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



admin

Recent Posts

Missouri TV Markets and Sizes

Missouri Has a Long History of Groundbreaking TV Moments Missouri TV Markets are defined by…

56 years ago

The All-Missouri March Madness Team

Players From Missouri Starring in the NCAA Tournament I seem to write this same story…

56 years ago

St. Louis University Destroys Georgia

March Madness Has St. Louisans Going Wild In a dominant display, ninth-seeded Saint Louis University…

56 years ago

The Missouri Trifectas: 5 Players Who Lived the “Show Me State” Dream

As we begin another Major League Baseball season, it’s the perfect time to look back…

56 years ago

The Hunter-Dawson Mansion: A Glimpse into Pre-Civil War Missouri

The Hunter-Dawson Mansion is a masterpiece of Greek Revival architecture The Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site…

56 years ago

Why Opening Day in St. Louis is the Ultimate Baseball Holiday

It's Called Baseball Heaven For A Reason I have had the chance to cover some…

56 years ago

This website uses cookies.