Lee's Summit
Lee's Summit is a city in Jackson County and Cass County, Missouri. Lee's Summit is also a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. It is the sixth largest city in Missouri. According to the 2000 Census, Lee's Summit is the fastest growing city in the state.
As of the census of 2000, there were 70,700 people, 26,417 households, and 19,495 families residing in the city.
Lee's Summit was the birthplace of jazz guitarist Pat Methenyand outlaw Cole Younger.
Lee's Summit Schools
Lee's Summit is served by three school districts, the Lee's Summit R-VII School District, the Blue Springs R-IV School District, and the Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District. It also has two private schools, Lee's Summit Community Christian School and Our Lady of Presentation Catholic School.
Lee's Summit R-VII School District
The current enrollment in the Lee's Summit R-VII School District is approximently 19,000 students. The district also serves parts of Kansas City, Missouri, Unity Village, Greenwood, Lake Winnebago , Lake Lotawana and rural eastern Jackson County. A bond was passed in 2006 plans are underway for a new elementary school to be placed near M-150 and Horridge Road. There are over 20 schools in the district, including:
Elementary Schools
Cedar Creek Elementary School
Greenwood Elementary School
Hawthorn Hill Elementary School
Hazel Grove Elementary School
Highland Park Elementary School
Lee's Summit Elementary School
Longview Farm Elementary School
Mason Elementary School
Meadow Lane Elementary School
Pleasant Lea Elementary School
Prairie View Elementary School
Richardson Elementary School
Trailridge Elementary School
Underwood Elementary School
Westview Elementary School
Woodland Elementary School
New Elementary School
Middle Schools
Bernard C. Campbell Middle School
Summit Lakes Middle School
Pleasant Lea Middle School
High Schools
Lee's Summit Senior High School
Lee's Summit West High School
Lee's Summit North High School
Blue Springs R-IV School District
The Blue Springs R-IV School District has a current enrollment of around 13,000 students.
The district serves parts of Blue Springs, Independence, Lee's Summit and Rural Eastern Jackson County. There are over 20 schools in the school district including:
Elementary
Chapel Lakes Elementary School
Cordill-Mason Elementary School
Daniel Young Elementary School
Franklin Smith Elementary School
Highland Park Elementary School
James Lewis Elementary School
James Walker Elementary School
John Nowlin Elementary School
Lucy Franklin Elementary School
Sunny Pointe Elementary School
Thomas Ultican Elementary School
Voy Spears Elementary School
William Bryant Elementary School
William Yates Elementary School
Middle Schools
Brittany Hill Middle School
Delta Woods Middle School
Sunny Vale Middle School
Moreland Ridge
High Schools
Blue Springs High School
Blue Springs South High School
Valley View High School
Blue Springs Freshman Center
Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District
The Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District has a current enrollment of around 5,200 students. The district serves Raymore, Peculiar, and Lee's Summit south of County Line Road (Cass County). There are ten schools in the school district including:
Elementary Schools
Peculiar Elementary School
Raymore Elementary School
Stonegate Elementary School
Timber Creek Elementary School
Middle Schools
Eagle Glen Intermediate School
Shull Intermediate School
Raymore-Peculiar Middle School
High Schools
Raymore-Peculiar Senior High School
Raymore-Peculiar Freshmen Center
Private Schools
Lee's Summit has two religious private schools. Lee's Summit Community Christian School serves over 750 students from grades Kindergarten through 12th grade and is made up of families from over 80 area churches from 20 religious denominations. The school will complete a multi-million dollar high school facility in the fall of 2006. The Our Lady of Presentation Catholic School has a rich tradition of serving the faith community as well.
Colleges and Universities
Lee's Summit only has one university, Longview Community College which is located on the western edge of Lee's Summit. The university is part of Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City or MCC for short.
History of Lee's Summit
The original name of Lee's Summit was "The Town of Strother" when it was incorporated in 1865 by founder William B. Howard, but in 1868 the city changed its name to the current name, "The Town of Lee's Summit". The "Lee's" part has an unknown origin but locals think it has to do with either Robert E. Lee from the Civil War, or Dr. Pleasant Lea. "Summit" is based from the city's elevation compared to the surrounding area.[1]
In 1885 a fire took place, destroying much of downtown and causing $87,000 worth of damage.>[1]
In 1912 R.A. Long the owner of a lumber company began building his estate on the western edge of the city and into part of Kansas City, named Longview Farm. When it was completed it had a mansion, five barns and 42 buildings in the 1,700 acres. The farm also had a church, Longview Chapel Christian Church which was completed in 1915. It soon became internationally known as a showplace farm. Today, one of the horse barns is home to Longview Farm Elementary and developer David Gale, is working on a development named New Longview, which will include shopping, single family homes and apartments. The church and mansion are on the National Register of Historic Places. Other parts of the farm have been turned into Longview Lake and Longview Community College.[1]
The city has grown over 800% in population since 1960 and recently much of the growth is on the southwest side.[1]
In March 2006 a new City Hall was dedicated replacing one that was considered insufficient for the size of the city. Currently, the city is working on a streetscaping project for downtown called "Diggin It".