Tag: travel

Kansas City Board of Trade


The price of wheat…

Beginning in the earliest years of the Twentieth Century, and carrying onward through 2013, from a trading pit in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, the price of wheat, first, in the United States, then later, for countries the United States traded with, was influenced. Influenced by Kansas City traders. Traders who barked out “buy” and “sell” orders. Buy and sell orders correlated to futures contracts for Hard Red Winter Wheat.

Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts – the Kansas City Board of Trade.

Why was this exchange located Kansas City in the first place?

Soil and climate conditions in the Great Plains are perfect for growing wheat. So the trading operation for Hard Red Winter Wheat contracts was going to be based in the Midwest. 

Wheat requires specific conditions in order to grow. Ample sunlight. Well-drained soil. Sufficient water. One additional requirement needed – with Hard Red Winter Wheat – is, exposure to the cold. To each point, Kansas City’s neighboring state to the west is…ideal.

So…Kansas City?

In the late-19th Century, the, “Why Kansas City?” question had a lot to do with where the wheat the traders were trading was coming from – Kansas.


Known as the “Wheat State,” Kansas as a state -along with North Dakota – consistently leads the United States in wheat production. 

For example…

Last year, Kansas had 7,600,000 acres allocated to the planting of wheat. Coupled to 7,150,00 acres of harvested wheat. That was last year. And one of the things that I personally love most about my home state of Kansas is, Kansas just doesn’t radically swing, from whim to whim, all that much. Well, to be more precise, Kansas doesn’t really swing from whim to whim, at all. Which brings us to the question of, “Why Kansas City?” for the Hard Red Winter Wheat exchange.

While there were 7,150,000 harvested acres of Kansas wheat in 2024, 106 years prior – in 1918 – there were 7,250,000 harvested acres of wheat in Kansas. Pretty much the same acreage total. In 1918. And in 1924. 7,000,000 acres.

Step out of 1918 for a moment. And into 2024. While those small Kansas farm houses (and small Kansas farms) would no longer be. And while you will now see high-tech John Deere Combine Harvesters on those Kansas farms – complete with Wi-Fi…and a John Deere price tag, per Harvester, of between $700,000 and $1,000,000 – the “DNA” of the land from which Hard Red Winter Wheat had been harvested – and is still harvested today -pretty much, stayed the same. 

7,000,000 Kansas acres of harvested wheat in 1918. 7,000,000 Kansas acres of harvested wheat in 2024.


Logistically, an exchange for the trading of Hard Red Winter Wheat contracts -and, for that matter, for a board of trade – which was based in Kansas City, just made sense. Long, long ago. And today as well. Kansas City was (and is) the “big city” for Kansas farmers. Perfect for a Hard Red Winter Wheat exchange. 

The origin of the Kansas City Board of Trade traces back to its founding in the year 1856. Founded by a group of local merchants. Led by one Edward H. Allen.

Elected as the 10th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Edward H. Allen held the office in 1867 and 1868.

The idea for an exchange taking hold in Kansas City three years after Kansas City, Missouri itself was incorporated as a city. Which happened in 1853. 

The trading of Hard Red Winter Wheat contracts…

Just as the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan is no longer a crowded hub of frantic traders, scurrying their trades about, those traders who once roamed the pit at the Kansas City Board of Trade – early in the Twentieth Century, and up through 2013 – have so too been replaced. By automation.

In 2012, the Kansas City Board of Trade was purchased by the CME Group – formerly, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.


One year later, Kansas City’s trading floor – I.e.: the pit – was merged into the trading floor in Chicago. The trading of Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts on a Kansas City trading floor was no more. 


Two years later – in 2015 – CME’s trading floor itself was shut down. Replaced by automation. No pit in Kansas City. No pit in Chicago. The trading of Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts became… automated. 

While that old trading floor for Hard Red Winter Wheat in Kansas City – and those busy wheat traders in the pit – is no longer in operation, whenever you add cold cuts and mayonnaise to your sandwich, the price of the wheat – which makes up about 15% of the total cost of the bread you use to surround your cold cuts – is still set in Kansas City at the Kansas City Board of Trade.

In 2025, the Kansas City Board of Trade continues to function as the primary trading platform for Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts. Hard Red Winter Wheat futures contracts are a determinant in the price of wheat. Then too, in the price that we ultimately pay a loaf of bread.

