Blue Springs, Missouri

Blue Springs, Missouri is a city of 58,604 people (2020 census) in eastern Jackson County, about 19 miles east of Kansas City — among the larger suburban municipalities in the metro.¹ Named for a hillside spring used by freighters and Santa Fe–bound wagons, the settlement grew around a grist mill, relocated toward the Chicago and Alton Railroad station in 1878, and was incorporated as a town September 7, 1880 (fourth settlement in Jackson County so incorporated).¹

Overview

County	Jackson County, Missouri
Population (2020)	58,6041
Area	about 22.35 sq mi1
Named for	Spring feeding a Little Blue tributary; freighter / trail water stop1
Railroad shift	Town center moved ~1 mile east to C&A station, 18781
Incorporation	Town Sept. 7, 1880; 4th-class city Jan. 12, 1904; home-rule charter April 19941

History

As early as 1825, a spring flowing into a Little Blue tributary watered campers, traders, and wagon parties assembling for Santa Fe expeditions. Freighters hauling provisions from Lexington toward Harmony Mission (Bates County) named it Blue Springs.¹ A grist mill and permanent settlement grew near the spring (site later associated with Burrus Old Mill Park).¹

Franklin Smith, arriving from Virginia in 1838, became a leading local figure and established the first post office in 1845, using the spring name.¹

In March 1878 the Chicago and Alton Railroad planned a station about a mile east of the original spring settlement; the commercial center relocated to capture railroad trade. The Chicago & Alton Hotel (1878) is cited as the city’s oldest business building.¹

Jackson County Court incorporated Blue Springs as a town on September 7, 1880. It became a fourth-class city on January 12, 1904, and adopted a constitutional home-rule charter in April 1994.¹

Sources

See also

• santa-fe-trail
• independence-mo
• raytown-mo
• Wiki

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Blue Springs, Missouri.” — asserts: 2020 pop. 58,604; 19 mi east of KC; spring naming / freighter use from 1825; Franklin Smith 1838 / post office 1845; mill settlement / Burrus Old Mill Park; 1878 railroad relocation and C&A Hotel; incorporation Sept 7 1880; 4th-class city 1904; charter 1994; area ~22.35 sq mi. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²