January 18, 1808: William Ray is born.

The name of William Ray may not be recognizable to most people, although the bustling town on the outskirts of Kansas City that was named in his honor sure is. Ray moved to Jackson County from Ohio to open a blacksmith shop along the Santa Fe Trail. He picked a spot where several additional trails all crossed, making it an early hub of commerce. (Note: Some historical records have his birthday as January 8th, others as January 18th.)

Historical Marker for Ray Blacksmith Shop
Courtesy of Raytown Historical Society

His shop became so well-known as the area around Kansas City grew that locals began to refer to that area as “Ray’s Town”, even though there wasn’t much of a town there at all. Eventually, the area officially became Raytown, which is now a bustling city of around 30,000 residents.

Robinson Hardware and Grocery
Courtesy of Raytown Historical Society

Biggest Employers

RankBusinessEmployees
1Raytown School District1377
2Wal-Mart400
3Hyvee350
4ResultsCX Telemarketing241
5Stratford Development Corporation235
6Evergy185
7H&H Color Labs158
8City of Raytown155
9Cosentino’s150
10Shamrock Cabinets125
Numbers from Chamber of Commerce Annual Report and other Public Records

Famous People from Raytown

Dennis Allen
Roger Allen III
Bob Allison
Jerome Barnes
Tom Carnegie

Jabril Cox
Jevon Crudup
Cortez Groves
Bud Lathrop
Tyronn Lue

Dave Patterson
Don Popplewell
Sarah Schneider
Aldon Smith
Claude T. Smith



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