Westport Library history series explores Madam Annie Chambers

One of the most colorful slices of Kansas City history is the story of the Madam Annie Chambers. Saturday at the Westport library, you can learn more about her and the times in which she lived.

Here are details from the library’s website.

The year 1869 was indeed a year of sweeping changes in Kansas City, Missouri. It introduced the arrival of perhaps the most influential of technological additions ever to be made to the area—the Hannibal Bridge. It also marked the year when Annie Chambers arrived, ready to begin a new career in the thriving town. Both signaled the beginning of a new age in the Midwestern cow town. Modernization was the key to success, and the city fathers realized that the only way to achieve their goal of turning their small cattle town into a metropolis was to increase the number of businesses and generate more revenue. Agriculture and livestock were two of the principal sources of economic activity in Kansas City, following the model of Chicago. Like Chicago, Kansas City developed into a transportation hub and processing center on the Missouri River. It was not long before outsiders saw Kansas City as a site with economic potential. Annie Chambers was one aspiring proprietor who believed she could make an honest living for the services she was willing to provide.

Courtney A. Culp is an adjunct professor of History at MCC-Maple Woods and Park University.

Details

  • Saturday, March 9, 2013. 2:00 pm
  • Westport Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, 118 Westport Road
  • click here to RSVP
  • Speaker’s reception follows at the Harris House, 40th & Baltimore

 

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