Blue River
Pleasure Boating on the Blue River? KCQ Navigates This Interesting History
At the turn of the 20th century, Kansas Citians seeking respite from urban life had only to travel a short distance east to enjoy camping, floating, and fishing at a popular recreational destination, the Blue River. Yes, that Blue River – the now muddy, mostly forgotten waterway that winds through rural, suburban, and industrial areas of Kansas City before emptying into the Missouri River in eastern Jackson County. A reader had seen images from the early 1900s of cabins and houseboats lining the Blue River near East Truman Road, or 15th Street. The area is now a manufacturing district, and he found it hard believe it once attracted crowds of boaters and vacationers.