Interestingly, the Kansas City Board of Trade had been Kansas City’s original chamber of commerce. So, the origin for the trading of Hard Red Winter Wheat contracts in Kansas City started off as – and in – a chamber of commerce. At 8th and Wyandotte. In Kansas City, Missouri. 

Local growers of Hard Red Winter Wheat. Local traders of Hard Red Winter Wheat. Local buyers of Hard Red Winter Wheat. 

While the local growers of Hard Red Winter wheat are still there – Kansas produces over 300 million bushels of wheat each year…equating to roughly 20% of total wheat production in the United States…there is not much else which is entirely “local” when it comes to the Kansas City Board of Trade. And Hard Red Winter Wheat. 

While 300 million bushels of Hard Red Winter Wheat is produced by 15,000 Kansas farmers each year. While the price of Hard Red Winter Wheat is set in Kansas City at the Kansas City Board of Trade. When it comes to the Kansas City Board of Trade – and Hard Red Winter Wheat – today, it would be wise to substitute the word “global” for “local.”


Local buyers of wheat? Kansas is an exporter. Each year, Kansas exports just about half of the 300 million bushels of Hard Red Winter Wheat harvested in the “Wheat State.”

As the world’s largest contiguous producer of winter wheat – that’s Kansas – having the price of Hard Red Winter Wheat still set in Kansas City is itself, poetic justice.

And establishing the exchange for the trading of wheat contracts in Kansas City – in the late stages of the 19th Century – turned out to be, rather fortuitous…

7,000,0000 acres of harvested wheat in Kansas in 1918. The price of Hard Red Winter Wheat set in Kansas City in 1918.

7,000,000 acres of harvested wheat in Kansas in 2024. The price of Hard Red Winter Wheat set in Kansas City in 2024.

Other than those $1,000,000 John Deere Combine Harvesters that you’ll see on Kansas farms in 2025 – coupled to the fact that Kansas, while a local grower, is really an international exporter – much, does look, feel and operate the same.

Acreage. Crop. Exchange. 1918. 2024. When in comes to American wheat, the more things change the more things stay the same – Kansas City.

The price of wheat in 1918…

The price of wheat in 2025…

The Kansas City Board of Trade.

The Ironbound


The story behind the iconic name linked to one four square mile section within Newark’s East Ward just east of Penn Station is somewhat argumentative.

While it is somewhat subjective how this Newark neighborhood became The Ironbound, no argument can be made that the origin for this name we are referring to – The Ironbound – came about as a result of what was going on in this Newark neighborhood in the early part of the 19th Century. 

Newark was emerging as one of the preeminent United States manufacturing centers. Trains. Lots of trains. Freight trains. Lots of freight trains. Train tracks. Lots of train tracks. And within that network of Newark train tracks is where we find our origin for “The Ironbound” name.


Newark was transitioning away from being an agricultural economy. To its new identity. As an economy built around heavy industry. Freight trains played a major role in the success of Newark’s economic transition. 

By the 1830’s, rail had become the most efficient way to transport the finished manufactured goods which were being made in Newark to outside markets. Where they could then be sold.  

During the first half of the 19th century – with this advent of rail – what once had been a section of the city, strewn with swamps and farms, was going through a seismic change. It was becoming a neighborhood dominated by heavy industry. The Ironbound. Surrounded by trains tracks. Train tracks everywhere. Hence, the origin for our name, “The Ironbound.” Train tracks. Lots and lots of train tracks. In this four square mile Newark neighborhood. The Ironbound.

There is an alternative point-of-beginning for the name “The Ironbound.” One attributed not to this network of train tracks in Newark’s East Ward. But rather, to the preeminence of metalworking, forges and foundries found in The Ironbound in the mid-19th Century.

A portion of the reasoning for linking the origin of The Ironbound name to 19th Century metalworking – rather than (primarily) to rail – could be found in knowing that train tracks are made of steel. Not iron. But, a caveat…

It was in the mid-19th Century – after The Ironbound already began to transition from farming to heavy industry – that, for the very first time, steel rails could even be thought of as being used as a possible replacement for the iron rails which were always used (up until that time) to lay tracks. 


The first steel rails – ever used – were laid in Britain. In 1857. 1857…twenty-one years after Newark Broad Street Station opened. As Newark’s first freight station. 

So, when those 19th Century trains roared into – and out of – The Ironbound, those 19th Century tracks the trains rode on were made of iron. Not steel. Hence, The Ironbound.

