Our Neighbors

Kansas City, Missouri

Founded: 1853

The origins of Kansas City date to the early 1800s, when French fur traders arrived by the Missouri River and built rough cabins along the river. The Town of Kansas was formed in 1838 and a trail connecting the river landing to the Santa Fe Trail in the town of Westport was established.

Today, several townships have been annexed by Kansas City creating neighborhoods, including Martin City, Waldo, Westport, Hickman Mills, and Knobtown.

Lee’s Summit, Missouri

Founded: October 28, 1865

Originally founded as the Town of Strother in 1865 by William B. Howard, Lee's Summit was named for Dr. Pleasant Lea, the town's physician at that time, who was shot and killed during the Civil War near the present site of the Missouri Pacific Depot. The Summit portion of the name was used since the town's site, (1050 feet above sea level) is the highest point on the railroad between Omaha and St. Louis. When Dr. Lea's name was originally painted on the box car, which served as the town's depot, it was misspelled and was never corrected

Independence, Missouri

Founded: 1827

Independence, Missouri was founded in 1827 to serve as the westernmost port of the fur trade on the Missouri River. It later served as a jumping-off point for the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails, and two battles were fought here in the Civil War.

Oak Grove, Missouri

Founded: July 25, 1840

The first post office was opened on July 25, 1840 bearing the name of Oak Grove, however the town was originally called Lickskillet. The town was laid out by William E. Frick. At the time of incorporation there were 11 stores, a school, church, livery stable, mill, post office and hotel. In the early 1900's, Oak Grove held horse shows that drew nearly 10,000 people and 250 entries in 40 categories.

Raytown, Missouri

Founded: 1849

Raytown was born in 1849 from blacksmith William Ray's hammer and anvil. Raytown began as a Santa Fe Trail stop just eight miles south of Independence, and is probably the second oldest town in Jackson County.

Grandview, Missouri

Founded: February 6, 1912

Grandview is where 33rd President Harry Truman grew up working on the family farm. Grandview grew from a farming community into a rail town beginning in 1912, and eventually became home to many servicemen and women stationed at the nearby Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base until its closure in 1994.

Greenwood, Missouri

Founded: 1867

Over 140 years ago the name Greenwood was filed for court record on June 25, 1867, by R.W. Price, Frank Brooks, Alfred Hanscomb and the Rev. S.B. Clark. An earlier business district has been located about 1/2 mile northwest of the present school, but this was abandoned for the current site when the railroad came through after the Civil War. In 1870 Lincoln College was founded in Greenwood. By 1900, Greenwood had two train depots that average 100 trains every 24 hours.

Buckner, Missouri

Founded: 1875

Buckner was originally known as Buckner Hill. In its inception Buckner was a railroad depot town for the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Lone Jack, Missouri

Founded: 1841

Its name comes from a single black jack tree that stood as a local landmark. A post office has been in operation at Lone Jack since 1839. On August 16, 1862, Federal troops were defeated in the Battle of Lone Jack by a much larger Confederate force. The fighting literally occurred on the main street and raged for five hours before the Federals withdrew.

Lake Lotawana, Missouri

Founded: December 30, 1927

Lake Lotawana was conceived, purchased, built and developed by Milton Thompson, owner of nearby Highland Farms, the world's largest Hereford cattle breeding farm at that time. He had previously developed nearby Lake Tapawingo, a lake community with retreats for wealthy Kansas City businessmen.

Lake Tapawingo, Missouri

Founded: 1926

Lake Tapawingo was constructed by the Lake Tapawingo Development Company in 1926 as an "exclusive sports retreat and rest haven." The City of Lake Tapawingo was officially formed in 1962 in order to prevent annexation by the larger cities of either Blue Springs, Missouri or Independence, Missouri.

Villages in Jackson County

Unity Village, Missouri

Founded: 1919

Charles Fillmore purchased 1,200 acres farm land to develop the village of Unity Village, now the present day location of Unity Worldwide Headquarters, a religious organization. The landmark Unity Tower was designed by the Kansas City firm Boillot & Lauck and built in 1929 to store water. Unity Village is the location of the largest water fountain in Jackson County.

Levasy, Missouri

Founded: 1877

A post office called Levasy has been in operation since 1877. The city was named after William Wallace Livesay, an early settler

River Bend, Missouri

Founded: 1951

It is the only part of Jackson County that lies north of the Missouri River. In 1949, the Missouri River was relocated to a new channel, creating River Bend in 1951, (also known as Liberty Bend). The county line still follows the original riverbed. In 2010 the population was 10.

Atherton

Founded: 1888

A post office called Atherton was established in 1888, and remained in operation until 1976. The community was named after a railroad employee. During WWII, German prisoners of war worked on farm land and assisted in loading trains with produce.

The Lost Towns

Hick’s City

Founded: 1872

A post office called Hick’s City was established in 1872, and remained in operation until 1906. The community was named after Russell Hicks, the original owner of the site.

Sni Mills

Founded: 1871

A post office was established at Sni Mills in 1871, and remained in operation until 1902. The community was named after nearby Sni-A-Bar Creek.

Blue Mill

Founded: 1835

The community was named for a watermill on the Blue River. A post office called Blue Mill was established in 1835, and remained in operation until 1895. A variant name for the town was Twyman.

Cockrell

Founded: 1886

The town was named after Francis Cockrell, a state legislator. The town dissolved in 1902. A mercantile store is still operated here.

Courtney

Founded: 1888

The town was named after C.C. Courtney, an early settler. The town dissolved in 1962.

Hiler

Founded: 1893

A post office called Hiler was established in 1893, and remained in operation until 1902. It is located to the north of Pink Hill on Buckner Tarsney Rd before Buckner.

Pink Hill

Founded: 1854

A post office called Pink Hill was established in 1854, and remained in operation until 1902. It is located on Pink Hill Road roughly between South Howell Road and South Fields Road. The community was named for a hill near the town site where pink flowers grew.

Tarsney

Founded: 1891

A post office called Tarsney was established in 1891, and remained in operation until 1902

Hickman’s Mill

Founded: 1854

Named for Edwin Alfred Hickman who purchased land to build a steam-powered grist and saw mill along Hart Grove Creek. He had moved down from Independence when wood became scarce for his mill there and he sought to take advantage of the large amount of traffic on the nearby Santa Fe Trail at that time. Its current given name is due to a clerical error in the second half of the 19th century; when the community around Hickman's Mill applied for a federal post office, the officer in Washington, D.C., mangled the name to "Hickman Mills
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