History of the Kansas City metropolitan area
The history of the Kansas City metropolitan area started in the 19th century as Frenchmen from St. Louis, Missouri moved up the Missouri River to trap for furs and trade with the Native Americans. The Kansas City metropolitan area, straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, was a strategic point for commerce and security. Kansas City, Missouri was founded in 1838 and defeated its rival Westport to become the predominant city west of St. Louis. The area played a major role in the westward expansion of the United States. The Santa Fe, and Oregon trails ran through the area. In 1854, when Kansas was opened to Euro-American settlement, the Missouri-Kansas border became the first battlefield in the conflict in the American Civil War.
Film in Kansas City
Many popular feature films have been produced in Kansas City, including "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" (1990); "Article 99" (1992); "Kansas City" (1996), a film about 1930s Kansas City and Kansas City Jazz music, directed by native Robert Altman; "Asteroid" (1997), which is loosely based in Kansas City; and "Ride with the Devil" (1999), about the anti-slavery/pro-slavery schism during the Civil War that took place on the Kansas–Missouri border near Kansas City. Recently, the Greater Kansas City Film Commission was founded to encourage producers to film in Kansas City, and the FilmFest Kansas City and Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee were begun as traditional local festivities.