The City of Kansas City, Mo., will celebrate the year of its 160th birthday today (Mar. 28) from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the City Hall Rotunda, 414 E. 12th St. Remarks from Mayor Sly James, City Manager Troy Schulte and members of the City Council will begin at noon.

The celebration is open to the general public. Cake and refreshments will be served.

Kansas City, Mo., has a dynamic history, tracing its beginnings to the early 1800s when French fur traders, including Francois Chouteau, followed the Missouri River from St. Louis to the area now known as the Northeast Industrial District, where they established trading posts on the waterway. Another young trader, John Calvin McCoy, opened a store inland on the Santa Fe Trail. He considered his land a portal to the West and thus named it Westport.

McCoy and 13 other men purchased a farm in the area and formed the town/company that later became Kansas City's downtown district. The new owners decided to name the township the Town of Kansas after the Kansa Indians, or Kaws, who inhabited the area. The Town of Kansas was incorporated and granted a charter by the county court in Independence on June 3, 1850.

The State of Missouri then officially incorporated the area as the “City of Kansas” on Feb. 22, 1853. The City of Kansas’ boundaries extended from the middle of the Missouri River south to Ninth Street, and from Bluff Street east to a point between Holmes and Charlotte streets.

This event will celebrate Kansas City’s history and especially its milestone year of 1853, when the State of Missouri officially recognized the City of Kansas.

This press release provided by the Kansas City Communications Office.

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