Kansas City, Missouri Timeline – 1800s
| 1819 | The first steamboat came up the Missouri River. |
| 1821 | François Chouteau established Chouteau’s Landing on the Missouri River below the mouth of the Kansas River. |
| Missouri became a state. | |
| 1827 | Independence is founded. |
| 1828 | The government survey of the Santa Fe Trail was completed. |
| 1831 | Santa Fe trade began in Independence. |
| 1833 | Westport was founded. |
| 1838 | The “Town of Kansas” and Westport Landing was established. |
| 1846 | The population is 700. |
| 1850 | The “Town of Kansas” was formally organized on June 3. |
| The Santa Fe trade centered in the Town of Kansas. | |
| 1852 | The name “Town of Kansas” was changed to “City of Kansas.” |
| 1853 | On March 28, the “City of Kansas” was incorporated by Missouri. |
| 1854 | The Bleeding Kansas era begins. |
| 1857 | The City Market is formally established. |
| The Chamber of Commerce was established. | |
| The first City Hall was built between 4th and 5th Streets and Main and Walnut on the city’s “public square.” | |
| 1860 | The population is 4,418. |
| 1863 | On August 13, the Union Women’s Prison collapsed, killing four and maiming several other women. Later, the pro-Confederate bushwhackers will cite revenge as a justification for the Sacking of Lawrence, Kansas. |
| 1864 | The Battle of Westport was fought on October 23. |
| 1865 | The Pacific Railroad was the first railroad to reach Kansas City. |
| 1867 | On March 1, the first meeting of the Kansas City Public Schools Board of Education takes place. |
| 1869 | On July 3, the Hannibal Bridge over the Missouri River opens. It is the first railroad bridge across the river. |
| Mules and horses pulled the first streetcars in Kansas City. | |
| 1870 | The population is 32,260. |
| 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 opened in the West Bottoms. |
| 1880 | The population was 55,785. |
| 1882 | The Kansas City Club was founded. |
| Implemented by Kansas City Power & Light, the first electric lights were used. | |
| 1885 | The Kansas City Art Institute was founded. Walt Disney would later attend it. |
| The first overhead electric trolleys in the U.S. were used here. | |
| 1887 | The Kansas City Athletic Club was founded. |
| 1888 | The Board of Trade Building was constructed. |
| 1889 | “Kansas City” was formed by the merger of Westport and the City of Kansas. |
| Kansas City Public Library opens. | |
| 1890 | The population was 132,716. |
| The New York Life Building was built. | |
| The Emery Bird Thayer building was built. | |
| 1892 | The Court House was built. |
| A second City Hall was built on the same land as the first. | |
| The City Beautiful Movement began. | |
| 1895 | The Kansas City School of Law was founded. |
| 1896 | Swope Park was established after Thomas H. “Colonel” Swope purchased 1,334 acres of land outside of city limits and donated it to the city for public use. |
| 1897 | On December 20, the City Workhouse Castle opened. |
| Children’s Mercy Hospital is established. | |
| 1899 | The American Royal began as a cattle show in the Kansas City Stockyards. |
| The Convention Hall was built. | |
| Construction of North Terrace Park began. It is now called Kessler Park |
Kansas City, Missouri Timeline – 1900-1949
| 1900 | On July 4, the Democratic National Convention was held. |
| The Federal Building housing the post office and customs house was completed in June. It was located at 8th and Grand Streets. | |
| The population was 163,752. | |
| 1903 | The Automobile Club of Kansas City is active. |
| In June, the Missouri River crested at 34.9 feet, 12.9 feet above the natural river bank, leaving 22,000 people homeless. | |
| 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 business established. |
| The population is 248,381. | |
| 1911 | The Kansas City Symphony was formed. |
| 1913 | Cook Paint and Varnish Company was established. |
| 1914 | The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City opens. |
| 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 | The population is 324,410. |
| 1921 | Laugh-O-Gram Studio was founded by Walt Disney. |
| 1922 | American Royal building on Stockyards property was completed at an estimated cost of $800,000, |
| WPE radio begins broadcasting. | |
| 1923 | Fairyland Amusement Park opens at 7501 Prospect. |
| Laugh-O-Gram Studio files for bankruptcy and closes. | |
| 1926 | Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre opened. |
| Liberty Memorial, dedicated to World War I veterans, opens. | |
| 1927 | The Downtown Airport opened, 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 took place at Union Station on June 17. |
| In 1933, the old Federal Building located at 8th and Grand Streets was razed and replaced by a new Federal Building | |
| 1936 | Holy Land Christian Mission was founded. |
| 1937 | The third Kansas City City Hall was built. The 30-story tall building remains in use today. It is located between 11th and 12th Streets and Oak and Locust in the downtown area. |
| 1945 | Independence native Harry S. Truman was sworn in as President of the United States after President Franklin Roosevelt’s sudden death. |
| 1946 | Linda Hall Library was established. |
| 1948 | Harry S Truman wins the Presidential election. |
| 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. |
Kansas City, Missouri Timeline – 1950-1999
| 1951 | The Great Flood of 1951 occurred in July. |
| 1954 | The U.S. Weather Bureau, Severe Local Storms Unit, relocated to Kansas City. |
| The Paseo Bridge opens. | |
| 1955 | The city gained its first major professional sports team when the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League relocated to Kansas City. |
| 1956 | The first runway opens at Kansas City Industrial Airport, now KCI |
| 1957 | The Kansas City Ballet was founded. |
| 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 of the American Football League relocated to Kansas City and became the Chiefs. |
| The University of Missouri-Kansas City was established. | |
| 1964 | The Kansas City Repertory Theatre was founded. |
| 1967 | The Kansas City Chiefs won the American Football League championship and played in the first Super Bowl, losing to the Green Bay Packers. |
| The Athletics relocate to Oakland, California, after the season. | |
| 1968 | In April, the Kansas City Riot occurred after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. |
| 1969 | The Kansas City Royals baseball team formed. |
| The Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV | |
| 1970 | The population is 507,330. |
| 1971 | Crown Center opens. |
| The Emery Bird Thayer building was demolished. | |
| 1972 | Arrowhead Stadium opens. |
| 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 extensive damage by 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 | On July 17, the Hyatt Regency’s walkway collapsed. |
| 1982 | Oceans of Fun opens. |
| 1985 | The Kansas City Royals win the World Series. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
Kansas City, Missouri Timeline – 2000 & Beyond
| 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 service begins. |
| 2014 | Liberty Memorial was designated as a National World War I Monument. |
| 2015 | World Series won by Kansas City Royals. |
| 2016 | New streetcars began. |
| 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 |
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated July 2024
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