Timeline of Kansas City, Missouri facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the history of Kansas City, Missouri, United States.

19th century

• 1838 - Settlement named "Town of Kansas".
• 1846 - Population: 700.
• 1840 - City Market active.
• 1850 - "City of Kansas" incorporated.
• 1854 - Bleeding Kansas
• 1857 - Chamber of Commerce established.
• 1860 - Population: 4,418.
• 1864 - October 23: Battle of Westport.
• 1869 - Missouri River railroad bridge opens.
• 1870 - Population: 32,260.
• 1871 - Kansas City Bar Library Assoc. formed.
• 1872 - Elmwood Cemetery established.
• 1875 - Fetterman Circulating Library in business.
• 1880 - Population: 55,785.
• 1882
  • Kansas City Club founded.
  • First electric lights used in KC; implemented by KCP&L
• 1889
  • "Kansas City" formed by merger of Westport and City of Kansas.
  • Kansas City Public Library building opens.
• 1890 - Population: 132,716.
• 1892 - Court House built.
• 1893
  • City Hall built.
  • Kansas City Athletic Club active.
• 1895 - Kansas City School of Law founded.

20th century

1900s-1940s

• 1900
  • July: 1900 Democratic National Convention held.
  • Federal Building constructed.
  • Population: 163,752.
• 1903 - Automobile Club of Kansas City active.
• 1904 - Children's Mercy Hospital active.
• 1908 - City Hospital built.
• 1909 Kansas City Zoo opens in Swope Park
• 1910
  • Hall Brothers in business.
  • Population: 248,381.
• 1913 - Cook Paint and Varnish Company in business.
• 1914
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Paseo YMCA open.
  • Union Station rebuilt.
• 1915 - Kansas City Polytechnic Institute established.
• 1917 - Rockhurst College opens.
• 1919 - Truman and Jacobson's haberdashery in business.
• 1920 - Population: 324,410.
• 1922 - WPE radio begins broadcasting.
• 1923 Fairyland Amusement Park opens at 7501 Prospect
• 1926
  • Ararat Shrine Temple and Bagdad Theatre open.
  • Liberty Memorial dedicated to World War I veterans, opens
• 1927 Downtown Airport opens, dedicated by Charles Lindbergh
• 1928
  • June: 1928 Republican National Convention.
  • F. W. Woolworth Building constructed.
• 1931 - Kansas City Power and Light Building constructed.
• 1933 - June 17: Kansas City massacre.
• 1936 - Holy Land Christian Mission founded.
• 1945 - K.C. native Harry S Truman sworn in as President of the United States after President Franklin Roosevelt's sudden death
• 1937 - Kansas City City Hall rebuilt.
• 1946
  • Linda Hall Library established.
  • William E. Kemp becomes mayor.
• 1948 - Harry S Truman wins Presidential election
• 1949
  • Crest Drive-In cinema active (approximate date).
  • Richard Walker Bolling becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.
• 1945 K.C native Harry S Truman sworn in as President of the United States.

1950s-1990s

• 1951 - July: Great Flood of 1951.
• 1954 - U.S. Weather Bureau Severe Local Storms Unit relocated to Kansas City.
  • 1954 - Paseo Bridge opens
• 1955 - H. Roe Bartle becomes mayor.
• 1956 - First runway opens at Kansas City Industrial Airport, now KCI
• 1957
  • Kansas City Ballet founded.
  • Ruskin Heights Tornado (F-5)
• 1959 - 5 KC firefighters killed in gas tank explosion on Southwest Blvd.
• 1963
  • University of Missouri–Kansas City established.
  • Ilus W. Davis becomes mayor.
• 1967 - Sister city relationship established with Seville, Spain.
• 1968 - April: 1968 Kansas City, Missouri riot.
• 1969
  • Kansas City Royals baseball team formed.,
  • Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl
• 1970 - Population: 507,330.
• 1971
  • Crown Center opens.
  • Charles Wheeler becomes mayor.
• 1972
  • Sister city relationship established with Kurashiki, Japan.
  • Arrowhead Stadium opens
• 1973
  • Sister city relationship established with Morelia, Mexico.
  • Worlds of Fun opens
  • Kauffman Stadium opens as Royals Stadium
• 1974
  • Kemper Arena opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Freetown, Sierra Leone.
• 1976 - World Science Fiction Convention held.
• 1977 - Fairyland Amusement Park closes after extensive damage by windstorm
• 1978 - Sister city relationship established with Tainan, Taiwan.
• 1979 - Richard L. Berkley becomes mayor.
• 1980 - Hyatt Regency hotel opens.
• 1981 - July 17: Hyatt Regency walkway collapse.
• 1982
  • Kansas City Symphony active.
  • Oceans of Fun opens
• 1985 - Kansas City Royals and Manager Dick Howser win I-70 World Series
• 1986 - Town Pavilion hi-rise built.
• 1988
  • ACT UP chapter founded.
  • One Kansas City Place built.
• 1989 - Sister city relationship established with Xi'an, China.
• 1990 - Population: 435,146.
• 1991
  • Kansas City Stockyards close.
  • Emanuel Cleaver becomes mayor.
  • Firefighters' Memorial Fountain dedicated, at 31st & Broadway
  • Sister city relationship established with Guadalajara, Mexico.
• 1993
  • Sister city relationships established with Hannover, Germany and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
  • Great Flood of 1993
• 1994 - Bartle Hall Convention Center opens.
• 1995 - Sister city relationship established with Arusha, Tanzania.
• 1997
  • City website online (approximate date).
  • Sister city relationship established with San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico.
• 1998 - Sister city relationship established with Ramla, Israel.
• 1999 - Kay Barnes becomes mayor.

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 441,545.
• 2001 - Regional Kansas City SmartPort economic development group established.
• 2004 - Sister city relationship established with Metz, France.
• 2005
  • Penn Valley skatepark opens.
  • Emanuel Cleaver becomes U.S. representative for Missouri's 5th congressional district.
• 2007
  • Sprint Center (arena) opens.
  • Irish Museum and Cultural Center active.
  • Mark Funkhouser becomes mayor.
• 2010
  • Population: 459,787.
  • Paseo Bridge closed, demolished
  • Christopher S. Bond Bridge opens, replacing Paseo Bridge
• 2011
  • Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens.
  • Sly James becomes mayor.
  • Population: 463,202; metro 2,052,676.
• 2012
  • Google Fiber service begins.
  • Kansas City Startup Village established.
  • 2014 - Liberty Memorial designated National World War I Monument