Old Missouri Pacific Depot (Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce)

This historic depot was constructed in 1905 and demonstrates the deep connection between Lee's Summit's history and that of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. After learning that the Missouri Pacific Railroad would go through this location, William B. Howard platted the area that became Lee's Summit in 1865. The first twenty acres of developed land straddled the railway tracks. By 1880, Lee's Summit stood as Jackson County's second-largest grain shipping point, being second only to Kansas City. The town's first train depot was a simple boxcar, but the town later build a wooden structure. In 1903, that building was destroyed by a fire, a fate that many of the original wooden buildings shared during the late nineteenth century. Two years later, this structure was constructed using bricks and fire-resistant materials. Demonstrating the way many historic depots have been repurposed in ways that continue to support their community's connection to markets, the building is now home to the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce.

The current home of the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce originally served as the Missouri Pacific Depot and was constructed in 1905. The railway was central to the town's early growth and development, and today, the community's historic district comprises an 11.4-acre area adjacent to the intersection of 3rd Street and the railroad alignment. The landmark depot replaced a wood-frame structure built in 1903, which replaced the community's first depot, a boxcar with "Lee's Summit" painted on the side. The 1903 fire pushed the town to build a depot consisting of fire-resistant materials. 

William B. Howard founded Lee's Summit (originally called "Town of Strother") in October 1865. Howard had moved to the area near the start of the Civil War and was arrested in 1862 for supporting the Confederacy. The landowner was paroled under the condition that he move to Kentucky, but after the war ended, he moved back to Missouri and founded the city because he knew the Missouri Pacific Railroad would go through the area. Knowing the value of this land would increase substantially with both a rail connection and a town, he plated seventy acres of land, including twenty acres that would straddle the railroad line and form the basis on early Lee's Summit.  

Lee's Summit quickly evolved into a commercial center for the surrounding agricultural community. By 1880, Lee's Summit stood as Jackson County's second-largest grain shipping point after Kansas City. As well, characteristic of railroad market towns, the earliest industrial facilities in Lee's Summit consisted of a lumber yard, grain silo, and flour mill, all located adjacent to the railroad tracks. As the railroad and surrounding agricultural hinterlands grew more successful, the downtown district expanded, supporting businesses ranging from law offices to dry goods stores. 

By 1905, the year the construction of the historic depot finished, Lee's Summit expanded its boundaries during a period of modest economic prosperity. Additionally, after several fires damaged downtown buildings, brick buildings grew common along Main and Third Streets. In fact, Lee's Summit's first railroad depot was a boxcar with "Lee's Summit" painted on the side. The town replaced the boxcar with the first permanent depot, a wood-frame structure, but burnt down in 1903. Hence, the one-story depot completed in 1905 had a brick exterior and consisted of fire-resistant materials.

Lee's Summit and its economy remained primarily tied to the Missouri Pacific Railroad until the World Wars era when the automobile (notably trucks) slowly supplanted the railway as the primary means of transportation used for transporting goods. The town adjusted by building new roads, and its businesses moved away from the initial downtown district. Meanwhile, the Union Pacific Railroad purchased Missouri Pacific on January 8, 1980. Still, lawsuits filed by various competing railroads delayed the merger approval for two years, and outstanding bonds of the Missouri Pacific delayed the official merger until 1997. Today, the railroad that calls Lee's Summit home is Amtrack. A small covered shelter serves the train on the opposite sides of the tracks where the historic building is located. Meanwhile, the landmark building is home to Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce.

"Lee's Summit, MO (LEE)." The Great American Stations. Accessed December 14, 2021. https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/lees-summit-mo-lee/

Schwenk, Sally F. "Lee's Summit Downtown Historic District." National Register of Historic Places. catalog.archives.com. 2005. https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/63817605/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MO/05000889.pdf (also: https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Lee%27s%20Summit%20Downtown%20HD.pdf.)

--- --- ---. "Multiple Property Documentation Form: "Historic Resources of Lee's Summit, Missouri." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. 2005. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/538072d0-08db-4ed1-9247-a112a7e55037.

White, Richard. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011.