Kansas City, Missouri, a vibrant hub in the Midwest, boasts a rich history deeply intertwined with its geographical location. To understand where Kansas City, MO is located today, we need to delve into its origins in the 1830s. It began with Westport, a settlement established by John McCoy around what is now Westport Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. McCoy strategically chose this area as an outfitting post for pioneers venturing along the Santa Fe Trail.
[Geographical depiction of Westport Landing in 1850s Kansas City, Missouri.]
Crucially, McCoy also established a riverboat landing on the Missouri River bluffs, a mere two miles north of Westport. This location, known as Westport Landing, was connected to Westport by road and became a catalyst for growth in the region. This landing point on the Missouri River is a key element in understanding where Kansas City, MO is geographically situated.
In 1838, a group of fourteen investors, including McCoy, formed the Town Company to acquire land along the riverfront, encompassing Westport Landing. This area was officially incorporated as the Town of Kansas in 1850. The name was derived from the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw River, named after the Kansa Indians. Missouri then incorporated the area as the City of Kansas in 1853, and finally renamed it Kansas City in 1889. Significantly, the original settlement of Westport was annexed by Kansas City, Missouri, on December 2, 1897, further solidifying the location of Kansas City, MO.
[John McCoy portrait, a founder of Kansas City, Missouri, highlighting early city leadership.]
While Kansas City, Missouri, was developing, settlements also grew across the river in Wyandotte County, on the Kansas side. Some of these towns merged to form Kansas City, Kansas, incorporated in 1872. Naming this city after the flourishing Kansas City, Missouri, allowed Kansas City, KS, to benefit from the established reputation and growth on the Missouri side. This explains why we have two cities with the same name, situated in close proximity but in different states.
[Historical map of 1837 Kansas region illustrating geographical context of early Kansas City development.]
Today, Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, are distinct, separately incorporated cities. However, they form the core of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, along with numerous other cities and suburbs. This metropolitan area straddles the state line, highlighting the interconnectedness of the two Kansas Cities despite their separate state affiliations. Therefore, when asking “where is Kansas City, MO located?”, the answer lies in western Missouri, on the banks of the Missouri River, historically rooted in the Westport Landing area and now part of a larger bi-state metropolitan region.
