Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had an estimated population of 488,943 in 2017, making it the 37th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Kansas–Missouri state line. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west. On June 1, 1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated; shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to distinguish them soon after.
History of the Kansas City metropolitan area
The area was soon populated by trappers, scouts, traders, and farmers, leading to the incorporation of Jackson County, Missouri, in 1827 and the founding of the town of Independence, located approximately from the river junction, as its county seat. As the number of farmers increased, the fur traders retreated northward. In 1831, Moses Grinter established a ferry on the Kansas River on the old Indian trail by the Kaw's water. Grinter was one of the earliest permanent white settlers in the Kansas City, Kansas, area.