Timeline of the History of Jackson County, Missouri

Jackson County history in a nutshell

Pre-1826

• The Osage Tribe occupied the region prior to white settlement.

1803

• The Louisiana Purchase was executed between the United States and France.

1804

• The Lewis & Clark Expedition traveled upstream on the Missouri River through the region.

1808

• Fort Osage was established in northeast Jackson County, pursuant to plans executed by William Clark, who first noted the auspicious site in his Expedition journal in 1804. It remained the westernmost federal outpost until 1818.

1819

· The first steamboat in the region, the Western Engineer, arrived at Ft. Osage.

1821

• Francois Chouteau established a trading post on the north bank of the Missouri River.
• Congress admitted Missouri to the Union as the 24^th state.
• William Becknell started the first trading journey to Santa Fe

1822

• The United States Government closed Ft. Osage, in response to lobbying by private traders.

1825

• Kansas relinquished claims to Missouri land.
• The Osage Tribe relinquished its authority of lands in western Missouri, in addition to other lands in Kansas and Oklahoma, in return for annuities and promise of land in Kansas.
• The United States Government entered into a separate treaty with the Shawnees.

1826 – 1876

1826

• Major floods forced the relocation of Chouteau trading post to foot of what is now Grand Avenue in Kansas City.
• Jackson County was organized on December 15, 1826.

1827

· Independence was established as the Jackson County seat.

1831

· The first group of 2000 Mormons arrived in Jackson County from New York and Ohio, following their leader Joseph Smith, who had designated Independence as the site of “Zion.”

· The Isaac McCoy family, including 19-year-old son John Calvin, arrived in the region.

1832

· By this year, most Santa Fe Trail wagons were outfitted in Independence.

1833

· Pro-slavery settlers in the Independence area forced the Mormon settlers out of Jackson County.

1835

• John C. McCoy filed his town plat for Westport, which became populated with traders plying the Santa Fe freighting market.
• A road was cut generally following the modern route of Broadway from the Chouteau warehouse on the Missouri River to Westport.

1838

• The Town of Kansas Company, comprising 14 investors, including John C. McCoy, Fry McGee and Abraham Fonda, purchased the 257-acre Gabriel Prudhomme farm, located on the south bank of the Missouri River near the Chouteau fur trading wharf and warehouse, for $4220.

1839

· John C. McCoy surveyed and platted the Town of Kansas, Missouri.

1844

· A major flood occurred, perhaps the worst ever in the region, destroying the second Chouteau warehouse. The flood rendered the Wayne City landing (of Independence) comparatively useless due to formation of a large sandbar in front of the landing. This event resulted in the diversion of more trade to Westport and Kawsmouth.

· Independence population reached 844.

1845

• The first U.S. Post Office was established in the Town of Kansas on the river levee.

1847

• In spite of the lack of governmental authority, the Town of Kansas created its own organization. Workers made the first cut for Main Street in the bluffs above the levee in the Town of Kansas.

1848

• The Mexican-American War concluded, stimulating trade with Santa Fe.

1849

• Independence, Missouri was incorporated.
• Albert G. Bonne constructed his store (now Kelly’s Bar) at the intersection of Westport Road and Pennsylvania.
• A major cholera epidemic swept through the region.

1850

• The Jackson County Court [Commission] established township government for the Town of Kansas. It included a 352-acre area adjoining the river in the River Market area and had a population of 150.

1853

• The Township of Kansas became the City of Kansas as chartered by the Missouri State Legislature. Boundaries were the river on the north, the alley between Holmes and Charlotte on the east, 9^th Street on the south and Summit on the west. Its population was just over 500. The Irish population boomed as a result of Father Bernard Donnelly’s advertising in New York and Boston for workers to whittle down the river bluffs to facilitate construction.

1854

• Congress enacted the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the primary purpose of which was to open to settlement land that could be utilized for a northern route for proposed transcontinental railroad. The act also opened Kansas Territory to white settlement. The Act provided for popular sovereignty to determine the issue of slavery, thus paving the way for bloody border conflicts between pro-slavery Missourians and anti-slavery forces moving into Kansas Territory.

