Blue Springs

History

As early as 1825, a spring of water flowing from the side of a hill and falling into a tributary of Little Blue River was used by campers, traders, and many wagons starting on the Santa Fe expeditions. They met here before crossing the plains. The spring was named Blue Springs by freighters freighting provisions to the Harmony Mission, on the Marais de Cygnes River in Bates County Missouri, from Lexington, Missouri in Lafayette County. The presence of water and a need for supplies led to the construction of a grist mill and a permanent settlement of Blue Springs near the spring. The original town site of Blue Springs and the spring for which Blue Springs was named was located near what became Burrus Old Mill Park. An early settler, Franklin Smith, arrived in Blue Springs from Virginia in 1838, and became a leading figure in the community's development. He established the first post office in 1845, naming it after the well-known springs. The settlement continued to grow near the springs until March 1878, when the Chicago and Alton Railroad announced plans to build a station about one mile east of the original settlement. To take advantage of the commerce the railroad would bring, the town moved its center to the site of the new station and continued its development as a rural trading center. The Chicago & Alton Hotel built in 1878 is the oldest business in the city. The Jackson County Court granted the incorporation of Blue Springs as a town on September 7, 1880, making it the fourth settlement in the county to be incorporated. On January 12, 1904, Blue Springs was incorporated as a 4th class city. Blue Springs adopted a Constitutional Charter and became Home Rule Charter City in April 1994. The former Bank of Blue Springs was established in 1883. It had a capital…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Blue Springs experiences a colder variation of a four-season humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) with mild days and cold nights during the winter, and hot days and muggy nights during the summer.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,145
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,094
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,020
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  8,217
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,993
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,791
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  7,309
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  6,851

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2025-07-15
  3 km W of Hale, Missouri
• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2015-04-04
  3 km ESE of Clinton, Missouri
• M 3.3 — 2005-05-18
  Missouri