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History
Home » Missouri » Kansas City - An Overview and History » Historya. What’s in a Name?
The Osage, Kansa and Wyandotte tribes shared the land around Kansas City for many generations. Eventually, Kansas City played a major role as a gateway for pioneers heading West along the Oregon, California and Santa Fe trails. In the mid-1800s, settlers, missionaries and traders began their overland journeys from several local points.
Through its transformation from settlement, to town, to city, K.C. went through many names. It has been called “Possumtrot,” “the Town of Kansas,” “Chouteau’s Town,” “Westport Landing” and “Kawsmouth.” The name “Kansas City” first came into use in the late 1800s and reflects the name of the Native American Kansa tribe that once populated the region. Being that it is situated within 250 miles of both the population and geographic centers of the country, Kansas City is usually considered the “Heart of America.”
b. Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” team first passed through the Kansas City region in 1804 as they followed the Missouri River north. They found themselves in a land filled with wild game and colorful native parakeets. Two years later, with their mission to search out a way to the West Coast complete, the team came back down river and camped near what is now known as Lewis & Clark Point in Case Park. Throughout the area signs mark the trails and landmarks seen by the discovery team.
Fort Osage, in nearby Sibley, Mo., also bears the group’s stamp. Clark noted the fine strategic location then returned with a later party to begin construction of the fortification. A re-creation of the original structures, Fort Osage National Historic Landmark, is available for tours and historical reenactments.
c. Historical Union Station
Kansas City’s Union Station opened to the public in late October, 1914. Residents were awed by the 400-by-800-foot Grand Hall and the North Waiting Room, which stretched longer than a football field.
When it opened, Union Station was the nation’s third largest passenger station, it is now second only to New York’s Grand Central Station. Union Station was not only the city’s hub for more than three decades; U.S. travelers from throughout the country took advantage of its central location to get across the nation.
The station’s Beaux Arts building sat empty for a decade in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. Then, Missouri and Kansas voters backed the nation’s first bi-state sales tax to save their beloved edifice. Two years and $253 million later, Union Station exceeded even its initial grandeur and today ranks among Kansas City’s finest accomplishments. The station, open to the public, now includes Science City museum, restaurants, shops and rotating displays.
d. Liberty Memorial
President Calvin Coolidge dedicated Liberty Memorial to World War I veterans in 1926. Since then the Memorial’s museum has amassed an unrivaled collection of WWI artifacts, weaponry, uniforms and other memorabilia. An ongoing $90 million renovation has made Liberty Memorial the leading facility of its kind in the nation.
Most visually striking is the memorial’s 217-foot tower, guarded by two giant sphinx-like figures. The tower’s observation deck provides some of the city’s best views of nearby Union Station, Crown Center and the city skyline.
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