John Calvin McCoy is considered the "father of Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

."

McCoy was born in Vincennes, Indiana

Vincennes, Indiana

Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...

. He studied at Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

, during 1826-1827. He accompanied his parents Isaac

Isaac McCoy

Isaac McCoy was a Baptist missionary among the Native Americans in present-day Indiana, Michigan and Missouri. He was an advocate of Indian removal from the eastern United States, proposing an Indian state in what is now Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma...

 and Christiana (Polk) McCoy to Kansas City to perform Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 missionary work in 1830.

In 1833, John McCoy built a two-story cabin at what is today 444 Westport Road on the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. McCoy opened a store for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...

 and Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...

. He named the area Westport

Westport, Kansas City

Westport is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Originally its own town, it was annexed by Kansas City in 1897. Today, it is one of Kansas City's main entertainment districts.-Background:...

 because it was the last location before travelers ventured into the Territory of Kansas.

McCoy's store was three miles from the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 in the hills away from the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 which was prone to floods. He established a dock at a rocky point in the river between Main and Grand Street that came to be called Westport Landing. He followed a trail that was to become Broadway to reach it.

The dock proved to be quite popular but the land surrounding it belonged to a farmer. In 1850 he and other residents banded together to buy the farm. Their company was called the Town of Kansas because the port area was the last inhabitable area before the flood-prone confluence of the Kansas River

Kansas River

The Kansas River is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwestern-most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwestern-most portion of the extensive Mississippi River drainage. Its name come from the Kanza people who once inhabited the area...

 and Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

.

A statue of McCoy is today in Pioneer Park at Westport and Broadway. Also depicted in the statue are Alexander Majors

Alexander Majors

thumb|right|240px|Alexander MajorsAlexander Majors got his start in overland freight on the Santa Fe Trail in 1848. On his first trip, he set a new time record of 92 days for the 1564 mile round trip....

 and Jim Bridger

Jim Bridger

James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...

.

He is buried in Union Cemetery

Union Cemetery

-United States:C*Union Cemetery in Redwood City, California; listed on the NRHP in California*Union Cemetery in Easton, Connecticut*Union Cemetery in Fair Haven, ConnecticutI*Union Cemetery in St...

.

Family

John married Virginia Christiana Chick (December 20, 1820 – April 28, 1849) on January 23, 1838. She was the daughter of William Miles Chick (August 31, 1794 in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 – April 7, 1847 in Kansas City, Mo.) and Ann Eliza Smith (1796 in Virginia – 1876 in Kansas City, Mo.). They had children; Josephus (December 6, 1838 – September 2, 1843), Eleanor (December 2, 1840 – ?), Juliette (February 16, 1842 – ?), Spencer Cone (July 25, 1844 – January 8, 1863 in Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

as a Confederate soldier), William Chick (February 21, 1846 – May 12, 1848) & Virginia (August 22, 1848 – ?).