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Images Courtesy of Iowa State University and Carlos Moreno/David White, KCUR 89.3 FMIndependence, 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. -
KCUR/Photos by Bek Shackelford Nwanganga/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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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. -
At the height of the space race in the 1960s, Air Force Captain Ed Dwight was chosen to attend a special astronaut training program. He tells the story of what happened next.
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Chris Goode has launched a petition demanding the city change Troost Avenue — named after Dr. Benoist Troost, who owned six enslaved men and women.
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The project, which goes beyond well-known historical mainstays like baseball, jazz and barbeque, highlights local African Americans who influenced Kansas City, and national, history.
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Before becoming dependent on the automobile, Kansas City was once known for its expansive public transit system. At one point, it had one of the largest cable car networks in the country.
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Chuck Dobson was a high school player at De La Salle High School and went on to pitch a home opener for the Kansas City A's.
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Fed up with harassment and housing discrimination, lesbians in 1990s Kansas City dreamed of a place where they could "walk hand in hand, freely down the streets." So they created Womontown. The radical enclave encompassed 12 city blocks and attracted women from all over the U.S.
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World War I was cast as an effort to make the world safe for democracy. A photography exhibit at Kansas City's World War I Memorial and Museum shows that was a complicated prospect for the African Americans who served.
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Some new names suggested by residents included Freedom Creek and Hope Creek. Other respondents said changing the name would be bowing to "wokeness" and "cancel culture."
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For more than a century, Carry Nation's temperance-era rampages have inspired mockery. What we've missed, though, is the story of a disenfranchised person getting fed up and demanding more from the leaders charged with protecting her. "You wouldn't give me the vote," she said, "so I had to use a rock."
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Wikipedia, which seemingly has an entry for everything, lacks information on historic Black Kansas Citians. The Kansas City Library is mobilizing a group of volunteers to fix that.
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Racial covenants made it illegal for Black people to live in white neighborhoods. Now they're illegal, but you might still have one on your home's deed. And they're hard to remove.
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Central United Methodist Church will become a satellite for the Leawood-based Church of the Resurrection. Its history says much about Kansas City's, and it's own, past ties to slavery.
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If you nerd out to concrete, steel and epic feats of engineering — or simply admire the bridges you cross on the way to work — read on.
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Much of the Great Plains is way behind on moisture. The drought has drained water levels at many rivers and lakes, uncovering historical relics that are typically submerged.
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In the 1890s, Kansas City businessmen William Nelson and August Meyer advocated for and started the Park Board. By 1895, the board had access to funding and the ability to condemn land for the purpose of establishing parks.
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The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum is slated to open in 2023. It honors the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
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For generations, scientists seeking to learn about prehistoric ocean life have flocked to a place that’s about as far from the ocean as you can get — dry, dusty western Kansas. What they’re finding could teach us both about life in the ancient world and about the future of life in a changing climate.
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Hear the towering – and polarizing – author in conversation about his 4,000-page book, The Oxford History of Western Music.
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July 14th is Bastille Day, the national day of France. It marks the fall of the Bastille prison during the French Revolution, which was a turning point in the war. Celebrate by exploring the music of the Revolution and check these French tunes out.
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Antique collectors from across the country come to Perry, Missouri, searching for everything from celebrity signatures to vintage Cornishware to Civil War memorabilia.
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There's a lot of history buried beneath Kansas City streets, from Prohibition-era passageways and underground caves to the oldest bar in Missouri.