1856

• Alexander Majors built his home located at what is now 8201 State Line Road. This house became the headquarters of Majors’ freighting empire, which formed the foundation of the Kansas City stockyards and which ultimately reached westward across North America.
• The first City Hall and market house in Kansas City were slated for construction on the public square at 4^th & Main.
• The Board of Trade was first organized.
• The Steamboat Arabia sank in the Missouri River, a short distance upstream from Westport Landing.

1857

• The Town of Westport incorporated.
• City Council first leased space on Market Square for selling stall. This spot has been used continuously for a public market ever since. It is the oldest city-owned property.

1858

• Union Cemetery (denoting its common usage by both Westport and K.C.) opened.

1859

• The Jackson County jail was built in Independence.

1860

• The Pony Express began its 18-month ride into legend.

1861-1865 – The Civil War Era

• Missouri remained a Union state throughout war due to Union Army occupation.
• In 1861 and 1864, a Confederate Army under leadership of Missourian Sterling Price invaded Missouri from Arkansas. The invasions reached this region on both occasions.
• Fort Union was established at 10^th and Broadway in Kansas City.

1862

• The Battles of Independence and Lone Jack in August both resulted in Confederate victories and short-lived Confederate domination of the region.

1863

• William Clark Quantrill and his followers sacked the town of Lawrence, Kansas.
• General Ewing issued “Field Order No. 11” requiring all persons living along the Missouri-Kansas border between the Missouri and the Osage Rivers to leave their farms.

1864

• The Battle of Westport, won by the Union forces, resulted in 3000 casualties.

1865

· The Civil War came to an end in April.

· Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad decided to build the Hannibal Bridge across Missouri River at Kansas City. It was completed in 1869.

1870

· Temple B’Nai Jehudah was organized as Kansas City’s first synagogue. In 1908, the congregation constructed its great temple, which still stands, albeit unoccupied, at Linwood & Flora.

1871

· Construction was started on the stockyards in the West Bottoms.

1872

· The first county courthouse in Kansas City was built, intended as an “annex” to Independence courthouse.

1876 – 1926

1878

· The Union Depot opened on Union Avenue in West Bottoms.

· The Exoduster movement, the emigration of thousands of former slaves into the Midwest out of the South, reached the region.

1880

• Blue Springs was incorporated.

1881

• The Vaile Mansion was constructed in Independence.

1883

• Construction began on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 11^th & Broadway in Kansas City.

1884

• Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri.

1889

• The City of Kansas officially took the name of “Kansas City”

1890

• The New York Life Building, the city’s first “skyscraper,” opened at 20 W. 9^th St.
• Emery Bird Thayer Department store opened on 11^th St.
• Harry Truman’s family moved from Grandview to Independence.

1893

• August Meyer and George Kessler wrote a report proposing the Park and Boulevard system for Kansas City.

1895

• Tom Pendergast first appeared in the city directory, which listed his address in the West Bottoms and his occupation as bartender.

1896

• Racial segregation solidified throughout the South, and in Kansas City as well.
• Charles and Myrtle Fillmore began the Unity School of Christianity.

1897

• Kansas City annexed Westport.

1900

• Convention Hall at 13^th and Central burned and was rebuilt in time for the Democratic National Convention beginning July 4.
• The Standard (now the Folly) Theater opened as a legitimate theater at 300 West 12^th St.

1901

• The only two registered automobiles in Kansas City collided on 11^th Street between Oak and Locust.

1903

• J.C. Nichols got his start in real estate selling small houses to flood victims in Kansas City, Kansas.
• Tom Pendergast was elected to the position of Jackson County Marshal.

1904

· Standard Oil Co. built a refinery at Sugar Creek.

· Children’s Mercy Hospital under the leadership of Dr. Katharine Berry Richardson and Dr. Alice Berry Graham moved their hospital to 414 Highland.

1907

· 1,285,349 immigrants entered the U.S. in this peak year of pre-world war I immigration. In Kansas City, large numbers of Italians joins thousands of Jews and other eastern Europeans.

1908

· Tom Pendergast began a second period of service as Superintendent of Streets.

1909

· The Board of Park Commissioners began planning and construction of a zoo in Swope Park. It opened in December with 4 lions, 2 wolves, 2 coyotes, ostriches, ducks, monkeys, 2 buffalo and 3 white rabbits.

