Lee's Summit, Missouri | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Lee's Summit | |
 Flag | |
 Location withinJackson County andMissouri | |
| Coordinates:38°55′02″N94°22′54″W / 38.91722°N 94.38167°W /38.91722; -94.38167[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| Counties | Jackson,Cass |
| Founded | 1860s |
| Incorporated | October 28, 1865[2] |
| Named after | Pleasant Lea[2] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | William A. Baird[3] |
| • City manager | Mark Dunning[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 65.91 sq mi (170.71 km2) |
| • Land | 63.90 sq mi (165.49 km2) |
| • Water | 2.02 sq mi (5.22 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,027 ft (313 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 101,108 |
• Estimate (2024)[6] | 106,419 |
| • Rank | 6th in Missouri 308th in the United States |
| • Density | 1,582.4/sq mi (610.96/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code | 64015, 64063, 64064, 64081, 64082, 64083, 64086 |
| Area code | 816, 975 |
| FIPS code | 29-41348[1] |
| GNIS ID | 2395669[1] |
| Website | cityofls.net |
Lee's Summit is a city inJackson County andCass County,Missouri, United States. It is a suburb of theKansas City metropolitan area. As of the2020 census, the population was 101,108, making it thesixth most populous city in both Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is the most populous city in the state that is not also a county seat.
In 1865, the town was incorporated as Strother, remaining so until it was renamed Lee’s Summit three years later. The city was likely named in honor of Pleasant John Graves Lea, a prominent local citizen killed during theCivil War.
Lee's Summit began as an agricultural community and persisted as such until the mid-twentieth century. Upon the conclusion ofWorld War II, the city began to rapidly suburbanize and grow in population, transitioning into a commuter suburb of Kansas City. During this period of growth, Lee’s Summit developed a well-funded public school district. The school district has consistently ranked among the city’s top employers, alongside federal government offices, healthcare facilities, and retail centers. The city has a historic downtown with anAmtrak station, several human-made lake reservoirs, and several parks.
The region encompassing present-day Lee’s Summit has been inhabited by humans for at least 10,000 years.[7]Archaeological evidence suggests continuous human occupation within the present-day boundaries of Lee’s Summit dating back roughly 9,000 years. For example,archaeologists have discovered stonearrowheads characteristic of theDalton tradition in Lee's Summit, indicating that humans occupied the area at least 9,000 years ago.[8][a] At another site in the city,arrowheads and ceramics characteristic of the Kansas CityHopewell culture were discovered, indicating that humans had temporary campsites in the area roughly 2,000 years ago.[9][b] Stone tools and organic remains suggest that temporary campsites in what is now Lee's Summit were used to hunt for deer, bison, and other small mammals, roughly 700 years ago.[10][c]
At the time of first contact between indigenous Missourians and Europeans in the 1670s, present-day Lee’s Summit lay along the northwestern edge of the territory occupied by theLittle Osage people. Other nearby groups included theMissourias to the north and theKanzas to the west.[11][12] The area was likely used as hunting grounds bythe Osage.[13][14]
In 1682,René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed theMississippi River basin for France as the territory of Louisiana, which included present-day Lee's Summit.[15][16] In 1762, France secretly ceded the territory to Spain by theTreaty of Fontainebleau.
In 1803, the United States acquired the territory that includes the area of present-day Lee's Summit through France in theLouisiana Purchase.[17]
The Osage, weakened by encroaching indigenous groups and American settlers from the east, and under pressure from the United States, ceded the last of their territory in Missouri by treaty in 1825. This included present-day Lee's Summit.[18][19]
In 1827, when commissioners were deciding where to establish theseat of Jackson County, they described southern Jackson County as "useless" prairie.[20] At that time, southern Jackson County, including present-day Lee’s Summit, was the rural counterpart to the increasingly urban north county. Beginning in the 1830s, Americans from easternslave states came to settle what is now Lee's Summit, attracted by "its rolling prairie, fertile soil, numerous streams, and stands of timber."[21][22] In 1844,William Bulitt Howard, the eventual founder of Lee's Summit, arrived from Kentucky with his family and slaves.[21] Pleasant John Graves Lea, the eventual namesake of the city, was a resident of the area according to the1850 census.[23] By 1853, settlers had purchased all of the land that now constitutes Lee's Summit from the federal government. In 1860,Prairie Township was incorporated in Jackson County, and the community which would later become Lee's Summit was the largest in the new township.[24]
