Raytown

Raytown is located within the western half of Jackson County, Missouri. Interstate 435 (north and south) is located approximately one mile west of Raytown. Interstate 70 (east and west) is located two miles north of Raytown. Raytown is the crossroads to surrounding communities, the City of Raytown covers 10.4 square miles southeast of downtown Kansas City.

The beginning of the Santa Fe Trail increased the number of people coming into the township, as this area was the final point for settlers and adventurers heading west. They liked what they saw in the Cave Spring area, and elected to stay instead of continuing westward. This crystal spring was an important watering stop along the trail. In 1848, a blacksmith, William Ray, came from Ohio, established a shop along the Santa Fe Trail at what is now Raytown Road and 63rd Street.

History quotes that Absolom Wray, established a blacksmith shop at 63rd and Raytown Road. However, it is generally believed that Raytown took its namesake from another blacksmith, William Ray. In 1848, Mr. Ray Smith purchased the seven acres of land for $72.16. The spot became known as "Ray's Town" and eventually Raytown. The City of Raytown incorporated in 1950.


The marker on the site of Ray's Blacksmith Shop in his memory.	A replicate of Ray's Blacksmith Shop in the Raytown Historical Society

Mr. Archibald Rice and his family were known as the "lost township" of Jackson County built the Rice-Tremonti Home in 1844. A slave cabin, "Aunt Sophia Cabin" dates from the 1830's also stands on the property, along with the Gothic-revival wood frame frame house. The house is 152 years old, a well-known landmark for travelers on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. The house is among the few original homes on the Santa Fe Trail still standing in Missouri.


Rice-Tremonti Home on the Santa Fe and California Trail	Slave Cabin: "Aunt Sophie's Cabin

In the 1840s and 1850s the Cave Springs Park at Gregory and Blue Ridge Boulevards, established itself as one of the sites along the Santa Fe Trail. Cave Springs is important as a rare surviving Santa Fe Trail landmark that has escaped profound changes, unlike the remainder of the trail.

Cave Springs is located on Gregory and Blue Ridge Boulevard branch was the original or “old Santa Fe road” that George Sibley traveled when he surveyed the trail in 1825-1826. Cave Spring is commonly thought of today as a Santa Fe campground.

Cave Springs Park at the intersection of Gregory and Blue Ridge Blvd.