· Unemployed working class people conducted an unemployment parade in Kansas City. City boosters responded by offering jobs breaking rocks in the city quarry.

· Kansas City opened a tuberculosis unit at 22^nd and Cherry on Hospital Hill.

· United Jewish Social Services opened the Alfred Benjamin Dispensary at 17^th and Locust to provide medical treatment to Jewish Immigrants. This institution evolved into Menorah Hospital by 1931.

· Jesuits founded Rockhurst College at 52^nd & Troost.

1910

• Tom Pendergast was elected to Kansas City Council from Ward 1.
• The Elias Disney family moved to Kansas City from Marceline Mo. Walt enrolled in Benton Elementary (now D.A. Holmes Elementary).
• Joyce Hall moved to the downtown YMCA in Kansas City from his home in Nebraska. He expanded his business of selling postcards to drugstores and other retail outlets.
• Explosions occurred on Montgall Street on the eastern edge of the African-American residential community in Kansas City, the result of houses sold to blacks in a previously all white neighborhood.

1911

• Dr. Hyde was tried for the murder of Colonel Thomas Swope.

1912

• Bernard Corrigan’s and Mack Nelson’s palatial homes, located at the northwest and southwest corners of 55^th and Ward Parkway, respectively, were completed, becoming the centerpieces for the new “Sunset Hill” development.

1914

• Union Station at 23^rd & Main opened.

• World War I began.

1915

• William Rockhill Nelson, founder of the Kansas City Star, died. The site of his home is now the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, in accordance with his will.
• A small office building was constructed at 1908 Main Street, the second story of which became the headquarters for Tom Pendergast’s Jackson Democratic Club.
• School children contributed thousands of dollars in pennies, nickels, and dimes to purchase “The Scout,” installed in Penn Valley Park.

1918

• Harry S. Truman was transported to France in service in the U.S. Army.

1918 – 1919

• Influenza epidemic resulted in over 2300 deaths in the region.

1919

• First shops in Brookside, constructed in English Tudor style, opened.
• Massive fund drive to build WWI memorial across from Union Station raised over $2 million in 10 days.
• Harry Truman married Bess Wallace. Shortly after their marriage, Harry opened a haberdashery with partner Edward Jacobson at 104 W. 12^th Street in Kansas City.

1920

• The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints rededicated their current site in Independence as the true Zion and established its international headquarters there.
• Sugar Creek was incorporated.
• Prohibition became law following ratification of the 18^th Amendment. By the mid-1920s, over 150 speakeasies, nightclubs and dance halls offered alcoholic beverages or “set-ups” throughout Kansas City.
• Women achieved the right to vote following ratification of the 19^th Amendment.
• By 1920, Kansas City had become firmly segregated, with the black population concentrated in an area bounded by 9^th Street, Prospect, 27^th Street, and Troost.
• The Negro National League organized in meetings conducted at the Paseo branch of the YMCA. This led to the birth of the Kansas City Monarchs Baseball Club.
• Walt Disney and Ubbe Iwerks began working at the Kansas City Film Ad Service.

1922

• Harry Truman and his partner went broke with the clothing store. Truman refused to file for bankruptcy and paid off his share of the business debts over the next 15 years. Tom Pendergast endorsed Truman as the candidate for the Eastern Judge position on the Jackson County Court, which he managed barely to win.

• J.C. Nichols Co. announced plans for the Country Club Plaza.
• Four women were elected to the Kansas City Council. They were the first women elected to any governmental position in Kansas City.
• Benny Moten was working on his trio, which later developed into a 10 piece jazz orchestra.
• Walt Disney incorporated Laugh-O-Gram Films. Its first production was “The Four Musicians of Bremen.”
• The Ku Klux Klan experienced resurgence across the nation and in Jackson County. In August, about 1100 candidates experienced mass induction in eastern Jackson County.

1923

• Construction started on the Country Club Plaza.
• Fairyland Amusement Park opened at 75^th & Prospect, ultimately forcing Electric Park out of business. Later Worlds of Fun would bring an end to Fairyland in the 1970s.

1924

• The KKK reached its greatest influence, affecting several elections, including the defeat of Pendergast ally Harry Truman for Jackson County Court.
• The Kansas City Monarchs won the Negro Leagues World Series.