Congress passed theKansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, thereby starting theMissouri-Kansas Border War. Many of the residents ofPrairie Township held pro-slavery attitudes, and some even fought inpro-slavery bands of guerrillas.[21] TheLittle Blue River valley was an important place of refuge for theseguerrilla forces.[25][d]Howard, the eventual founder of Lee's Summit, was arrested by aUnion officer and then spent one month in jail in 1859.[26] In July 1862, Irvin Walley, a captain in theUnion army, shot and killed Henry Washington Younger, an early settler of Lee's Summit.[27][28] Less than two months later,anti-slavery guerrillas from Kansas killed Dr. Lea in his home. After these men's deaths, their sons joined up withWilliam Quantrill's pro-Confederate gang and participated in theLawrence Massacre.[29] Most notable among them wasCole Younger, a life-long resident of Lee's Summit and outlaw who would become "Jesse James's right hand."[30][31] In response to theLawrence Massacre, Union GeneralThomas Ewing, Jr. issuedGeneral Order No. 11 in 1863, forcing all residents outside Union-occupied towns in Jackson County to prove allegiance tothe Union within fifteen days or else evacuate. This led to the desertion of present-day Lee’s Summit, as many residents fled back to their homes in the east.Union troops then burned and razed many of the abandoned farms.[21][32]
Upon the end of theAmerican Civil War in 1865,William Bullitt Howard returned to his home in Jackson County. He reached a deal with theMissouri Pacific Railroad Company to plat a town of 70 acres (0.28 km2) along the path of the tracks south of Kansas City and on the way toSt. Louis. Lots in the center of the town would be reserved for atrain depot. The town was founded as “Strother” in October 1865, named after the family name of Howard’s wife.[21][33][34]
In 1868, the town was officially renamed "Lee's Summit." A flier from 1865 refers to the town as "Strother, formerly known as Lee's Summit," indicating that the town was colloquially known as Lee's Summit prior to its founding byHoward.[e] It is very likely that Lee's Summit was named in honor of Pleasant John Graves Lea, who was killed nearby in 1862. Workers for theMissouri Pacific Railroad may have painted "Lees Summit" on the side of a boxcar to serve as a temporarydepot in the city.[35]
The spelling “Lee” instead of "Lea" is assumed to be an error, while “Summit” refers to the city’s location at the highest point along the railroad between Kansas City andSt. Louis.[2][21][23] In 1969, Howard’s grandson disputed this account, claiming the town was named forConfederate GeneralRobert E. Lee and that the story about Dr. Lea was a cover. Local historians, however, have dismissed this claim.[36]
In 1877, Lee's Summit was incorporated as a fourth-class city and by then was the "commercial center for the surrounding agricultural community."[37] The primary occupation in Lee's Summit was farming—particularly hogs, corn, and fruit orchards.[38] In 1885, a fire destroyed much of downtown Lee's Summit.[2][21]
In the early 20th century, Lee's Summit persisted as a small, rural agricultural community. The city's population growth was stunted by its proximity to Kansas City and Independence. Still, the city boundaries were expanded in 1905, and some residential development occurred in the 1900s and 1910s. Property development slowed and then ceased in Lee's Summit during the 1920s and through theGreat Depression andWorld War II.[39]
In 1912, lumber baron and Kansas City civic leaderRobert A. Long began building his 1,780 acre (7.2 km2) estate,Longview Farm, much of which lay in southwestern Lee's Summit. It took eighteen months to complete with the work of over two thousand laborers. At the time of building, it was considered the largest construction project in the country. At the time of completion, the farm employed over two hundred people who lived on the property. Long's daughter, Loula Long Combs, made a lifelong career of raising championshow horses on the farm.[2][40] In 2004, part of the farm was developed into the New Longview neighborhood.[41]
In March 1922, at the Veterans Memorial Hall in downtown Lee's Summit (now the Third Street Social restaurant),Harry S. Truman announced he was running for election as County Court judge of the eastern district of Jackson County—the first political candidacy of his career.[f] Years later, in 1956,Truman said of his first political speech that it "was a flop for me." "I was more scared then than I was at any time later, even when I was on the front in the first world war in France.”[42][43] During theprimary campaign,Truman briefly pursuedKu Klux Klan membership, believing it would help him secure more votes, in part because of prominentcross burnings in Lee's Summit.[44] Two years later, during his reelection campaign, he faced public opposition from Jackson Countytreasurer and Lee's Summit mayor, Todd George, who may have been affiliated with theKlan.[g]Truman claimed that theKlan threatened to kill him, and in response he disrupted aKlan rally in Lee's Summit, shaming the roughly one thousand attendees for theiranti-Catholic andantisemitic views.[45] In 1928,Truman, as the presiding judge of the County Court, undertook the construction of many roads connecting Lee's Summit to the rest of themetro area, as well as a hospital just outside the city (later named Truman Medical Center-East, nowUniversity Health Lakewood Medical Center).[21][46][47]
