History

Newspaper advertisements boasted of the healing waters, stating “Go to Excelsior Springs and be cured” because “its location is unusually healthy and free from malaria.”

Kansas City was certainly lucky that a calmer Gill was mayor at the time. At 5’8” tall, his ability to resolve conflicts – nonviolently and reasonably- earned him the nickname as “the little giant of the 3rd Ward.”

Despite receiving death threats, being abducted, and having a lynch mob form during a service, Pastor Anderson had the courage and convictions to continue to preach against slavery and lead other pastors to do the same.

Both made history, even though on the surface these men seem to have little in common minus their connection to two country clubs and the historic home in Overland Park at 6741 Mackey. 

Right in the middle of Overland Park is a house which contains literally layers of history….a structure built by a Shawnee Indian Chief 20 years prior to Kansas statehood. 

Starting in 1888, Fred Wolferman and his father joined forces to launch one of Kansas City’s finest food markets- a place where only the best was manufactured, served and delivered.

D.M. “Doc” Nigro said goodbye to his college friend Knute Rockne at the Kansas City Municipal Airport on March 31, 1931. By the end of the day, he was collecting his body from a site 140 miles west of KC.

 There is no library branch or room named after this enterprising, bright and passionate figure of Kansas City’s history.

“I want to be a policewoman so I can have the authority to make these great big gawks of men who come hanging around our playground move on.”

Steptoe is a community that should be memorialized due to its unique spot in our city’s ever-evolving narrative.

When you drive through what was the town of Dodson, it’s hard to imagine that multiple businesses- long gone- once served the streetcar, railroad and the community around it.

As we celebrate another biracial vice president, it’s worth remembering that history doesn’t just get made — it also gets rewritten and reclaimed.

In 1859, the first bridge to cross the Blue River at current-day Red Bridge Rd. was commissioned. Not only did this bridge change traffic along the Trails, but it was built by an infamous man in American history.

“Victor Regnier had a pretty hardscrabble environment when he was a kid. They moved 12 times when he was 15 years old just to stay ahead of the rent.” 

“Many of these persons, especially the jobless, would have no Christmas, I knew, unless the mayor made one possible for them.” – George M. Shelley, Mayor of Kansas City 1878-79