1925

• The Kansas City Charter was revised, providing for the Council-City Manager form of government. Tom Pendergast endorsed five friendly candidates to the new City Council, who were elected. They hired Henry McElroy as city manager. McElroy reported directly to Pendergast, forming the basis of the Pendergast Machine, which had a stranglehold on city government for the next 14 years.

1926

• The completed Liberty Memorial was dedicated, with President Calvin Coolidge delivering the dedication speech. Queen Marie of Romania also addressed the enormous crowd.
• Harry S. Truman was elected presiding judge of the Jackson County Court, a position he held for two four-year terms.

1927-1976

1927

• Kansas City municipal airport was dedicated in Clay County, with special guest Charles Lindbergh.
• Tom Pendergast opened Ready Mix Concrete Co. He bought a small building at 1908 Main in Kansas City where he received supplicants on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings.
• The Pla-Mor Ballroom located at 31^st and Main opened, featuring a dance floor on springs.

1928

• The Republican Presidential Nominating Convention was held in Kansas City, resulting in the nomination of Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis of Topeka.
• Musician’s Local 627 bought its present building at 1823 Highland.

1929

• University of Kansas City was chartered.
• Jackson Democratic Club reorganized with headquarters at 1908 Main. Tom Pendergast was chairman of the board and Harry Truman was one of three vice- presidents.

1930

• Buckner, Missouri was incorporated.
• The Great Depression settled upon the country.
• The VFW established its national headquarters at 34^th and Broadway in Kansas City.

1931

• Jackson County voters approved a “ten year plan” for public improvements in both Kansas City and Jackson County. The bond issue funded $50 million in public improvements designed to create jobs as well as provide needed public facilities. Kansas City and Jackson County were leaders in using construction of public works as means of countering the unemployment caused by the depression.
• Menorah Hospital, built almost entirely of funds raised within the KC Jewish community, opened at 49^th and Rockhill.

1933

• The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art opened at 4525 Oak on December 11.

• The University of Kansas City (now UMKC) formally opened in Schofield Hall. William Volker purchased both the land and buildings. The University resulted from a union of the proposed “Lincoln & Lee University” with the Kansas City School of Law and the Western College of Dentistry.
• Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra, the precursor of Kansas City Symphony, was organized.
• Union Station Massacre, the result of an attempt to free a prisoner being transported to Leavenworth, occurred on June 17, 1933. Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd and Adam Richetti carried out the plan, which resulted in the deaths of 3 police officers and the prisoner. Floyd and Richetti were responsible for the deaths of all but the prisoner.

1934

• The “New Youth Movement” attempted an unsuccessful effort to unseat Pendergast supporters in Kansas City government. Four people were killed and 11 injured in gun battles on Election Day. This was the most corrupt election in Kansas City history.
• The current county courthouse in Kansas City was built at 415 East 12^th Street in Kansas City as part of the Ten Year Plan.
• The Independence courthouse was reconstructed under the leadership of presiding county judge Harry S. Truman.
• Harry S. Truman was elected to United States Senate.
• Pendergast associate Johnny Lazia died in a gangland murder outside his Armour Blvd apartment.

1935

• Municipal Auditorium was completed at 13^th and Wyandotte as part of the Ten Year Plan.
• Bandleader Benny Moten died during minor surgery. Count Basie re-assembled the band under his leadership to become major jazz influence.
• Artist Thomas Hart Benton returned to Missouri to teach at the Kansas City Art Institute.

1937

• Kansas City’s City Hall, part of the Ten Year Plan, opened.

1939

• Tom Pendergast pled guilty to income tax evasion and spent one year in the Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth.

• New City Market buildings were completed. This was among the last of the Ten Year Plan construction projects.

1940

• The “Clean Sweep” election eliminated the last of Pendergast’s cronies from the City Council. Cookingham appointed as city manager, a post he held till 1959.
• Truman was re-elected to Senate.

1941-1945 – World War II Era

1944

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt chose Harry S. Truman as his running mate. They won overwhelming presidential victory.
• This was the peak year for passenger movement through Union Station.

1946

• George Gates opened his Ol’Kentuck Barbeque on 19^th Street between Vine and the Paseo.

1948

• Harry S. Truman was elected president in spite of predictions to the contrary.

1950

• Raytown, Missouri was incorporated.

