The New Student's Reference Work/Kansas City, Mo.

Kansas City, Mo., is located in Jackson County at the junction of the Kansas with the Missouri River, and the second largest city in the state, covering 27 square miles of territory. The older portion is built upon high hills formed by the bluffs of the two rivers, and thence sloping south and east into a delightful undulating country, which has been greatly beautified by parks and boulevards. These consist of 39 miles of boulevard, 227 acres in parkways, and 2,255 acres in public parks.

Originally Kansas City was simply a river-landing about two and a half miles north of Westport. Here a town was laid out and the first lots sold in 1846. The town soon became the center of a thriving trade with New and Old Mexico and with the Indian tribes in the territory west and southwest.

Kansas City now sprang rapidly into prominence. To get into the country from the river, the bluffs and the hills had to be cut and leveled, and in no other American city has man made more radical changes in the natural contour of a location. The rapid growth of Kansas City is shown by the following statistics: In 1860 the population was less than 4,000; in 1870 it had increased to 32,260; in 1880 to 56,785; in 1890 to 132,716; in 1900 to 163,752, and in 1910 to 248,381, with 82,331 in Kansas City, Kan., just across the state line.

Kansas City is in the center of one of the finest agricultural, stockraising and fruitgrowing regions in the world. The soil, the climate and the enterprise and industry of the people have contributed to make Kansas City one of the greatest grain-markets in the Mississippi valley, while the live-stock market is second only to that of Chicago. The stock-yards, in convenience and equipment, are the best in the country. Their chutes, alleys, pens and tracks coyer nearly two hundred acres. The packing and stock-yard interests are so closely allied that the one implies the other. The total daily handling capacity of the six great packing houses is 15,000 cattle, 36,000 hogs and 16,000 sheep.

It has about 1,400 manufacturing plants, and among her chief industries are flour mills, eight of the largest Portland cement plants in the west, the largest publishing house of military books in the United States, one implement factory, producing a general line of farm implements, also wagon, haypress, gasoline engine, tank, road machinery, scale and wheelbarrow factories and grain elevators.

Twenty-one systems of railroads enter Kansas City, making it the second largest railroad center in the United States. The public-school system is one of the most complete and economically managed in the United States, and has a greater proportion of pupils in its high schools than any other city in America. There are 59 public school-houses, 890 teachers and 34,000 pupils enrolled. The park and boulevard system, now far advanced toward completion, is destined to be one of the finest in the United States. Kansas City is preeminently a city of churches, theaters and public halls, The most noted public buildings are the public library, public school buildings, the city hall, convention hall, county courthouse and postoffice. Among the commercial centers Kansas City stands tenth in volume of business.