Riverside City History

Here is a story that seems simple, but which actually runs deep, like the nearby Missouri River.

In 2001, the city of Riverside celebrated its 50th anniversary. Incorporated June 21, 1951, Riverside is formally one of the area's youngest communities. Although a growing industrial park, riverboat casino and high school swell Riverside's daytime population to nearly 10,000, Riverside residents actually number closer to 3,000.

The earliest residents, Native Americans, left artifacts in and around the area that show that Riverside has direct connections to a civilization nearly 6,000 years old. The earliest Europeans visiting the area included the Lewis and Clark expedition. Settlers began filling Riverside's Line Creek valley and surrounding ridges in the 1840s. From its beginning, what is today the city of Riverside included a uniquely diverse population. Several immigrant families from Germany were leaders in pioneering the area. Later, so many families from Belgium settled in part of Riverside's Missouri River valley that today it is still called the Belgium Bottoms.

Early Riverside played a key role in some of the metropolitan area's most unusual history. Until the 1930s, Riverside was a main stop on one of the nation's longest electric train routes, the 79-mile Interurban ran from North Kansas City to St. Joseph.

Riverside takes its name from several "river side" businesses, including the Riverside Park, a genteel horse race venue that was built and operated by Kansas City's infamous Tom Pendergast. Ironically, betting and tax problems contributed to the end of "Boss Tom's" career.

Riverside's unique story continues today. Join us in these pages as as we look back on Riverside's surprising history, and contemplate its amazing future. This is a journey you will enjoy.

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