Downtown Kansas City in Jackson County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Moving Settlers West

Photographed by Jason Voigt, May 25, 2022

1. Moving Settlers West Marker

Inscription. By the 1840s, hundreds of steamboats churned up the river carrying settlers west on the first leg of their journey. At Independence and Kansas City, settlers loaded manufactured goods onto wagon trains and headed farther west via the Oregon, California and Santa Fe trails.

The Hannibal Bridge was completed in 1869. More than 260,000 settlers crossed into Kansas City on the bridge within the first year. In the 1870s, newly built railroads brought an end to the era when large numbers of people traveled by steamboat on the Missouri River. The railroad also enabled more and more people to flock west.

Erected by Missouri Conservation Department.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.

Location. 39° 7.054′ N, 94° 34.39′ W. Marker is in Kansas City, Missouri, in Jackson County. It is in Downtown Kansas City. It can be reached from Riverfront Trail. Marker is off the trail at Berkley Riverfront. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1298 Riverfront Trail, Kansas City MO 64120, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

in the Corn Belt,

and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Moving Indians, Trappers & Traders (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line);

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Moving Hearts & Minds (about 700 feet away); Moving Water (approx. 0.2 miles away); Garrison Field House (approx. half a mile away); Holy Rosary's Bell Tower Cross (approx. 0.6 miles away); Building Through the Bluffs (approx. 0.7 miles away); Gilliss House Hotel (approx. 0.7 miles away); Hannibal Bridge (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kansas City.

Photographed by Jason Voigt, May 25, 2022

2. Moving Settlers West Marker

Marker is on Riverfront Trail.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 16, 2022, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. This page has been viewed 434 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 17, 2022, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois. 2. submitted on June 20, 2022, by Jason Voigt of Glen Carbon, Illinois.