For those who believe the origin for The Ironbound name is based upon foundries…Seth Boyden.

Seth Boyden opened the first malleable iron foundry in the United States which was capable of producing the buckles and the harnesses which, when used together, then made up the two primary ingredients for the carriage industry. Boyden’s Newark’s foundry was the Malleable Cast Iron Foundry and Condit. The Malleable Foundry and Condit was established in The Ironbound. On Orange Street.

Balbach and Sons Refining and Smelting Company – once the second largest metal processing enterprise in the United States – was located where one now finds Riverbank Park in The Ironbound. 

The Oscar Barnet Foundry was located on McWhorter Street in The Ironbound. 

Foundries, metalworking and forges. Yet morseso than the foundries which once flourished in The Ironbound, The Ironbound name is most visibly seen today when you drive by 91 Bay Avenue – Oak Island Yard.


Opened in 1903, just about one thousand train cars travel through Oak Island Yard in The Ironbound…to this day.

The Ironbound name? It was those train tracks in The Ironbound. Those iron train tracks.

The Ironbound


The story behind the iconic name linked to one four square mile section within Newark’s East Ward just east of Penn Station is somewhat argumentative.

While it is somewhat subjective how this Newark neighborhood became The Ironbound, no argument can be made that the origin for this name we are referring to – The Ironbound – came about as a result of what was going on in this Newark neighborhood in the early part of the 19th Century.

Newark was emerging as one of the preeminent United States manufacturing centers. Trains. Lots of trains. Freight trains. Lots of freight trains. Train tracks. Lots of train tracks. And within that network of Newark train tracks is where we find our origin for “The Ironbound” name.


Newark was transitioning away from being an agricultural economy. To its new identity. As an economy built around heavy industry. Freight trains played a major role in the success of Newark’s economic transition. 

By the 1830’s, rail had become the most efficient way to transport the finished manufactured goods which were being made in Newark to outside markets. Where they could then be sold.  

During the first half of the 19th century – with this advent of rail – what once had been a section of the city, strewn with swamps and farms, was going through a seismic change. It was becoming a neighborhood dominated by heavy industry. The Ironbound. Surrounded by trains tracks. Train tracks everywhere. Hence, the origin for our name, “The Ironbound.” Train tracks. Lots and lots of train tracks. In this four square mile Newark neighborhood. The Ironbound.

There is an alternative point-of-beginning for the name “The Ironbound.” One attributed not to this network of train tracks in Newark’s East Ward. But rather, to the preeminence of metalworking, forges and foundries found in The Ironbound in the mid-19th Century.

A portion of the reasoning for linking the origin of The Ironbound name to 19th Century metalworking – rather than (primarily) to rail – could be found in knowing that train tracks are made of steel. Not iron. But, a caveat…

It was in the mid-19th Century – after The Ironbound already began to transition from farming to heavy industry – that, for the very first time, steel rails could even be thought of as being used as a possible replacement for the iron rails which were always used (up until that time) to lay tracks. The first steel rails – ever used – were laid in Britain. In 1857. 1857…twenty-one years after Newark Broad Street Station opened. As Newark’s first freight station. 

So, when those 19th Century trains roared into – and out of – The Ironbound, those 19th Century tracks the trains rode on were made of iron. Not steel. Hence, The Ironbound.

For those who believe the origin for The Ironbound name is based upon foundries…Seth Boyden.

Seth Boyden opened the first malleable iron foundry in the United States which was capable of producing the buckles and the harnesses which, when used together, then made up the two primary ingredients for the carriage industry. Boyden’s Newark’s foundry was the Malleable Cast Iron Foundry and Condit. The Malleable Foundry and Condit was established in The Ironbound. On Orange Street.

Balbach and Sons Refining and Smelting Company – once the second largest metal processing enterprise in the United States – was located where one now finds Riverbank Park in The Ironbound. 

The Oscar Barnet Foundry was located on McWhorter Street in The Ironbound. 

Foundries, metalworking and forges. Yet morseso than the foundries which once flourished in The Ironbound, The Ironbound name is most visibly seen today when you drive by 91 Bay Avenue – Oak Island Yard.

Opened in 1903, just about one thousand train cars travel through Oak Island Yard in The Ironbound…to this day.

The Ironbound name? It was those train tracks in The Ironbound. Those iron train tracks.

