Riverside, MO

German immigrant families, among them the Brenners, began settling the Line Creek Valley in 1843, farming produce for the City Market in Kansas City. By the early 1900s Belgian families had settled the Missouri River bottomland still known locally as 'Belgium Bottoms', raising asparagus and other vegetables. The place existed as an unincorporated community for more than a century before becoming a city. source

The name. The city takes its name from the several 'river side' businesses that operated on the Missouri River bend, most prominently Riverside Park, the thoroughbred racing venue. source

Incorporated as a Missouri fourth-class city on June 21, 1951. Ferd F. Filger was appointed the first mayor on June 26, 1951 and served twenty years in total. source

1. 1913An interurban electric railway ran through Riverside connecting Kansas City to St. Joseph, operating steel cars at speeds above 70 mph until it shut down in 1933. source
2. 1918The Quindaro Bend Drainage District was formed to address repeated Missouri River flooding; it was reorganized in 1970 and its work eventually produced the L-385 levee. source
3. 1928Riverside Park, a thoroughbred racing track built under Tom Pendergast, operated from 1928 until 1937, drawing crowds approaching 20,000 a day before anti-gambling legislation closed it. The track is the source of the city's name. source
4. 1993Major floods struck the bottomland in 1925, 1927, 1944, 1951, 1973, 1982 and, most severely, in 1993. source
5. 2006FEMA issued a Letter of Map Revision on August 31, 2006 accrediting the completed L-385 levee, which removed roughly 1,200 acres of the Missouri River valley from the 100-year floodplain and redesignated it as area outside the 500-year floodplain. This is a material factual attribute for anyone buying in the bottomland. source

The median home sold here was built in 2021. Most of what sells was built between 1977 and 2025. The Census puts the median year built for all housing at 1977, so the homes changing hands skew newer than the stock as a whole. 80% 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 (76), Patio/Villa (1).

The L-385 Riverside-Quindaro Bend levee: a 4.7-mile earthen levee along the left bank of the Missouri River, averaging about 20 feet high (range 15 to 23 feet), completed in 2005 at a cost of more than $87 million. source

It was the first levee in Missouri to incorporate a trail for walking and running along its crest - the Missouri Riverfront Trail. source

Riverside Horizons, an approximately 800-acre certified mixed-use business park zoned for light industrial use, developed on the levee-protected bottomland; 542 acres are owned by the City of Riverside. source

Missouri Riverfront Trail

A walking and running trail built along the crest of the L-385 levee; roughly 2,800 large trees were planted in the levee borrow areas. source

Belgium Bottoms

The Missouri River bottomland settled by Belgian truck-farming families in the early 1900s; the name is still in local use. source

1 subdivision in Riverside had enough closed sales in the last twelve months to report on individually.

Schools

Park Hill School District. boundaries do not follow city limits - the district covers eight communities in southern Platte County including Riverside, Parkville, Lake Waukomis, Weatherby Lake, Platte Woods, Houston Lake, Northmoor and part of Kansas City Confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you rely on it. source 1 source 2

Getting around

Interstate 29 and Interstate 635 pass through or along the city, together with US 69, US 71 and Missouri Route 9 (NW Vivion Road). BNSF and Union Pacific rail lines run through the city. source

Employers located here

Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa, City of Riverside. Listed as present in the city, which is not a statement about hiring.