Clinton (city limits also extend into Buchanan County) County · MO
Gower, MO
Founded 1870 · 35.5 miles from downtown Kansas City · population 1,799
The market, last twelve months
Half of the homes that sold went under contract within 31 days. The median sale closed at 98.1% of asking - below list. 38% 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 1870 · where the name comes from · 4 dated events
Laid out in August 1870 by Daniel Smith as a stop on the railroad running through a farming district in north-western Missouri. source
The name. Named in honor of A. G. Gower, a division superintendent of the railroad whose line created the town. source
The 1881 county history records that the first meeting of the Gower town board after the town's incorporation was held on June 21, 1873, with E. T. Smith as president and R. T. Dusky, M. Duncan and John Westbrook as trustees. That places incorporation in 1873 or shortly before; the incorporating order itself was not located, so the year should be given as 1873 without a precise date. source 1 source 2
- 1870Laid out in August 1870 by Daniel Smith on the railroad line. source
- 1870Daniel Smith laid out the streets of the town and conveyed half the lots to the St. Joseph Land Company in return for the site being made a railroad station. This was in August 1870, as the St. Louis and St. Joseph Railroad was completed to the point; by 1881 that line had become the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway. The 1881 county history names the town for A. G. Gower, division superintendent of the road, independently of the general-reference account already in this record. source 1 source 2
- 1870The first building in the town was a storehouse moved across the Buchanan County line to the new townsite in the fall of 1870; Daniel Sanders opened the first store in it, and Ben O. Weller, clerking for Sanders, was appointed the first postmaster the same year. The second building was James H. Harrod's two-story frame dwelling, used for several years as a hotel. source 1 source 2
- 1872The depot built shortly after the railroad reached Gower burned on October 28, 1872 and was never replaced; for the next decade the telegraph and ticket office was kept in a drugstore on the west side of the town park, well away from where the trains stopped. source 1 source 2
The housing stockmedian built 1977
The median home sold here was built in 1977. Most of what sells was built between 1923 and 1998. That closely matches the Census figure of 1975 for all housing, so sales are broadly representative of the stock. 69% 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 hereGower Goodtimes Hall, City park and municipal pool
Gower Goodtimes Hall, home of the Goodtimers, a long-running Friday-night music venue for old-time, traditional country, bluegrass and gospel music that draws audiences from across the region. source
A US-169 railroad town spanning the Clinton-Buchanan county line, the Clinton County community nearest St. Joseph. source 1 source 2
Practical detailschool district · highways and transit
- Schools
- East Buchanan County C-1 School District. Boundaries do not follow city limits - and note the district is named for Buchanan County while the greater part of Gower lies in Clinton County. Confirm attendance area by address. Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source
- Getting around
- On US-169 between Kansas City and St. Joseph, about 35.5 miles due north of downtown Kansas City in a straight line. Originally a stop on the railroad that created the town. source 1 source 2
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 Gower.