A Connecticut governor, Newark…and The Robert Treat Hotel.

The Robert Treat Hotel opened to the public in Newark, New Jersey in the year 1916. This prominent hotel – located on Park Place in downtown Newark – was the first luxury hotel ever built in Newark. 

The Robert Treat is named after the very man to whom Newark owes its status as, first, a territory of Great Britain. Then later, as a township in the American colonies. Then later, as New Jersey’s largest city. This man, was Robert Treat.

Robert Treat was born in England in 1622. Robert Treat arrived in the British colonies – in Massachusetts – in 1630.

In 1666, Robert Treat established a new territory for Great Britain. This new territory being, “Newark.”

What evolved into Newark was established by Robert Treat as the third New Jersey settlement. Great Britain granted this new territory a royal charter…forty-five years after Robert Treat first arrived in Brick City. This royal charter having been granted by Great Britain to Treat’s territory in 1713.

One-hundred thirty-two years after Robert Treat established this new territory for Great Britain, Newark was incorporated as a township in the newly-established United States. That occurred in 1798. As Newark Township. Through an act of the New Jersey Legislature – the Township Act of 1798. Through the Township Act of 1798, Newark became one of the New Jersey’s original 104 towns.

It was Newark Township up through 1836. In 1836, Newark Township was reincorporated as a city. Newark Township was no more. From 1836 on, it was simply, Newark. 

At its origin – upon Treat’s arrival, while still a territory which was governed by Great Britain, long before there even was a New Jersey Legislature – Newark was not known as Newark Township. Nor as Newark.

At first, upon Treat’s arrival, this new Newark territory had been Pesayak Towne. The territory later became New Milford. Names for Newark…long before the territory Treat established became Newark Township. Then later, simply, Newark.

Prior to traveling south a bit from his native New England to what today is Newark – traveling…together with a fellow group of Puritans…as Robert Treat was a Puritan himself – Robert Treat had been a Connecticut governor. 

From 1683 to 1687 Robert Treat served as Connecticut’s governor. Robert Treat served a second, non-consecutive term as the governor of Connecticut as well. 
Governor Treat’s second gubernatorial term in Connecticut ran from 1689 to 1698.

Health club privileges. A free shuttle to Newark Liberty International Airport. A business center. A guest lounge. Banquet facilities… 

As we approach The Robert Treat Hotel’s 100-year anniversary, that’s what you’ll find today when you stay at The Robert Treat. Its colonial history…long since having evolved into the finest hotel stay that New Jersey has to offer.

A Connecticut governor and Newark…The Robert Treat Hotel

The Robert Treat Hotel opened to the public in Newark, New Jersey in the year 1916. This prominent hotel – located on Park Place in downtown Newark – was the first luxury hotel ever built in Newark.

The Robert Treat is named after the very man to whom Newark owes its status as, first, a territory of Great Britain. Then later, as a township in the American colonies. Then later, as New Jersey’s largest city. This man, was Robert Treat.

Robert Treat was born in England in 1622. Robert Treat arrived in the British colonies – in Massachusetts – in 1630.

In 1666, Robert Treat established a new territory for Great Britain. This new territory being, “Newark.”

What evolved into Newark was established by Robert Treat as the third New Jersey settlement. Great Britain granted this new territory a royal charter…forty-five years after Robert Treat first arrived in Brick City. This royal charter having been granted by Great Britain to Treat’s territory in 1713.

One-hundred thirty-two years after Robert Treat established this new territory for Great Britain, Newark was incorporated as a township in the newly-established United States. That occurred in 1798. As Newark Township. Through an act of the New Jersey Legislature – the Township Act of 1798. Through the Township Act of 1798, Newark became one of the New Jersey’s original 104 towns.

It was Newark Township up through 1836. In 1836, Newark Township was reincorporated as a city. Newark Township was no more. From 1836 on, it was simply, Newark.

At its origin – upon Treat’s arrival, while still a territory which was governed by Great Britain, long before there even was a New Jersey Legislature – Newark was not known as Newark Township. Nor as Newark.

At first, upon Treat’s arrival, this new Newark territory had been Pesayak Towne. The territory later became New Milford. Names for Newark…long before the territory Treat established became Newark Township. Then later, simply, Newark.

Prior to traveling south a bit from his native New England to what today is Newark – traveling…together with a fellow group of Puritans…as Robert Treat was a Puritan himself – Robert Treat had been a Connecticut governor.

