History · Kansas City

Kansas City has 333 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #39 of 247 in Missouri. What drives it

Dated to 1853 (Wikidata), with 21% of its homes built before 1940 and 50 historic districts holding 4,304 contributing buildings. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, the census since 1860, and every listing on the Register.

1853founded

333on the National Register

21%homes built before 1940

8old photos & papers

36famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Kansas City’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Kansas City began

When was Kansas City founded?

1853

Kansas City dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 4,418 in 18602020 census: 508,090173 years

How historic is Kansas City?

A⁻

More historic than 80% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Kansas City’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kansas City is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #39 of 247 in Missouri. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kansas City’s overall grade.

Founding era1853, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194021.3% of homes (±0.5) · typical MO town 8.4% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register333 listings, 4,304 historic buildings, 84.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MO town 2.4 · U.S. 2.4A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 80%

NewerOlder

Missouri towns of 2,500+ (247)Ahead of 85%

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Kansas City ranks #124 on History.

Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kansas City’s 84.3 sits above most of its state (91% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 4,304 historic buildings outnumber those of 100% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1853.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Kansas City’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark333 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.A historic districtThe South Hyde Park Historic District takes in 767 historic buildings.Lost villages33 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Kansas City, and 53 old place names are still on the map.A town of family graveyards34 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Kansas City.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

333 listings protect 4,304 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

333

National Historic Landmarks

Mutual Musicians' Foundation Building

historic buildings protected

4,304

each building in a district counts

first listed

1969

Wornall House

★ Landmark

Mutual Musicians' Foundation BuildingBuilding

★ Landmark

Liberty MemorialLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

Wornall HouseGreek Revival

Alexander Majors HouseClassic Revival

New York Life BuildingModern · Built 1888

Boley BuildingSemi-Art Nouveau

Scarritt Building and ArcadeChicago · Built 1906

Union StationBeaux-Arts Classic Style · Built 1914

All 333 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Kansas City’s post office has been open since 1861. 33 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Barry

1834–1906

West Port

1834–1902

Little Blue

1838–1943

Dallas

1844–1905

Todds Creek

1844–1851

Kansas

1846–1861

Hampton

1853–1904

New Santa Fee

1853–1902

Union Point

1854–1857

Kansas City

1861–today

18301930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Air Line JunctionAtholBarryBreen AcresBryantCentropolisDallasDelavanDodsonEastwoodFlinnGashlandGreenwoodHamptonHarlemHickman MillsHolmes ParkIndian VillageJeffreysKnobtownLeedsLinkvilleLittle BlueManchester School

Gone or out of use

Ashland SchoolschoolAskew Elementary SchoolschoolBancroft Elementary SchoolschoolBell SchoolschoolBerry SchoolschoolBingham Junior High SchoolschoolBlenheim Elementary SchoolschoolBlue Valley SchoolschoolBrookside Charter SchoolschoolBrookside Day SchoolschoolBrown SchoolschoolBuchanan SchoolschoolCampbelltonlocaleCentral SchoolschoolChevy Chase Golf ClublocaleClarke Ace Middle SchoolschoolDouglass Early Childhood CenterschoolFairview Schoolschool

34family graveyards and cemeteries inside Kansas City

BarryBlue Ridge LawnBrightwellCalvaryCrowleyDavidsonElmwoodFlaneryFloral HillsForest HillGanzerGrangeGreen LawnHamptonLittle ShoalLoose Memorial ParkMemorial ParkMinavilleMinnevilleMount MoriahMount PleasantMount Saint Mary'sNew StarkNoland Oliver Besonia ChurchPalestinePenceResurrectionRiceRixeyRogerRose HillSaint MarysSheffieldUnion

See all 34

Barry Cemetery · Blue Ridge Lawn Cemetery · Brightwell Cemetery · Calvary Cemetery · Crowley Cemetery · Davidson Cemetery · Elmwood Cemetery · Flanery Cemetery · Floral Hills Cemetery · Forest Hill Cemetery · Ganzer Cemetery · Grange Cemetery · Green Lawn Cemetery · Hampton Cemetery · Little Shoal Cemetery · Loose Memorial Park · Memorial Park Cemetery · Minaville Cemetery · Minneville Cemetery · Mount Moriah Cemetery · Mount Pleasant Cemetery · Mount Saint Mary's Cemetery · New Stark Cemetery · Noland Oliver Besonia Church Cemetery · Palestine Cemetery · Pence Cemetery · Resurrection Cemetery · Rice Cemetery · Rixey Cemetery · Roger Cemetery · Rose Hill Cemetery · Saint Marys Cemetery · Sheffield Cemetery · Union Cemetery

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Kansas City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kansas City.

