Belton

Belton Municipal Water Report Info

History and Origins
On August 13, 1869, George W. Scott and William H. Colbern acquired approximately 80 acres of land from Manzey Q. Ashby of Kentucky, who had received it from the U.S. government just a month earlier. Scott and Colbern filed a plat for the 80 acres in December 1871, naming the new settlement "Belton." The town was incorporated in 1872, named after Scott's close friend Captain Marcus Lindsey Belt, who assisted Scott with land surveys. The two had served together during the Civil War. Belton and surrounding areas were predominantly settled by families from Kentucky.

The Shawnee Presence
The Shawnee people lived and owned land four miles west of Belton, just across the Missouri-Kansas border, on what was known as the Black Bob Reservation. Located in southern Johnson County, Kansas, this land was granted to the Shawnees in the Treaty of May 10, 1844. Due to harassment from both sides at the beginning of the Civil War, the Shawnees abandoned their properties and relocated to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). After the war ended, they discovered white settlers had occupied their Kansas properties, forcing most Shawnee to return to Indian Territory with virtually nothing.

First Trading Center
High Blue, situated two miles west of Belton on Highway 58, served as the community's first trading center. At approximately 1,200 feet above sea level, it represented the highest point between Springfield and Liberty Memorial Hill in Kansas City. Belton sits on a ridge extending to Lee's Summit. Water north of Main Street flows into the Little Blue River east of Kansas City, while water south of Main Street travels to the Grand River, then the Osage River, ultimately emptying into the Missouri River 10 miles east of Jefferson City.

Order Number 11
Following Quantrill's Raiders' attack on Lawrence, Kansas in 1863 during the Civil War, Brigadier General Thomas Ewing, the Union commander in Kansas City, issued the infamous Order Number 11. This order mandated evacuation within 15 days of an area 30 miles wide and 100 miles long south of the Missouri River along Missouri's western border. The order affected 20,000 people who had to quickly salvage clothing, personal items, and livestock. Looting and destruction followed as Union soldiers confiscated horses and wagons. The devastated region became known as the Burnt District and remained largely uninhabited for 18 months.

For more information on Belton history, please contact the Belton Museum at (816) 332-3977.