From 1683 to 1687 Robert Treat served as Connecticut’s governor. Robert Treat served a second, non-consecutive term as the governor of Connecticut as well.
Governor Treat’s second gubernatorial term in Connecticut ran from 1689 to 1698.


Health club privileges. A free shuttle to Newark Liberty International Airport. A business center. A guest lounge. Banquet facilities…

As we approach The Robert Treat Hotel’s 100-year anniversary, that’s what you’ll find today when you stay at The Robert Treat. Its colonial history…long since having evolved into the finest hotel stay that New Jersey has to offer.

…the KC streetcar suburb with those crooked roads.

As the beginning of the Twentieth Century dawned in the Midwest, in Kansas City, streetcar suburbs came to be.

Early in the Twentieth Century, one streetcar line ran right down Troost Avenue. In the very heart of KC.

In the early-1900’s, one could jump on that Troost Avenue streetcar. Leave the hustle bustle of Kansas City. And arrive at one of Kansas City’s new streetcar suburbs.

Those new streetcar suburbs which were then being built in Paris of the Plains were still located in Kansas City. Yet, Kansas City’s streetcar suburbs did not espouse an urban feel. Manheim Park was one of those early Kansas City streetcar suburbs.

To the north, Manheim Park is bounded by 35th Street. To the west, Manheim Park is bounded by Troost Avenue. Troost Avenue…where one could jump on that Kansas City streetcar – early in the Twentieth Century – and be dropped off in Manheim Park – one of KC’s new streetcar suburbs.

The construction of new homes in Manheim Park took hold very early on in the 1900’s. Drawing upon a general distaste for how new Kansas City homes were then being constructed along, what oftentimes were, run-of-the-mill, plain vanilla roads that ran straight – either east-west or north-south – homes which were being built, in the opinion of early Manheim Park developers, too close to one another, no less. In Manheim Park, things would be somewhat different. In Manheim Park, your drive in to one of those new Manheim Park streetcar suburb homes was going to be…a drive along a new road with a unique contour.

Crooked roads…

To build new homes on any undeveloped land you need roads. And in Manheim Park, those new roads went in. Roads which did not necessarily run east-west. Roads which did not necessarily run north-south.

Those original Manheim Park roads were crooked. Creating a staple – all its own – for Manheim Park: its crooked roads

…Kansas City, Kansas neighborhoods in the very beginning.


Kansas City, Kansas’s beginning came to be by way of a merger of towns. A merger of towns which then became KCK neighborhoods.


In 1886 Kansas City, Kansas was formed when the independent settlements of Kansas City, Wyandotte City, Armstrong, Riverview and Armordale combined.


Twenty-four years later, Kansas City annexed Argentine. Argentine was built around smelting and mining plants. Argentine’s plants, benefitting from Argentine’s location alongside the Santa Fe Railroad.


Today’s KCK neighborhood of Argentine borders Rosedale.


Prior to its annexation by Kansas City in 1922, Rosedale had been The Town of Rosedale. Settled in 1872.

Annexed by Kansas City in 1923, Quindaro was originally a free state port alongside the Missouri River. Within the abolitionist movement, Quindaro was once an Underground Railroad station.


Kansas City’s Troost Avenue


There is an interesting, historically significant 10-mile street in Kansas City, Missouri which runs from 4th Street to Bannister. The Kansas City, Missouri street I am referring to here is Troost Avenue.

Among the Kansas City, Missouri neighborhoods which border Troost Avenue are…Beacon Hill, Longfellow, Squier Park, Rockhill and Hyde Park. All are fabulously sought-after KC neighborhoods.

Troost Avenue was named after a doctor – Benoist Troost. Dr. Troost, as well as being a prominent Kansas City physician, had been a civic leader in KC. Troost Avenue.

Troost Avenue was once home to “Millionaire’s Row.” Early in the 20th Century, “Millionaire’s Row” had been a strip of stunning mansions constructed all along Troost Avenue. Those mansions adorned Troost from 31st Street to 34th Street.


Today, Troost Avenue is experiencing keen interest. And a tasteful renaissance of redevelopment. In times past, Troost Avenue experienced a storied history of disinvestment. And decline. Prior to Troost’s renaissance. So what led to Troost’s decline?

