Our History

The West Bottoms is a historical district of Kansas City that is located directly to the west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri at the union of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. 

The area was originally referred to as the French Bottoms as it was a central site of trade between French trappers and the local Kansa Indians. All of the trade business conducted by the French trappers led to the area’s solidification as a commerce depot. As settlers flooded the area over the Santa Fe Trail headed for the West, the West Bottoms further grew as a receiving depot for goods brought in from steamboats traveling upstream on the Missouri river. The West Bottoms was about to skyrocket with the expansion of the railroad system.

Established in 1871, the Kansas City Stock Yards flourished. Early on it expanded its original 13 acres to 55, added loading docks on both the Kansas and Missouri Pacific railroad tracks and new sheds for hogs and sheep, and developed one of the largest horse and mule markets in the country. Purchase of land on the Missouri side in 1878 made the Yards a bi-state operation.

In 1899, the Hereford breeders in conjunction with the stockyards began what is known today as the American Royal Livestock and Horse Show. The only counterpart in the world at that time was the annual exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, known as the English Royal. This show furnished the pattern (and name) for the American Royal. The stockyards may be gone, but the American Royal is alive and well, serving as a reminder of the importance of the livestock industry to Kansas City.

A young city began to develop around the stockyards including hotels, saloons, restaurants and The Union Depot was built on Union Street. Some statistics of the time state that near 90 percent of the value in Kansas City resided in the West Bottoms during this period. Sadly, a massive flood in 1903 halted further development and investment in housing, schools and churches which cemented the area’s purpose as commercial and industrial. The West Bottoms managed to survive this period as the agricultural, meat packing, freight and industrial investments continued to expand. The stockyards continued to flourish through the 1940s with a dollar volume near $350 million a year and at its peak the Kansas City Stock Yards was only second in size to the Union Stock Yards of Chicago. 

Unfortunately, the steady growth and investment would come to a halt with the end of World War II. More than twenty thousand jobs were lost in Kansas City at the end of the war as military contracts and construction dried up. And in 1951, a major economic crisis would envelop the West Bottoms as a result of the great flood that same year. Many businesses were simply unable to recover from the massive devastation and other companies just decided to move elsewhere. Further, farmers increasingly began negotiating directly with packers or marketing through smaller regional auction houses. The combination of these forces led to a slow and steady decline of the area.

Finally, after 120 years in business, The Kansas City Stock Yards closed October 1991. The stockyards began with a mere 13.5 acres and grew to 207 acres. It housed the Livestock Exchange Building which remains today; and at the time, the Livestock Exchange building was the largest of its kind in the world.

Nowadays, the West Bottoms has become a hot spot for new development and architectural rehabs, and is drawing a strong arts community into the area. New restaurants and retail shops are beginning to open up and a new West Bottoms neighborhood and community is emerging.