Welcome to the City of Gladstone

      The initial inhabitants of the Gladstone/Gashland area were Indians of the Missouri Osage, Blackhawk, Fox and Sac Tribes. The first settlers came from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina. Dan Carpenter was an early settler who owned all the land comprising the Gashland area. His wife's maiden name was Gash and when the town needed a site of land for a depot, the land was donated by the former Miss Gash. The town was established about 1878 and initially consisted of four houses and a blacksmith shop.

      In the 1880's, W.E. Winner bought three 80 acre farms. On part of the land the town of Linden was founded. This area was bounded by streets now known as North Troost, North Oak, 68th Terrace and 72nd Street. The Kansas City and Atlantic Railroad was built to Linden and north to connect with a line to Quincy, Illinois.

      By 1895 the population of Linden had grown to 400 and the boundaries were extended. Five years later a school was erected and the first high school was founded in 1913. In the early 1900's the shipping of fruit from the Gashland area was a major business. From a packing shed off 152 and Old 159, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries and peaches were shipped to northern cities.

      Mr. Winner had foreseen the need for a public park so he deeded to the town of Linden the area between 69th Street, 70th Terrace, Campbell and Holmes. This land is now known as Central Park. Around 1950 a men's club in the community made a ball diamond in a corner of the park. About the same time a group of interested men and women donated money and labor to erect and equip the Community Building.

      In 1952, the City of Gladstone was incorporated. The boundary lines included wooded areas and small streams to the west that became the Hamilton Heights subdivision. To the east a cornfield eventually was developed as Bolling Heights. The construction of a comprehensive water and sewer system in the mid-1960s led to a housing boom. By the 1970s the population had reached 23,400 people living in approximately 7,100 housing units.

      Today Gladstone is a community of nine square miles. The 2000 census shows the City with 26,365 residents and over 8,000 housing units. A vital commercial community of around 940 establishments serves area residents and has projected annual sales of $172 million.