At the end ofWorld War II in 1945, there was enormous demand forsingle-family housing across the United States. This demand, combined with the recently built roads,Federal Housing Administration policy, and theG.I. Bill, spurred the rapidsuburbanization of Lee's Summit. Developers began building entire neighborhoods in the city but were interrupted from 1950 to 1953 by theKorean War. After the war, however, the number of people living in and around Lee's Summit grew significantly. According to the1950 census, about 2,500 people lived in Lee's Summit; by 1960, the population had grown to over 8,000. This population growth resulted from white Kansas City residents relocating to the suburbs and from largeannexations by the city. By the late 1950s, Lee's Summit was no longer an agricultural community, but instead acommuter suburb—nearly sixty percent of residents worked outside the city, and farming had all but disappeared.[48]
In 1961,Western Electric opened a factory in Lee’s Summit, and within a year it employed about three thousand people. TheWestern Electric plant, which was in operation until 2002, encouraged the city's growth by providing a tax base for furtherannexations and a well-fundedpublic school district.[49][50][51] Rapid growth persisted through the 1970s and 1980s, with the city’s population exceeding 46,000 by 1990. John Knox Village, a long-term care facility completed in 1970, has remained one of the city's top employers. The damming of theLittle Blue River in 1985 createdLongview Lake, home to amenities including the Fred Arbanas Golf Course andMCC-Longview Community College.[51] In 2001, theSummit Woods Crossing retail center was developed in Lee’s Summit, followed by the construction of theSummit Fair retail center nearby in 2007.[41] Green Street, an event space in downtown Lee’s Summit and “home to the Farmers Market, outdoor performance area, public art, gathering spaces, and an immersive playground,” opened in 2025.[52]
SociologistsDouglas Massey andNancy Denton classified the Kansas City metro area as “hypersegregated” between white and Black residents as recently as the 1980s.[53] Lee's Summit, as asecond-ringwhite-flight suburb,[41] contributed to patterns ofracial segregation in Kansas City and its outlying region. The government policies whichsuburbanized the city in thepost-war period excluded Black people, effectively making Lee's Summit available only to white people. TheFederal Housing Administration even encouraged suburban developers to include legally unenforceableracially restrictive deed covenants with the sale of their homes.[54] According tosociologist Kevin Fox Gotham, residents of Lee's Summit successfully resisted efforts to locate federallysubsidized housing in the suburb—meant to integrate the metro area—in the 1970s and into the 1990s.[55] In 1978, officials and students from theKansas City public school district filed afederal lawsuit against the Lee’s Summit school district and several other suburban districts, alleging racial discrimination.[56] TheDistrict Court dismissed the case against the school district, finding insufficient evidence that officials had intentionally preserved school segregation.[57] Although the Lee's Summit school district was removed from the case, theDistrict Court went on to order extensive improvements to Kansas City schools, pay raises for employees, and the creation of amagnet school system aimed at addressing the metro-area school segregation by attracting suburban students to inner city schools. In the 1995 caseMissouri v. Jenkins, theSupreme Court of the United States held that the Missouri government was no longer required to fund themagnet school program, effectively ending the improvements and pay raises.[58][59][60]
Lee's Summit is located near Missouri's western border withKansas and is in the northern half of the state. The city bordersKansas City to the west and northwest,Independence to the north,unincorporated Jackson County to the east,Greenwood to the southeast, andLake Winnebago as well asunincorporatedCass County to the south.[61][62] It is part of theKansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to theEnvironmental Protection Agency, Lee's Summit is part of the Central Irregular Plains, which encompasses southernIowa, northern and western Missouri, easternKansas, and northeasternOklahoma. In particular, Lee's Summit is part of the Wooded Osage Plainsecoregion, a "non-glaciated undulatingplain with smooth, low,limestoneescarpments and small areas of exposedbedrock." Characteristicgeology includeslimestone,sandstone, andshalestrata, which produce a "rollingtopography." The natural vegetation is "a mosaic ofoak-hickorywoodland and bluestemprairie," whereas theland use is a mix ofwoodlands,agriculture, andgrasslands.[63]