Disinvestment. But real estate disinvestment was not the primary catalyst which led to Troost’s
mid-20th Century decline. Real estate disinvestment certainly was one catalyst which led to Troost’s decline. But
real estate disinvestment was not the primary catalyst which led to Troost’s decline.


Disinvestment in public schools east of Troost was the primary catalyst which led to Troost’s decline.

Starting off in the late ‘60’s, the School Board in Kansas City, Missouri consistently requested increases in education funding for Kansas City, Missouri schools located east of Troost Avenue. For this topic, there were in the range of twenty such education funding requests made by the Kansas City School Board during this time. These were funding requests made throughout 1960’s. Throughout the 1970’s. For twenty years.

The additional funds – if approved – would have gone to Kansas City, Missouri public schools east of Troost Avenue. Funding requests were voted down. The result? White flight.

Families – those having the means, that is…meaning, predominantly white families at that time – moved. Families moved outside of the underfunded Kansas City, Missouri School District. Schools east of Troost were underfunded.

White flight. Neighborhood home values decreased. One prominent Kansas City mayor once referred to Troost Avenue as, “…the demarcation line in a war zone.”

The problem – east of Troost – wasn’t the legal segregation of schools. Nor was the problem – east of Troost – the illegal segregation of schools. The problem – east of Troost – was school funding. Or a lack thereof.


Long before round after round after round after round of failed requests were submitted to secure funding for Kansas City, Missouri public schools east of Troost, those same public schools were in fact desegregated. Yet school desegregation didn’t really solve this problem in Kansas City east of Troost. Because while school desegregation based upon race was the national mandate after Brown v. the Board of Education, decisions made which affected education funding were – and are – made at the local level. And therein was the problem for public schools east of Troost. At that time.


In 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Brown v. the
Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that state-sanctioned segregation of
public schools was unconstitutional. Prior to this 1954 Supreme Court ruling, in Kansas City, Missouri – east of Troost Avenue – Lincoln High School had once been the only high school providing post-elementary education to Black students.
One high school.


In 1955, one year after Brown v. the Board of Education, the Kansas City School Board kind of enacted a “segregation” of public schools, in a different way. This was like a “de-facto segregation.” Not based upon race. But rather, this was a different form of segregation which was based upon attendance zones. Not race.


Yet, do we recall the aforementioned white flight east of Troost? The white flight which took place as round after round of funding requests for schools was voted down? Which led to panic selling? Which led to block busting? As white families relocated out of the Kansas City, Missouri school district?

Kansas City, Missouri public schools east of Troost were not segregated based upon race after the 1954 Supreme Court decision. But yet, in a practical sense, they
kinda still were.


The city’s expansion…


Beginning in the 1950’s, and extending onwards through the 1960’s, Kansas City,
Missouri – as a city – grew. During this time, Kansas City, Missouri added over
200 square miles to the city’s footprint. Yet, during this same time, what about
Kansas City, Missouri public school sizes? What about Kansas City, Missouri public
school teacher count? What about Kansas City, Missouri public school classroom
sizes? What about Kansas City, Missouri public school classroom capacity?


None of those public school categories grew in a commensurate way – east of
Troost, that is – to Kansas City’s population growth. Nor to Kansas City’s
expanding public school education requirements. During the city’s expansion in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s – east of Troost – Kansas City, Missouri public schools remained overcrowded. And underfunded. The city’s expansion just made it worse.


In real estate, developers often utilize – and benefit from – tax abatements. On Troost Avenue – and east of Troost – there is a genuine renaissance which has taken hold. It’s long overdue. And it’s welcomed.


Let’s go back for a moment to the topic of Kansas City, Missouri public schools, east of Troost. To the underfunding of public schools, east of Troost. To classroom sizes…


The definition of a tax abatement is, the reduction of, or the exemption from, taxes granted by a government for a specific period, usually to encourage certain activities.


Over one six-year period – between 2017 and 2023 – Kansas City, Missouri public schools lost in excess of $200 million in potential education funding which could have gone (but didn’t go) to Kansas City, Missouri public schools. Funds redirected away from Kansas City, Missouri public schools due to development incentives given out. Development incentives coming from tax abatements.


Public schools in Kansas City, Missouri have accrued nearly $400 million in deferred maintenance. Underfunded.


Those of us who love Kansas City applaud the spectacular redevelopment which is taking place on Troost Avenue. Still, it’s not really a stretch for us to take a moment and think about what led to Troost’s decline. It was the schools.