Read it all →

The town of Kansas, Missouri, was incorporated on June 1, 1850, reincorporated and renamed "City of Kansas" on March 28, 1853, and renamed "Kansas City" in 1889. The Kansas City metropolitan area straddles the border between Missouri and Kansas at Kaw Point, and was considered a good place to settle. The Antioch Christian Church, Dr. James Compton House, and Woodneath are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

ChaptersIndigenous peoples and settlement Founding and westward expansion Late 19th and early 20th centuries Mid- to late 20th century 21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Kansas City, 1908–1921

Passages that mention Kansas City, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Kansas City has twenty systems of railroads and thirty-nine separate lines, making it the second largest railroad center in America. The railroads entering Kansas City have an aggregate mileage of about 50,000, nearly one-fourth of the mileage of all the railroads in the United States. The lines ra… — **Kansas City, Missouri**1908Read the page →
Read the text
Kansas City has twenty systems of railroads and thirty-nine separate lines, making it the second largest railroad center in America. The railroads entering Kansas City have an aggregate mileage of about 50,000, nearly one-fourth of the mileage of all the railroads in the United States. The lines radiating from Kansas City traverse thirty-one states and territories. From this center the capitals of sixteen S'tates can be reached without changing
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

When they presented themselves in the general office of the railroad interests away off in Boston they handed their certified checks from Kansas City banks to the capitalists who owned the North Missouri Railroad, now the Wabash Railroad. Those checks were large enough to justify bringing the railr… — **The life of Father Bernard Donnelly**1921 · page 90Read the page →
Read the text
When they presented themselves in the general office of the railroad interests away off in Boston they handed their certified checks from Kansas City banks to the capitalists who owned the North Missouri Railroad, now the Wabash Railroad. Those checks were large enough to justify bringing the railroad from Cameron Junction to what is now North Kansas City, then Harlem, and to meet the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Among the early settlers of Kansas City were a number of English speaking Lutherans, mostly from Pennsylvania. Early in 1867 an organization was formed and incorporated as the English Lutheran church of Kansas City. It evidently was the intention of the incorporators to have the name styled "The Fi… — **Kansas City, Missouri**1908Read the page →
Read the text
Among the early settlers of Kansas City were a number of English speaking Lutherans, mostly from Pennsylvania. Early in 1867 an organization was formed and incorporated as the English Lutheran church of Kansas City. It evidently was the intention of the incorporators to have the name styled "The First English Lutheran Church of Kansas City, Missouri," the name by which the organization since has been known. But by neglect or oversight, the word "First" does not apear in tlie title given the church in the articles of incoi7)oration. The first pastor was the Rev. A. W.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum still retains its original location, on the ten acres donated by Father Donnelly. The Park Board of Kansas City has secured the permanency and usefulness of the asylum on its original site by swinging around it the picturesque boulevard arising from Penn Valley Park a… — **The life of Father Bernard Donnelly**1921 · page 141Read the page →
Read the text
The St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum still retains its original location, on the ten acres donated by Father Donnelly. The Park Board of Kansas City has secured the permanency and usefulness of the asylum on its original site by swinging around it the picturesque boulevard arising from Penn Valley Park and named for one of Kansas City's greatest citizens, Mr. Karnes, whose loyalty to Kansas City
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Kansas City, 1834 to 1943

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1834Post officeThe Barry post office opens
1834Post officeThe West Port post office opens
1838Post officeThe Little Blue post office opens
1853
FoundingKansas City is established
1856In the archiveGreat Kansas meeting at St. Louis, Missouri
1887In the archiveThe national agricultural exposition, Kansas City, MO
1888BuiltNew York Life Building is built
1898In the archive9th Street East from Wyandotte, Kansas City, Mo
20th century
1902Post officeThe West Port post office closes
1906BuiltScarritt Building and Arcade is built
1906Post officeThe Barry post office closes
1908BuiltLouis Curtiss Studio Building is built
1911Born hereJean Harlow is born here
1914BuiltUnion Station is built
1925Born hereRobert Altman is born here
1929Born hereEd Asner is born here
1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1943Post officeThe Little Blue post office closes

By decade

Kansas City, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1890s8 items

1856Great Kansas meeting at St. Louis, Missouri

1887The national agricultural exposition, Kansas City, MO

18989th Street East from Wyandotte, Kansas City, MoPostcard

1898Brush Street Bridge, Kansas City, MoPostcard

1898City Hall (changed to Federal Bldg.), Kansas City, MoPostcard

1898Cliff Drive, Kansas City, MoPostcard

1898Convention Hall, Kansas City, MoPostcard

1900s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

On the map

Kansas City on the map, 1935 to 1991

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kansas City. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1935Kansas City sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kansas City.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewGreat Kansas meeting at St. Louis, Missouri, 1856

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kansas City’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Kansas City, census by census

Grew from 4,418 people in 1860 to 508,090 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kansas City’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

36 famous people were born in Kansas City

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Ed AsnerAmerican actor · b. 1929

Jean HarlowAmerican film actress · b. 1911

Robert AltmanAmerican filmmaker · b. 1925

Don CheadleAmerican actor · b. 1964

Dianne WiestAmerican actress · b. 1948

Burt BacharachAmerican pianist, composer, producer · b. 1928

Help out

Finish Kansas City’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewGreat Kansas meeting at St. Louis, Miss…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Independence25 historic placesA⁻Liberty15 historic placesA⁻ClaycomoIts storyC Raytown1 historic placeB⁻Unity Village1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town BeltonIts storyC⁻Lee's Summit20 historic placesB⁻Sugar CreekIts storyC⁺Grandview2 historic placesC⁺

Questions about Kansas City’s history

What year was Kansas City founded?

In 1853, according to Wikidata. Kansas City’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1860 counted 4,418 people here.

How does Kansas City rank for history?

Kansas City is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #39 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Kansas City?

333 listings, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks: 272 buildings, among them the Mutual Musicians' Foundation Building (a National Historic Landmark since 1981) and the Wornall House (listed 1969, the first), 50 historic districts with 3,933 contributing buildings, 9 sites, and 2 structures. 4,304 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Kansas City?

21% of Kansas City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (333), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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