The Cattle Drive Legacy of Kansas City

What’s a Cowtown?

Noun | A city that serves as a market center or shipping point for cattle.
In the late 1870s, Kansas City was a cowtown, with the West Bottoms as the second-largest stockyard complex in the country, behind Chicago. Centered at the crossroads of the country, we sat on the edge of one of the largest grasslands on the planet. Cattle drives crossed the open range from Canada to Mexico, stopping here along the way. By the 1920’s, more than two and a half million head of cattle would pass through KC annually. The stockyards closed in 1991, but our legacy as a cowtown survives.

Meet Laura Miller HEAD HONCHO OF COWTOWN TOURS KANSAS CITY

As the owner of a small business, Laura has been guiding curious visitors and residents alike in her hometown of Kansas City since April 2020. Through public walking tours, customized private tours, group charters as a step-on guide, and independent contract work, Laura’s guests are shown the most historic and touristic parts of the area, as well as the hidden gems unknown even to most residents.

With over 50-countries traveled, and counting, Laura is passionate about exploring the world and immersing herself in the sights, sounds and smells of a new place. Meeting and talking with people in their environs and learning about their culture, food, architecture and history is a privilege and pleasure.

Favorite places: Petra, the Croatian coastline, Berlin, Porto & any river cruise.

Cowtown Tours: Join the herd & explore like a local!

Get to know Laura on the Connecting Kansas City podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozbg0zcEaGg&t=540s

Read Our Reviews

If you've taken a Cowtown Tour in the past, please give us a review here! https://g.page/r/CWnmDfE9iHZYEB0/review

Sam, Ames, IA

Thanks again for the great tour! I ended up going to Town Topic, Grinders, and Arthur Bryant's per your recommendations.

Angela, Philadelphia, PA

I really enjoyed my time with Laura this morning! She is knowledgeable, friendly, and kind. I learned quite a bit about KC monuments and murals. Thank you so much, Laura!

Sue, Chambersburg, PA

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Laura. She was very informative. We learned things about KC we didn't know, even after living here a few years. Highly recommend.

Mija, Eugene, OR

A very enjoyable experience. Laura obviously has a passion and respect for the art and artists that is infectious. I highly recommend this tour.

Renae, Omaha, NE

This was a fun walking tour! Definitely money well spent.

Tim, Rockwall, TX

Great experience walking in the historic areas and understanding the background of the city. Great time seeing the past and understanding the current and future.

Daniel, Swindon, United Kingdom

Laura was so friendly, knowledgable and accommodating. The tour was fascinating and when it got too cold Laura happily suggested we switch to her car. Nothing was too much trouble.

Scott, Kansas City, MO

Absolutely fantastic! Fascinating tour - A must see. Laura was awesome as our guide. Our 14 year old twin boys loved it. A must do for the entire family

John, Omaha, NE

Great tour and overview of the city! Will definitely book the history tour when I'm back!

Jill, Lenexa, KS

I learned a lot about the city where I have lived for more than 30 years!

Delaina, Atlanta, GA

A wonderful way to spend 2 hours in Kansas City. It was fun walking the streets and learning about the various murals. Laura is a friendly host!

Rebecca, Ligonier, IN

It's obvious that Laura is passionate about the murals of her city. She allowed us time to take pictures and soak in the various artists... it's was super fun. Definitely recommend this tour!

Claire, Fruita, CO

Laura is a magnificent host! A true KC native with a rich historical and modern perspective of this city's arts. We thoroughly enjoyed learning about KC's murals and street art. If you're looking for a few hours of fun in Crossroads, look no further!

Lynzee, Lawrence, KS

Laura is a great tour guide and very knowledgeable of the KC area. Her commentary included a lot of interesting and fun facts the average KC local wouldn't know. All the locations were very interesting and Laura's use of historical pictures helped us visualize what these buildings looked like in the old days.

Brian, San Francisco, CA

I really loved going on Laura's walking tour of Kansas City. She's a native of KC and she brings a richness of personal history alongside an understanding the multi hundred year context of the city. We walked about three miles, so it was great exercise. Her storytelling was really great-like walking into a documentary of the 18th-20th century development of Kansas City. I left with a much great appreciation for the richness of the city, and Laura is a joy to be around.

Mary-Elizabeth, Seabrook Island, SC

Laura is a delightful tour guide and a Kansas City local! She was very flexible-we had originally scheduled a tour a weekend ahead and realized we needed a tour for the weekend earlier when she didn't have any tours scheduled, but she re-scheduled and set up a new tour to accommodate us.

Kristin

My husband and I took our 12 year old grandson and we all enjoyed the tour. I have lived in KC most of my life, but Laura had lots of information about the buildings we visited that made it educational and fun. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Matt, Sharonville, OH

Laura was very knowledgeable on the tour and shared stuff we didn't learn in high school American history. She was engaged and answered all of our questions and gave us advice on other places to see and things to do while in my KCMO!

Cary, Tacoma, WA

Laura is an exceptional host she really goes above and beyond and has a wealth of information to share. She personalized the experienced based on our interests. We will be back as she offers other tours as well!