Visit Kansas City's Past Through History

Although Kansas City began as a simple trading post to serve the needs of early trappers and the westward bound pioneers, the site soon grew into a booming city. Still an agriculture and rail center, Kansas City has a diverse history relected in the many museums and historical sites available to those who wish to trace the past.

Begin a journey into the city's history at the Kansas City Museum in Kessler Park (3218 Gladstone Boulevard). Within the walls of Corinthain Hall, a fifty room former mansion, visitors find a working 1910 soda fountain where they can quench their thirst. Other exhibits feature rivers, the land, the early trappers and settlers, Osage Indians, and much more. A hall of natural history and a planetarium are also on site.

Other museums within the metropolitan area include The Libery Museum of World War I at Pershing and Main streets downtown. The 217 foot tall tower is visible for blocks and the museum complex offers a video presentation to complement the other exhibits that include canons, caissons, and other memorabilia.

Echoes of the city's African-American history can be found at The Museums at 18th and Vine in the heart of the old jazz district. The American Jazz Museum traces the musical roots of the jazz movement and the Negro League Baseball Museum nearby offers an insight into the days when even sports were segregated.

In the River Market area, vistors can relive the era of steam travel at the Arabia Steamboat Museum. Discovered buried beneath the surface of a farmer's field along the Missouri River in 1989, the Arabia sank in 1856. Items recovered from the sunken ship include frontier supplies, vintage clothing and shoes, firearms, medicines, bottled fruits and vegetables, jewelry and more. Stand on the full size reproduction of the deck to experience a moment from the past.

If playthings from the past are of interest, visitors to K.C. will delight in the Toy and Miniature Museum on Oak Street. Antique toys that include dolls and trains cover a vast area and include more than 80 furnished doll houses.