World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Famous Cattle Towns

The Kansas City Stockyards: Second Only to Chicago for More Than a Century

The West Bottoms market where western ranchers finally got a competitive price.

Why Kansas City built a stockyard in 1871

Before 1871, western ranchers had little choice but to take whatever price a railroad offered. The Wikiwand copy of the Kansas City Stockyards article says the stockyards were built to get livestock owners better prices. They went up along the Kansas Pacific and Missouri Pacific tracks, around facilities left by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, which went out of business in 1862.

In 1878 the yards grew from 13 to 55 acres, adding loading docks and sheds for hogs and sheep, and became one of the country's largest horse and mule markets. The yards straddled the state line, with about two-thirds in Kansas and one-third in Missouri.

The 1923 peak by the numbers

At its peak only the Union Stock Yards in Chicago was larger. In 1923 the yards received 2,631,808 cattle, 2,736,174 hogs, 377,038 calves and 1,165,606 sheep, plus 42,987 horses and mules. About 55 percent of the cattle shipped on to other markets, while packing houses and local buyers took 1,194,527. Sixteen railroads converged at the yards.

The Livestock Exchange Building history page describes the market as second only to Chicago and gives a rounded figure of 2.6 million cattle and 2.3 million hogs for the same year. The hog totals differ between the two pages, so treat the hog figure as approximate.

What Made It Work

The yards worked because they gave sellers a competitive market where buyers had to bid against one another. That pricing power drew cattle from across the West, and the rail connections let the same animals move on to wherever demand was highest.

The same dependence on rail and on a single site also left the yards exposed when conditions changed.

  • The yards were built in 1871 explicitly to give livestock owners a better price than a single railroad would offer.
  • Sixteen railroads converged at the yards, so shippers could send animals to many destinations.
  • Expansion in 1878 from 13 to 55 acres added loading docks and sheds for hogs and sheep, which broadened the market.
  • Horses and mules were also traded in large numbers, adding a second line of business.
  • The 1910 Livestock Exchange Building put more than 200 commission firms, banks, telegraph offices and rail agents under one roof.
  • The 1951 flood, the rise of trucking and the move of packing to rural areas weakened the integrated model.

The Livestock Exchange Building

The Livestock Exchange Building was completed in 1910 and designed by Kansas City architects Wilder and Wight in Renaissance Revival style. It has nine stories and 225,000 square feet, and at completion it was the largest office building in Kansas City. It served as headquarters for the Kansas City Stock Yards Company.

By the 1970s the building was largely vacant. Restoration began in the 1990s and preserved grand staircases, tile and wood floors. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is fully occupied, with nearly 200 tenants.

The 1951 flood and the end of the yards

The Wikiwand article reports that the Great Flood of 1951 devastated the stockyards, related businesses and slaughterhouses. Business dropped sharply and never recovered. Jay B. Dillingham was president from 1948 until the stockyards closed. The yards operated until 1991, more than a century after they opened.

The building history adds that the rise of trucking and the move of meatpacking to rural areas wore down the model that had supported the yards.

From stockyards to Kemper Arena and the American Royal

In 1974 the city and the American Royal livestock show built Kemper Arena on former stockyards land. The American Royal's six-week agricultural show, held each October and November, stayed at Kemper until 2010 and was moving to a new site in Kansas near Kansas Speedway when the article was written. In 2018 the arena was announced as Hy-Vee Arena.

To follow the rest of the beef supply chain, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Kansas City's cowtown past.

Timeline

  1. 1871Stockyards established
  2. 1878Yards expand from 13 to 55 acres
  3. 1910Livestock Exchange Building completed
  4. 19232,631,808 cattle received
  5. 1951Great Flood devastates the yards
  6. 1974Kemper Arena built on former stockyards land
  7. 1991Stockyards close

Frequently asked questions

When did the Kansas City Stockyards open?

They were established in 1871, built so western ranchers could get better prices than a railroad alone would pay. They closed in 1991.

How big were the Kansas City Stockyards?

In 1923 the yards received 2,631,808 cattle and 2,736,174 hogs. Only the Union Stock Yards in Chicago was larger, and sixteen railroads converged there.

Why did the Kansas City Stockyards close?

The 1951 flood devastated the yards, and trucking and the move of meatpacking to rural areas weakened the model. The yards closed in 1991.

What is the Livestock Exchange Building?

A nine-story Renaissance Revival building finished in 1910, once the largest office building in Kansas City. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and now has nearly 200 tenants.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall