Kansas City has a diverse and
colorful past, seeing its share of
traders, cowboys & settlers heading west.
The River Market area is
where people lived and worked when Kansas City got its start. There are
numerous renovated living spaces, housed in some of KC's
Historical Buildings.
Kansas City, Missouri, had its origins in the fur trade. Pierre Chouteau sent his sons, Francois and Cyprian, into the western territory to establish new trading posts to increase the family's hold on the fur market. In 1823, Francois Chouteau established a trading post on the Missouri River bottom about three miles downstream from the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers.
In 1826, a flood forced Francois and his entourage to relocate closer to the confluence of the two rivers on higher ground. This location was referred to as Chouteau's Warehouse. Following an 1827 alliance with the American Fur Company, Chouteau's Warehouse became the headquarters for the company's western trading routes. Additional traders settled near the warehouse and the area soon became known as Chouteau's Town. While the exact location of this settlement is unknown, it is believed to have been the basis of the original site of Kansas City. An early map, drawn in 1840, suggests that Madame Chouteau lived just east of the Town of Kansas site.
In 1833, the Town of Westport was established by John McCoy as the secondary starting point for the Santa Fe Trail. Because Westport was located several miles inland near the state line, McCoy began to use Chouteau's warehouse as a transfer point for goods bound to Westport, in part because the warehouse was closer to Westport than his previous landing point near Independence, but also because a better landing site was located on land adjacent to the warehouse. The area which became The Town of Kansas was thus initially referred to as Westport Landing.
The property on which the Town of Kansas was founded, was originally claimed by Gabriel Prudhomme. Prudhomme was killed in a bar room brawl and the land was inherited by his widow and seven children. Advertisements for the sale of the Prudhomme estate deemed the land to be, one of the best steamboat landings on the river: an excellent situation for a warehouse or town site. On November 14, 1838,Prudhomme’s land was sold to a town company comprised of 14 men for $4,200.00.
The town company decided to re-name the settlement the Town of Kansas after the Kansas River and the Kansa Indians. Although the Town was created in 1838 and platted in 1840, increased trading and merchant activity did not really take place until several years later. The law required that all fourteen members of the town Company sign each plat before title could be transferred, The death of two company members shortly after the sale called into question subsequent lot sales.
In 1846, once the legal issues surrounding ownership were resolved, a new plat was completed for the Town of Kansas. The town soon prospered as new businesses, warehouses, hotels, and stores were established, capitalizing on the increased activity along the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. By 1853 the Town was established as the main eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. That year a city charter incorporated the Town of Kansas as the City of Kansas.
Advertisements in newspapers, such as the Kansas City Enterprise indicated that dozens of businesses stood along the City of Kansas riverfront during the mid- to late 1850s. Among these businesses were wholesalers and retailers in dry goods, clothing, groceries, hardware, drugs and liquors, saw and grist mills, professional services, hotels and restaurants The businesses, seemingly, were established both to serve local residents and to supply those migrating' to the west.
In 1846, once the legal issues surrounding ownership were resolved, a new plat was completed for the Town of Kansas. The town soon prospered as new businesses, warehouses, hotels, and stores were established, capitalizing on the increased activity along the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico. By 1853 the Town was established as the main eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. That year a city charter incorporated the "Town of Kansas" as the City of Kansas.
Advertisements in newspapers, such as the Kansas City Enterprise indicated that dozens of businesses stood along the City of Kansas riverfront during the mid-to late 1850’s. Among these businesses were wholesalers and retailers in dry goods, clothing, groceries, hardware, drugs and liquors, saw and grist mills, professional services, hotels and restaurants. The businesses, seemingly were established both to serve local residents and to supply those migrating to the west.
It is believed that the years 1855-1859 were a period of tremendous growth for the city, and one of major development in the Town of Kansas vicinity. This economic boom coincided with the opening of the Kansas Territory and the corresponding influx of settlers needing to be outfitted for their journeys west.
By the mid 1850’s, the City of Kansas began to grow up the bluffs to the south, moving commercial businesses away from the riverfront. A bird’s eye view of the City from 1869 shows that development in the area was extensive, with many multilevel stone and brick buildings in evidence. Several streets are shown cut through the bluffs, including: Grand, Walnut, Main, and Delaware Streets, and part of Bridge Street. However, the most developed area of the city is south of the bluffs and separated from the waterfront commercial district by several less sparsely developed blocks. A line of steamboats along the levee attests to the continuing commercial importance of the riverfront.
Evidence from city directories, atlases and archival photographs indicate that by the 1880’s, commerce in Kansas City as a whole had shifted from wholesale and retail businesses to more industrial enterprises. By the turn of the 20th century, little additional attraction had occurred in the Town of Kansas area, and by the 1930’s, the riverfront area had been vacated altogether. |
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The corner of 3rd and Wyandotte Street which is now a parking lot, was once the location of one of the finest bawdy houses West of the Mississippi River. This "gilded house of sin" was owned and operated by the "Queen of the Red Lights" Annie Chambers.
Annie spared no expense furbishing her home. The tiled entry floor had the name "Chambers" inset and the walls were mirrored, illuminated by red light chandeliers The front parlor salon was decorated with heavily gold gilded framed art, leather upholstered chairs, oriental rugs, walnut
marble-topped tables and a lavishly ornate fireplace. The first floor also included a grand ballroom and a lounge where good food and vintage were served. A customer could also have clothes laundered, shoes repaired and hair cut.
Annie employed for more than a half-century, thousands of young women who were reputed to be the best among the 147 "bawdy houses" which existed within the city. Annie took great pride in the welfare of her girls. She bought them elegant clothes, taught them to style their hair and promoted manners and personality. It was a rule that the girls be feminine at all times. Smoking in public and swearing were not allowed, an action which was considered to make a girl appear common.
The two story brick mansion was closed in 1923, ending the illustrious bordello business of "Mrs. Madam," Annie Chambers.
- Dan Throckmorton
(from an article submitted to the RMBA Currents Newsletter
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