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White Castle System, Inc./Ohio History ConnectionThe White Castle chain began in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, where its ingenious small burgers kicked off a national craze and inspired imitators of all shapes and sizes. But over a century later, White Castle has entirely vanished from its home state. And the story of how it introduced America to the hamburger has largely been overshadowed by its fast food rivals. -
Brent Jones/St. Louis Public RadioDuring a span of 71 years, most of the mounds in St. Louis left by Indigenous people from centuries earlier — some of which contained the remains of ancestors — were destroyed to make way for urban development. The ones that remain are left beneath bridges and inside parking garages.
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On Jan. 21, Washington Chapel C.M.E. Church was broken into and a piece of a memorial stained glass window removed. The church was built in 1907 by formerly enslaved families in Parkville, Missouri. -
The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.
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The Great War depleted the states’ National Guard troops, sending them overseas. Missouri was one of the states that backfilled the domestic duties with unpaid volunteers.
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The Strawberry Hill Bakery has outgrown its original location in Kansas City, Kansas, but the brothers who run it promise the povitica recipe is the same one their great, great grandmother brought from Croatia at the turn of the last century.
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The Kansas City, Kansas Street Blues Festival was created as a place for a small group of influential blues artists from northeast Kansas City, Kansas, to share their music with their community. Now, however, so many of these artists have died that the event organizer doesn’t believe he’ll be able to continue the festival.
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Don Henry was a 1930s college kid from Dodge City, Kansas, who left everything he knew to join the fight against fascism. His life moved one music professor to put the story down in song.
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Independence, Missouri, was the epicenter of westward expansion in pre-Civil War America. Hiram Young, a formerly enslaved man, became the wealthiest man in the county by building wagons and ox yokes, before almost losing it all.
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As Kansas City’s first Black-owned housing co-op, Parade Park helped residents pursue the American Dream of owning a home and building a community. But after 60 years, it’s uncertain if it can survive foreclosure and redevelopment.
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The state constitution itself has its roots in the bitter days of Bleeding Kansas. One proposed version that granted the right to vote for free African Americans was rejected by a pro-slavery Congress.
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This isn't the first time Missouri has banned abortions. Residents may have heard ghoulish tales of “Doc Annie” Smith, a physician who looms large in Missouri’s mythology for performing illegal abortions in the early 1900s. Today, the truth about her work has largely disappeared.
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Since Kansas City's right-to-counsel program took effect on June 1, a group of attorneys collectively have taken on 139 new cases of tenants facing eviction. Kansas City sees an average of 9,000 evictions every year.
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Chillicothe, Missouri, has an unusual claim to fame: It’s the town where pre-sliced bread first debuted back in 1928. The state has even declared July 7, Sliced Bread Day, as an official holiday. But despite being less than a century old, the origin of this revolutionary pantry staple was almost lost to history.
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Taylor remains one of the franchise's most captivating offensive players. After his career as a player ended, Taylor made Kansas City his permanent home.
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Close to 1 million people gathered in the streets of the city and in front of Union Station to cheer on, and maybe even meet, the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs. But what would the grand event have looked like if happened in 1923 instead of 2023?
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Though the amended legislation no longer includes the phrase "critical race theory" or bars the teaching of it specifically, critics still worry it could hinder the teaching of history.
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Wild Bill Hickok was a figure in Shawnee history in the 1850s. The artwork, which was installed on Shawnee Mission Parkway and Nieman Road, depicts Hickok astride his legendary horse, Black Nell.
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The images document celebrations, parades, and dedications, and archivists' painstaking work is revealing the history of a growing city in the Midwest.
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When the daughter of an American missionary returned from Japan in 1923, she brought along some of her most cherished possessions. Now, her collection has returned to the Japanese school where she grew up.
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Shawnee Tribe seeks control over Indian Mission in Fairway, says historic site is in 'deep distress'A report commissioned by the Shawnee Tribe concluded up to $13 million in restoration and repairs are needed at the longtime Native American boarding school. But the city of Fairway, which is responsible for maintaining the site, says it has no plans to transfer ownership.
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Missouri’s Ozark Mountains are known for their lush wilderness and popular tourist destinations. But what about the food? Like much of Ozark culture, the cuisine remains deeply misunderstood and shrouded in stereotypes. From deep in the forest to upscale restaurants, these food lovers are preserving the Ozarks' past and charting its future.
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Missouri is home to more black walnut trees than any other place in the world. Its wild nature and distinct flavor means the black walnut often gets passed over for more popular European varieties — the kinds you normally see in grocery stores and restaurants. But these Missourians are making sure that the state’s native nut, and its importance to the culture of this region, gets its day in the sun.
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Is there any other regional pizza in the country that elicits as much debate and shame as St. Louis-style? A square-cut, thin-crust pie topped with ooey, gooey Provel cheese, this unconventional pizza is the result of decades of St. Louis ingenuity — and yet, even many locals apologize for their unique creation.
