Home » Missouri » Smithville

James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Smithville

Missouri

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Kansas City
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Probable
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably Not, Although Still Very Few Black People

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960 1254 0
1970
1980
1990 2525 11
2000 5514 12
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

testimony of a former resident:
“I grew up in a town just outside of Kansas City, MO in a small farming town named Smithville. With the history of the town, there is/was a large amount of KKK and the entire town was white except for one Hispanic family and one Italian family. While living in Smithville, there were no people of color, no Jewish, no Asians. Just white protestants and Catholics. There was one black student who graduated in 1979, but I would have had no idea because I was only a year old at that time. There would be a black student here or there but they would stay for one day before moving on to the next town north. Most people escaping the city would move as far north as Plattsburg because they would not survive in Smithville. I graduated high school in 1996 and there were only whites in the school district. It was the year after I graduated that a set of black students came to Smithville High School and actually stayed. They were either Sophomore or Junior transfers, but I don’t remember since I was in college. Once Marcus Allen (the football player) moved to Smithville, things started to ease up. The town is still predominately white, by a large margin, but there are finally some people of a different color, heritage and religion (although I still don’t believe that there are any Jewish people). Hope it helps.”