UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEE’S SUMMIT IN CONCURRENCE WITH HISTORIC NATIONAL EVENTS
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
BY
ETHAN BAXTER
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI
MAY 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
ACKNOWLEDGED FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The city of Lee’s Summit, Missouri is a story of social and cultural experiences that have distinguished it from other cities across the state. Even before being labeled as a city, the area boasted the likes of Lewis and Clark as well as James and the Younger Gang, and it consisted of precious farmland like Longview Ranch. Lee’s Summit is an experience of cultural heritage and social strength, showing its diversity. The story of Lee’s Summit is interwoven into the development of the United States, and shows its growth through the experiences that the nation went through.
In the 1830’s, 1840’s, and 1850’s, Missouri’s fertile soil brought settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina to Jackson and its surrounding counties. The first settlers utilized the rich soil to produce hemp and tobacco, while the farmers toward the later decades of the nineteenth were able to establish farms large enough to produce a variety of crops due to the rapidly expanding and diversifying market in the area. The abundance of water in the area also led to perfect conditions of fruit nurseries, which became a big part of the city’s early economy.
The city’s history began in 1844 when William Bullitt Howard moved to Jackson County, Missouri from Louisville, Kentucky. Allured...