! The Paseo Bridge opens.
• 1955: KC gets its first major league sports team: the Philadelphia Athletics (baseball).
• 1956: The first runway opens at Kansas City Industrial Airport, now KCI.
• 1957: The Kansas City Ballet is founded. Art and culture take center stage! Also, the Ruskin Heights F-5 Tornado occurs. The last streetcars in Kansas City were removed.
• 1959: Five Kansas City firefighters were killed in a gas tank explosion on Southwest Blvd.
• 1963: The Dallas Texans become the Kansas City Chiefs. Football is in the air! Plus, the University of Missouri-Kansas City was established.
• 1964: The Kansas City Repertory Theatre was founded.
• 1967: The Chiefs win the AFL championship and head to the first Super Bowl. The Athletics relocate to Oakland, California, after the season.
• 1968: The Kansas City Riot after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. A time of unrest and reflection.
• 1969: The Kansas City Royals are born. Baseball fever hits KC! Plus, the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV.
• 1970: Population is 507,330.
• 1971: Crown Center opens. The Emery Bird Thayer building was demolished.
• 1972: Arrowhead Stadium opens. The NBA came to Kansas City when the Cincinnati Royals relocated and became the Kings. Kansas City International Airport becomes the city’s primary passenger airport.
• 1973: Worlds of Fun opens. Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium.
• 1974: Kemper Arena opens. NHL comes to Kansas City to establish the Scouts as an expansion team.
• 1977: Fairyland Amusement Park closes after a windstorm.
• 1980: Hyatt Regency Hotel opens. The Kansas City Royals won the American League pennant before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
• 1981: The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse. A tragic event that shook the city.
• 1982: Oceans of Fun opens.
• 1985: The Kansas City Royals win the World Series! "This Magic Moment!"
• 1986: The Town Pavilion hi-rise was built.
• 1988: One Kansas City Place was built. Serial killer Bob Berdella was apprehended, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and given life in prison sentence.
• 1990: The population is 435,146.
• 1991: The Kansas City Stockyards close. An era ends. The Firefighters’ Memorial Fountain was dedicated at 31st & Broadway.
• 1992: The new American Royal Complex was constructed to replace the outdated facility which was then torn down.
• 1993: The Great Flood of 1993 occurs.
• 1994: Bartle Hall Convention Center opens.

The 21st Century: A City Reborn

• 2000: The population is 441,545.
• 2005: Penn Valley skatepark opens.
• 2007: Sprint Center opens.
• 2008: The Kansas City Power & Light District opens.
• 2010: The population is 459,787. The Paseo Bridge is closed and demolished. The Christopher S. Bond Bridge opens, replacing the Paseo Bridge.
• 2011: The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens. The Kansas City Metropolitan area population is 2,052,676.
• 2012: Google Fiber arrives. Super-fast internet, baby!
• 2014: Liberty Memorial becomes a National World War I Monument.
• 2015: The Kansas City Royals win the World Series! Again!
• 2016: New streetcars start rolling. Getting around downtown just got easier. The American Royal Association announced its relocation to Wyandotte County, Kansas.
• 2020: Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV
• 2021: Kansas City Chiefs lose Super Bowl LV
• 2023: Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII
• 2024: Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII

There you have it! A whirlwind tour through Kansas City’s history, told in a way that hopefully didn’t bore you to tears. KC’s a city with a colorful past, a vibrant present, and a future that’s looking pretty darn bright.