A Brief History of Kansas City, MO

The first documented European visit to Kansas City was Etienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Because he was criticized for his handling of a Native American attack on Fort Detroit, he had deserted his post as commander of the fort and was avoiding the French authorities. Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in the Missouri village about 90 miles east near Brunswick, Missouri, and illegally traded furs. In order to clear his name, he wrote "Exact Description of Louisiana, of its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advatages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of a Colony" in 1713 followed in 1714 by "The Route to Be Taken to Ascend the Missouri River." In the documents, he described the junction of the "Grand Riviere des Cansez" and Missouri River, being the first to refer to them by those names.