The Town Company

Today their names grace our highways, city districts and restaurants. But before Chouteau was a trafficway, it was the name of an immigrant couple who used their honeymoon to discover new land. Before McCoy’s was a good place to get a beer, it was a family of missionaries whose son would use his business savvy to build a popular outpost. These names — and many others — belonged to the men and women who set down markers on the land that would become the City of Kansas.

Flatland presents another look in our city’s past. “The Founders” is a four-part series exploring the bold and brave families who settled here, survived the elements and formed the partnerships that formed our boundaries. This is the final installment of the digital-first series, and you can watch the full-length documentary at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday, June 30, on KCPT.

Part IV | The Town Company

In 1838, seven years after the death of Gabriel Prudhomme, Jackson County held its second auction to sell the Prudhomme farm. A coalition of 14 men, who called themselves The Town Company, pooled their resources and purchased the land for $4,220. The men planned to build a new town near the levee that locals called West Ports Landing.

First order of business was to decide on a name. After much debate, the men settled on The Town of Kansas.

Legal issues and constant infighting among the Company left the area mostly uninhabited for many years. With the start of the Mexican-American war however, the federal government began to use the levee as a major shipping route to troops along the Santa Fe trail. After the start of the gold rush, the Town of Kansas once again became a major shipping route and stop for people heading west. With this new industry, the Town of Kansas established itself as a major shipping hub for the nation, and became a city.

— Producer Brad Austin is a local history buff. Leave a comment below, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @FlatlandKC.