Blue Springs, Missouri

Blue Springs, Missouri
—  City  —
Motto: City of Cooperation
Location of Blue Springs, Missouri
Coordinates: 39°1′4″N 94°16′28″W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Jackson
Government
• Mayor	Carson Ross (R)
Area
• Total	22.27 sq mi (47.2 km2)
• Land	22.27 sq mi (47.1 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	974 ft (297 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	52,575
• Density	3,066.8/sq mi (1,185/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	64013-64015,64064
Area code(s)	816
FIPS code	29-06652
GNIS feature ID	0714434
Website	www.bluespringsgov.com

Blue Springs is a city in in the U.S. State of Missouri and it resides in the County of Jackson. Blue Springs is twenty miles east of downtown Kansas City, MO. As of the 2010 United States Census the population was 52,575, making it the 10th largest city in the state of Missouri and the 7th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. In 2010, CNN/Money Magazine ranked Blue Springs 49th on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States.

History

Blue Springs’ history is tied to the migration of settlers on their westward journey. Pioneers found the area to be an ideal stopover due to the abundance of cool, clean water from a spring of the Little Blue River - hence the name Blue Springs. The presence of water and a need for pioneer supplies led to the construction of a grist mill and permanent settlement at the current site of the City’s Burrus Old Mill Park, on Woods Chapel Road.

The Jackson County Court granted the incorporation of Blue Springs on September 7, 1880, making the City the fourth settlement in the county, predating Kansas City, Missouri. An early settler, Franklin Smith, arrived in Blue Springs from Virginia in 1838 and became a leading figure in the community’s development. He established the first post office in 1845, naming it after the well-known springs.

The settlement continued to grow near the springs until 1878, when the Chicago and Alton Railroad announced plans to build a station about one mile east of the original settlement. To take advantage of the commerce the railroad would bring, the town moved its center to the site of the new station and continued its development as a rural trading center. The Chicago & Alton Hotel built in 1878, located on Main Street west of the railroad tracks is the oldest business in the City of Blue Springs.

Historical attractions near or in Blue Springs include: Missouri Town 1855, Fort Ossage, Dillingham-Lewis House Museum, Chicago & Alton Hotel Museum, and the Lone Jack Civil War Museum.

In 1970, Blue Springs had a population of 6,779. Today Blue Springs continues grow and prosper, and has a population over 55,000. It is home to the nationally recognized Blue Springs R-IV School District.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.27 square miles (57.7 km²), of which, 22.27 square miles (57.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.16%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	506		—
1900	468		−7.5%
1910	561		19.9%
1920	551		−1.8%
1930	706		28.1%
1940	788		11.6%
1950	1,068		35.5%
1960	2,555		139.2%
1970	6,779		165.3%
1980	25,936		282.6%
1990	40,153		54.8%
2000	48,080		19.7%
2010	52,575		9.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 48,080 people, 17,286 households, and 13,362 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,642.7 people per square mile (1,020.5/km²). There were 17,733 housing units at an average density of 974.7 per square mile (376.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 2.93% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.

There were 17,286 households out of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.16. In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $55,402, and the median income for a family was $61,008. Males had a median income of $41,373 versus $29,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,444. About 3.9% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Public Safety

• Blue Springs law enforcement duties are performed by the Blue Springs Police Department, BSPD has 99 sworn personel and 39 civilian personel.
• Blue Springs fire protection duties are performed by Central Jackson County Fire Protection District, or known as CJC. CJCFPD is a accredited Fire Department by the Commison on Fire Accreditation International.

Transportation

• Amtrack operates the Missouri River Runner which you can board in nearby Lee's Summit, and Independence. The Missouri River Runner travels daily from the Kansas City Metro to St. Louis.
• The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, KCATA provides public bus services to Blue Springs.

Major Highways & Roadways

• Interstate 70 - Major east/west interstate highway, connecting Blue Springs to Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis
• US 40 -Connects Kansas City to Independence and then enters Blue Springs at Bolin Road to the west, then east of Adams Dairy Parkway enters Grain Valley.
• Route 7 - Links U.S. 24 Hwy with Blue Springs by first traveling through Independence entering Blue springs at Pink Hill Road and is the main north/south Highway through Blue Springs, leaving Blue Springs at Colbern Road and entering Lake Lotawana then Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville.
• Adams Dairy Parkway is a important trafficway that runs from the northern portion of the Blue Springs to the southern portion of Blue Springs.

Culture

Blue Springs has 18 city parks which offer an abundance of recreational activities at award winning parks. Fleming Park is home to Blue Springs Lake, and Lake Jacomo. The park is operated by Jackson County. Fleming Park offers a vast array of recreational features. Fleming Parks total land area is 7,809 acres and 1,690 acres of water. Blue Springs Dog Park at Gregory O. Grounds Park offers numerous activities for dog's and their owners.

Libaries

• Mid-Continent Public Library operates two general library branches in Blue Springs, Missouri.
• The North Branch is located at 850 NW Hunter Drive Blue Springs, MO 64015
• The South Branch is located at 2220 SW 7 Hwy Blue Springs, MO 64014.

News Papers

• The Examiner, Eastern Jackson County Daily Newspaper. Also known as the Blue Springs Examinier.
• Blue Springs Journal.

Education

Blue Springs is served by three public schools districts and three private schools. Public Schools are as follows: Nationally recognized Blue Springs R-IV School District the Lee's Summit R-VII School District and the Grain Valley R-V School District. The private schools are as follows: Timothy Lutheran Schools, K-8, North Campus 425 NW R.D. Mize Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64014, South Campus 301 SW Wyatt Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015, St. John La Lande Catholic School, K-8, located at 805 NW R.D. Mize Rd. Blue Springs. MO 64015, and Plaza Heights Christian Academy, K-12, located at 1500 SW Clark Rd. Blue Springs, MO 64015.

Infrastructure

Utilities

Blue Springs is served by the following utilities:

• Natural Gas-Missouri Gas Energy, MGE.
• Electric-Kansas City Power and Light, KC&PL.
• Water and Sewer-City of Blue Springs, Missouri supplies water to most of Blue Springs and sewer to the entire city.
• Water-Public Water Supply District #14 is the supplier of water for the southern most portion of Blue Springs.
• Cable-Comcast Cable
• Telophone-AT&T

Hospital

Saint Mary's Hospital/Medical Center, located at 201 NE R.D. Mize Road Blue Springs, MO 64015

Notable residents

• David Cook, winner of American Idol Season 7
• Ladell Betts, NFL player for the New Orleans Saints
• Jim Eisenreich, former Royals, Phillies, and Marlins baseball player.
• Ivana Hong, Alternate Olympic Gymnast Beijing 2008
• Brandon Lloyd, NFL player for the St. Louis Rams
• Russ Morman, former major league baseball first baseman; currently hitting coach for Richmond Flying Squirrels
• Tech N9NE, Kansas City, Missouri rap artist.
• Carson Ross, first African-American Mayor of Blue Springs
• Jon Sundvold, former NBA player and University of Missouri basketball standout
• Doug Terry, former Kansas City Chiefs and University of Kansas football player
• Ricky Vega, former Pro Wrestler and World Wrestling Champion

External links

• Official City Website
• Historic maps of Blue Springs in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri
• Central Jackson County Fire Protection District, [1]
• "Best places to live 2010" Money Magazine [2]