If the #1 goal is redevelopment and private schools…all good.

While panic selling and block busting were two factors which contributed to neighborhood disruption east of Troost long, long ago, neighborhoods east of Troost will experience no such disruptions this time. As the “Troost pendulum”swings all the way…in the other direction.


What we’ll see is, not decreasing property values east of Troost. We’ll see increasing property values east of Troost.

We won’t see panic selling east of Troost. We’ll see home sellers fetching ever-increasing prices for their homes, east of Troost.

We won’t see blockbusting, east
of Troost. We’ll see continued investor interest in homes, east of Troost.

What we’ll also see – east of Troost – is community members being priced out of their neighborhoods. We’ll see gentrification. We’ll see investment. Not
disinvestment. We’ll see tax abatements.

We’ll also see hundreds of millions
of dollars in deferred maintenance which has already been incurred by Kansas City, Missouri public schools.


We’ll see challenges in education. Different education challenges. Not
segregation. Not the same challenges as before. But challenges in education
east of Troost, nonetheless.


If redevelopment on Troost Avenue is the goal, all good.

If there are other topics to consider, maybe we revisit Kansas City history? Focusing on this topic: public schools east of Troost.

Crossroads

During the latter part of the 19th Century, goods making their way to the Western-most points of an ever-expanding United States would have likely ended up trekking through Paris of the Plains. Through Kansas City. Through Crossroads.


Kansas City was (and is) truly an American Crossroads.

In a fast-industrializing early-20th Century United States, Kansas City – I.e.: Crossroads – connected an industrial Northeast to agricultural centers in the American west. And in the American southwest. 

The Santa Fe Trail. Kansas City’s unique location at the confluence of two major rivers – the Kansas River and the Missouri River. And later, as a major railroad hub. A  railroad hub which, during its heyday, was second only to Chicago’s railyards in terms of rail traffic, and rail capacity. Each converged in Kansas City. Kansas City became a Crossroads. Due to its geographical location. Due to America’s expansion west. Due to rail. Due to trade patterns. Crossroads…


Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at the onset of the 19th Century. Lewis and Clark arrived in Crossroads at a time when the United States government was keen on opening up the west to American interests. The most effective pathway west at that time? That would have been the Missouri River. Kansas City was built alongside “Big Muddy.” Built alongside the Missouri River.

Switching eras. Fast forwarding in time. Switching methods of transportation. Yet staying on the subject of Crossroads..

In order to facilitate Kansas City’s unique position as an American Crossroads, nearly 100 years after Lewis and Clark arrived with their team of 50 – and 3 boats – by the late-19th Century, the first train depot opened in Kansas City. The year was 1878. And that Crossroads train depot would have been Kansas City’s Union Depot. 

Kansas City’s Union Depot became the second union depot which opened in the United States. Indianapolis’s union depot was the first.


By 1945, nearly 700,000 rail passengers stepped foot in Kansas City’s train station. At its height, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City every single day. Crossroads.

A Crossroads. A gateway. To an exciting new 19th Century American frontier. A Crossroads for 20th Century American train travelers. A Crossroads for American soldiers during wartime. A Crossroads for American industry. A Crossroads for freight trains. Crossroads.

In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preeminent method of transportation for freight. In the mid-20th Century, rail was the preferred method of transportation for civilian passengers.  As an American Crossroads, Kansas City quickly outgrew its original Union Depot.

Desiring – and requiring – additional capacity for their freight trains, the railroads which were collectively utilizing Kansas City’s Union Depot in KC’s industrial West Bottoms made a decision. Their decision? They were going to replace the outdated, ill-sized Union Depot with a new, larger more accommodative train station. Built in a new location. Union Depot was out. A depot in the West Bottoms – as the West Bottoms was prone to floods – was out. The new Kansas City train station would be near Kansas City’s central business district. Not in a floodplain. Built up on the hill. 

Kansas City’s Union Station opened to the public in 1914 – a 850,000 square feet major railway hub. Union Station prospered. Rail, at that time, was an integral part of Kansas City’s position as an American Crossroads. Yet, as Union Station – and as rail – cemented Kansas City’s Crossroads status, macro circumstances in the United States changed. Macro circumstances changed the future of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the utilization of Kansas City’s Union Station. Macro circumstances changed the fate of Kansas City’s Union Station.

As the 20th Century progressed, the preferred method of transportation in the United States changed. For civilian passengers. For industry.

An emerging airline industry – coupled to travelers’ newfound preference for convenient flights, rather than long train rides – changed how Kansas City functioned as a rail-centric Crossroads. And trucks. Highways.

As flights replaced rail for passengers, trucks and highways replaced rail as the preferred method of transportation for freight. As such, the “DNA” for Crossroads changed.

By the 1970’s, rail traffic through Kansas City’s Union Station dropped. Significantly. From what had been a near-700,000 train passengers walking through Kansas City’s Union Station each year…that number precipitously dropped. Year by year. To, in the early part of the 1970’s, just about 30,000 yearly passengers.

At one time, close to 200 trains pulled into Kansas City’s Union Station everyday. Today? A total of 4 Amtrak trains pull into Union Station, daily.

Through it all, the origin for Kansas City’s status as a Crossroads? I would say, that was never Union Station. It was not the nearly-200 trains which pulled into Kansas City each day. It was not the American GI’s who arrived in Kansas City during the War. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads? That would be one United States President. The origin for Kansas City’s status as Crossroads would be, in my humble opinion, Thomas Jefferson.

In 1803, the size of the United States doubled. The doubling in size of the United States in 1803 was the result of one $15,000,000 real estate deal. That real estate deal being the Louisiana Purchase. 

The Louisiana Purchase added 828,000 square miles to the footprint of the United States. And, once the Louisiana Purchase was enacted, Kansas City’s location went from perfect, to PERFECT.

One year after the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson tapped an old wartime buddy of his. That buddy? Meriweather Lewis. Jefferson’s idea? For Meriweather Lewis to lead an expedition west. For Lewis to explore this vast new territory acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase.


Meriweather Lewis added William Clark to this planned expedition. Six weeks after the Jefferson-directed expedition began, Lewis and Clark arrived at a confluence of two important rivers. The Missouri River. The Kansas River. 

Or, as we now know this area to be, six weeks after Lewis and Clark ventured out with 3 boats – and a team of 50 – Lewis and Clark arrived at Crossroads. Lewis and Clark arrived in, what would go on to become…Kansas City.

The West Bottoms

Kansas City’s stockyards – and the KC cattle business – once dominated a section of Kansas City, Missouri known as the West Bottoms.


The cattle industry had been Kansas City’s first multi-million dollar business. Actually, at one time, Kansas City’s stockyards were a multi-million dollar a day business. At their peak, Kansas City’s stockyards were the second busiest stockyards in the United States. Surpassed only by Chicago’s stockyards.


Long before trains transported cattle to and from the Kansas City stockyards, Kansas City’s West Bottoms were known as the French Bottoms. A place where French trappers and native Americans partook in commerce.

The Santa Fe Trail. Trade with Mexico. Western immigration routes. Steamships transporting goods along the Missouri River… At one time, one way or another, each converged in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. And in a country eager to expand its footprint to the West, Kansas City’s West Bottoms was the hub. As Kansas City became known as “the Gateway to the Southwest.”

In the early Twentieth Century, Kansas City executives oversaw livestock businesses from offices located in the West Bottoms. Today, many of those old offices are lofts. The West Bottoms has become a trendy destination…sought after by young urban professionals. That office space which was once been used by cattle executives? It now houses budding Kansas City entrepreneurs.

There is still manufacturing in the West Bottoms. There are still warehouses. Today, a West Bottoms manufacturing facility – or a West Bottoms warehouse -might just be located on the same block as a restaurant or a haunted house. Near The Beast. Or The Edge of Hell. Or The Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe…

In 1923, the West Bottoms received 3,500,000 hogs, 350,000 calves, 1,000,000 sheep, plus 40,000 horses. That same year, Kansas City’s stockyards set the world record for one day’s receipt of cattle: 60,206 head.

One hundred years later? No cattle.

The live cattle price of $2.88 USD per pound and the lean hog price of $.83 USD per pound? Not too relevant in the West Bottoms in 2024.

High-speed Internet connection? Great restaurants? Those are relevant.


Freight trains still roll through Kansas City’s West Bottoms. Often, transporting millions of gallons of Bakken crude. Railroad tracks run straight through the middle of the West Bottoms. Train engine horns still blare…everyday. At its peak, 16 railroads once converged in the West Bottoms.