Clinton County · MO
Lathrop, MO
Founded 1867 · 34.7 miles from downtown Kansas City · population 2,560
The market, last twelve months
Half of the homes that sold went under contract within 19 days. The median sale closed at 100.0% of asking - at list. 46% 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 1867 · where the name comes from · 4 dated events
Laid out and platted in 1867 after the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad decided to build a station on the site, chosen for its abundant fresh-water springs, which steam locomotives needed. A Santa Fe connection followed shortly after. source
The name. Named in honor of the treasurer of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company, John L. Lathrop. source 1 source 2
First organized February 2, 1869 with a board of trustees; chartered as a fourth-class city in April 1881, with A. J. Orem as first mayor. source
- 1868The first school opened in a blacksmith shop; the first brick building in town, a grade school, followed in 1871. source
- 1899The Midwest's largest sunbonnet factory operated in Lathrop. source
- 1912Lathrop Bottling Works began operating as an early Coca-Cola bottler. source
- 1924A municipal water system was built. source
The housing stockmedian built 1992
The median home sold here was built in 1992. Most of what sells was built between 1913 and 2020. The Census puts the median year built for all housing at 1978, so the homes changing hands skew newer than the stock as a whole. 37% 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.
By property type, sales broke down as Single Family (62), Other (1).
What's herewhat the place is known for
Lathrop was known as the 'Mule Capital of the World'. The firm of Guyton and Harrington, founded there in 1891 by cousins J. D. Guyton and W. R. Harrington, ran the mule trade from about 4,700 acres near the town, operating twenty stations of barns, offices and stables with capacity for 17,000 mules at once. It employed roughly 300 people, the largest employer in the area. source 1 source 2
The firm handled roughly 170,000 mules for the British during the Boer War of 1901-02 and sold a further 90,000 mules during the First World War. source
Practical detailschool district · highways and transit · 1 employers
- Schools
- Lathrop R-II School District. boundaries do not follow city limits Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source 1 source 2
- Getting around
- Three miles off Interstate 35 on Missouri Route 116. The town was created by the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, and the county describes it as 'born on the railroad, and survives on the interstate'. source
- Employers located here
- Grand River Mutual / Lathrop Telephone Company. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.
More images3 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 Lathrop.