1951

• Kansas City celebrated its Centennial Year.
• The great flood of June 1951 devastated much of Kansas City and the region.
• Starlight Theater opened on June 25.

1953

• Unity Village was incorporated.

1955

• Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Kansas City to speak at the National Baptist Convention. A meeting at St. Stephen’s Baptist Church at the Paseo and Truman Road failed to garner King support from the attendees. Many of the younger black ministers withdrew from the National Baptist Convention shortly thereafter to pursue their own social and religious concerns.
• Hallmark opened its headquarters at 25^th and McGee

1956

• Congress authorized the Interstate Highway System, which ultimately cut through the Kansas City metropolitan region by way of I-29, I-35, and I-70, drastically altering the urban landscape.

1957

• Sibley, Missouri was incorporated.
• KCUR-FM Radio went on the air.

1958

• Lake Lotawana, Missouri was incorporated.

1960

• John F. Kennedy was elected to the presidency.

1961

• Clarence Kelly appointed Chief of Police. He would later become the director of the FBI.

1962

• Lake Tapawingo, Missouri, was incorporated.

1963

• This was the last year that Kansas City annexed land. The City annexed 26.5 miles, bringing the total area of the City to 311 square miles
• Owner Lamar Hunt relocated the Dallas Texans football club to Kansas City.
• Earl Thomas and Bruce R. Watkins became the first African-Americans elected to the Kansas City Council.

1964

• Lone Jack, Missouri, was incorporated.

• The Beatles appeared at Municipal Stadium on September 17, booked by Charlie Finley.

1965

• I-70 opened through eastern Jackson County, paving the way for suburban development in Independence and Blue Springs.

1966

• Armour ceased all operations at its packing plant in the West Bottoms, effectively ending meatpacking activity in the region.

1968

• Ewing Kauffman acquired a new AL baseball franchise, the Kansas City Royals.
• Underlying problems of overcrowding and lack of economic advancement opportunities fueled rioting triggered by the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 9.
• Emery Bird Thayer closed its downtown and Plaza locations, succumbing to rapidly changing demographic patterns in the metropolitan area.

1969

• The Kansas City Royals played their first game in Municipal Stadium, winning 4-3 over the Minnesota Twins.
• 1969 was the last year the voters in KCMO School District voted an increase in the school tax levy.

1970

• The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl against the Minnesota Vikings.

1972

• Arrowhead Stadium was completed.
• The River Quay redevelopment, which was begun in 1972 by Mario Trozzolo, ultimately fell victim to organized crime rivalries by 1977.
• Harry S. Truman died at Research Hospital on December 26 at the age of 88.
• Northwest Parkway Urban Renewal Project was completed in Independence.

1973

• Royals Stadium was completed.

1975

• Many Vietnamese refugees arrived in KC region following the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. The Don Bosco Center was the center of activity for this new wave of immigrants.

1976

• The Republican National Convention was held at the newly constructed Kemper Arena, resulting in the nomination of Gerald Ford and Bob Dole.

1977-2026

1977

• The Plaza Flood on Brush Creek killed 24 people.

1981

• The Hyatt Crown Center skywalk disaster killed 111 people.

1982

• Barbara Potts of Independence was elected the first woman mayor in the region.

1985

• Royals won the World Series.

1989

• Henry Moore sculpture garden opened at Nelson.
• Lowest temperature on record recorded at KCI on December 22: -23 degrees.

1991

• Emmanuel Cleaver elected as first African-American mayor of Kansas City.

1993

• Riverboat gambling came to Kansas City.
• Shuttlecocks appeared on the lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.

1997

• The Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball Museums and the renovated Gem Theater opened in the 18^th & Vine historic district.

1999

• Kay Barnes was the first woman to be elected mayor of Kansas City.
• The former Menorah Medical Center at 50^th & Rockhill was converted to the Stowers Research Center, sponsored by James Stowers, founder of American Century Funds.
• After decades of neglect and years of renovation, Union Station re-opened in November.

2000

• Missouri Governor and 2000 Senatorial candidate Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash 23 days before the November elections. He was posthumously elected to the Senate, his seat filled by his widow Jean Carnahan.
• Jackson Countians, and the rest of the nation, waited – and waited – for the results of the 2000 Presidential election.

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