Hannibal Bridge
KCQ: How Did Kansas City Come to Be?
In hindsight, Kansas City’s development as the largest city in western Missouri seemed inevitable. Its location at the confluence of two rivers made it a likely transportation hub and a gateway for westward expansion. But as reader Ken Truax pointed out, Independence was once the city destined to make it big in the region, and he wondered how Kansas City took over that role. While exploring KC’s origins, we also take up Michael Vuinovic’s question: How did Westport, which isn’t close to the rivers, become such a significant part of Kansas City’s development into a dominant trade community?
The Hannibal Bridge: Keeping it "Rail" since 1869
July 3 marks the 150-year anniversary of the opening of the first rail crossing over the Missouri River. While the current Hannibal Bridge is a replacement completed in 1917, raising a toast to its predecessor certainly seems in order. After all, Kansas City as we know it today likely would never have existed without it.