Bates and Cass (the city straddles the county line) County · MO
Drexel, MO
Founded 1890 · 41.4 miles from downtown Kansas City · population 924
The market, last twelve months
Half of the homes that sold went under contract within 33 days. The median sale closed at 98.9% of asking - below list. 28% closed at or above the original list price, which is the better measure of how much room a buyer actually has.
Aggregated from Heartland MLS closed sales, twelve months to July 2026. Individual sale prices are not shown - Kansas and Missouri are non-disclosure states and MLS rules do not permit their public display. Ask for the full report if you need them.
How it came to befounded 1890 · where the name comes from · 4 dated events
Platted in 1890 under the name Stuart City, on the railroad line at the Missouri-Kansas border. A post office named Drexel has operated since 1891. source
The name. David Wolfe Eaton's 1916 reference work 'How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named' records that the name Drexel was the name of a local store owner. It is commonly assumed to honor the Philadelphia banker Anthony J. Drexel, who financed railroad building in this era, but no retrieved source supports that. source
- 1890Platted as Stuart City on the railroad at the Missouri-Kansas line. source
- 1891A post office under the name Drexel opened and has operated ever since. source
- 1917Glenn's 1917 History of Cass County adds a second town to Drexel's origin story: it says Drexel was platted on the completion of the Kansas City and Southern railroad and that the town of Brosley went out of existence, its people moving to the new site. It also records that Drexel was organized as a fourth-class city governed by a mayor and board of aldermen, so incorporation had happened by 1917 at the latest, and that the town then had two banks, brick business houses, electric light and telephone service, a weekly paper called the Drexel Star and a general store called the Drexel Mercantile Company. source 1 source 2
- 2010Atrazine was detected in the public water supply at 31.2 parts per billion, above the EPA standard - a matter of public record affecting the municipal water system. source
The housing stockmedian built 1972
The median home sold here was built in 1972. Most of what sells was built between 1905 and 2021. The Census puts the median year built for all housing at 1961, so the homes changing hands skew newer than the stock as a whole. 17% of sales included finished basement space beyond the above-grade footprint - which matters here, because square footage quoted above grade can understate a house considerably.
What's herewhat the place is known for
A state-line railroad town that started life under a different name - platted as Stuart City in 1890 and renamed Drexel by the time the post office opened in 1891. source
The only city in this group whose school district is named for the city itself and serves both of its counties: Drexel R-IV operates one elementary school and Drexel High School. source
Practical detailschool district · highways and transit
- Schools
- Drexel R-IV School District - one elementary school and Drexel High School. Boundaries do not follow city limits, though here the district does cover the municipal portions in both Bates and Cass counties. Confirm attendance area by address. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source
- Getting around
- Missouri Route A runs through the town, as does the former Kansas City Southern Railway line. Nearby communities are Archie about 13 miles east and Merwin about 5 miles south. About 41.4 miles due south of downtown Kansas City in a straight line. source 1 source 2
More images1 more from the archives
Thinking about buying or selling here?
The numbers above describe the market. What they cannot tell you is what your own house is worth in it, or which of these streets fits what you need. Ask me about Drexel.