Lee's Summit resides partially within, and to the south and east of, theLittle Blue River valley.[51] The north-westernmost boundary of the city follows the course of theLittle Blue River.[61] There are six major human-madereservoirs in and around Lee's Summit:Lake Jacomo (1959),Lake Winnebago (1960s), Raintree Lake (1970s), Lakewood Lakes (1976),Longview Lake (1986), andBlue Springs Lake (1989).[64][65][66][67] Bethany Falls, a 20-foot-thicklimestone formation, runs underneath Lee's Summit, resulting in bluffs nearLongview Lake.[68]
Lee's Summit experiences a four-seasonhumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfa) with cold days and nights during the winter, and hot days and muggy nights during the summer. No physical features obstruct the flow of air, allowing moist currents from theGulf of Mexico, dry currents from the semiarid southwest, and cold polar continental currents to interact and affect the weather in the area. This causes the weather to be highly variable, sometimes producing tornadoes and storms. Spring is the season when variation is the highest. Spring is also characterized by high precipitation and moderate temperatures. Summer has warm to hot temperatures and is humid. Precipitation is also high during the summer. Fall has mild days and cool nights, with low precipitation. Winters are dry and moderately cold.[69]
| Climate data forLee's Summit Municipal Airport[h] and James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area[i] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 73 (23) | 80 (27) | 87 (31) | 91 (33) | 91 (33) | 103 (39) | 108 (42) | 107 (42) | 107 (42) | 95 (35) | 82 (28) | 73 (23) | 108 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 59 (15) | 65 (18) | 77 (25) | 83 (28) | 88 (31) | 93 (34) | 98 (37) | 98 (37) | 92 (33) | 85 (29) | 73 (23) | 63 (17) | 99 (37) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 39.0 (3.9) | 44.3 (6.8) | 55.4 (13.0) | 65.5 (18.6) | 74.8 (23.8) | 84.0 (28.9) | 88.3 (31.3) | 86.9 (30.5) | 79.0 (26.1) | 67.1 (19.5) | 54.0 (12.2) | 43.2 (6.2) | 65.1 (18.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 30.6 (−0.8) | 35.1 (1.7) | 45.4 (7.4) | 55.5 (13.1) | 65.3 (18.5) | 74.7 (23.7) | 79.0 (26.1) | 77.3 (25.2) | 69.0 (20.6) | 57.2 (14.0) | 45.1 (7.3) | 34.7 (1.5) | 55.7 (13.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.1 (−5.5) | 25.9 (−3.4) | 35.4 (1.9) | 45.5 (7.5) | 55.9 (13.3) | 65.4 (18.6) | 69.7 (20.9) | 67.6 (19.8) | 59.0 (15.0) | 47.2 (8.4) | 36.2 (2.3) | 26.3 (−3.2) | 46.3 (8.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −3 (−19) | 2 (−17) | 13 (−11) | 27 (−3) | 39 (4) | 50 (10) | 56 (13) | 54 (12) | 40 (4) | 28 (−2) | 16 (−9) | 2 (−17) | −6 (−21) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −19 (−28) | −15 (−26) | −5 (−21) | 11 (−12) | 28 (−2) | 35 (2) | 48 (9) | 43 (6) | 29 (−2) | 7 (−14) | 0 (−18) | −25 (−32) | −25 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.96 (24) | 1.43 (36) | 2.14 (54) | 4.19 (106) | 5.70 (145) | 4.95 (126) | 4.57 (116) | 4.54 (115) | 3.07 (78) | 3.39 (86) | 2.05 (52) | 1.35 (34) | 38.34 (972) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.7 (6.9) | 2.8 (7.1) | 1.3 (3.3) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 1.8 (4.6) | 4.5 (11) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 98 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Source:NOAA[70][71] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 693 | [72] | — |
| 1890 | 1,369 | [73] | 97.5% |
| 1900 | 1,453 | [74] | 6.1% |
| 1910 | 1,455 | [75] | 0.1% |
| 1920 | 1,467 | [76] | 0.8% |
| 1930 | 2,035 | [77] | 38.7% |
| 1940 | 2,263 | [78] | 11.2% |
| 1950 | 2,554 | [79] | 12.9% |
| 1960 | 8,267 | [80] | 223.7% |
| 1970 | 16,230 | [81] | 96.3% |
| 1980 | 28,741 | [82] | 77.1% |
| 1990 | 46,418 | [83] | 61.5% |
| 2000 | 70,700 | [84] | 52.3% |
| 2010 | 91,364 | [6] | 29.2% |
| 2020 | 101,108 | [6] | 10.7% |
| 2024 (est.) | 106,419 | [6] | 5.3% |
| United States Census Bureau | |||
The population of Lee's Summit has been recorded by everyUnited States census since 1880. After an initial increase from 1880 to 1890, the city's population remained mostly unchanged until the 1930 census. Lee's Summit begansuburbanizing in the 1920s, resulting in population growth through the remaining decades of the twentieth century, especially after 1950. Population growth slowed but persisted from 2000 to 2020.
As of the2020 United States census, there were 101,108 people, 37,664 households, and 27,316 families in Lee's Summit, with a population density of 1,582.3 inhabitants per square mile (611.0/km2). There were 39,495 housing units at an average density of 618.1 per square mile (238.7/km2). The racial composition (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 78.6% (79,516)white, 8.9% (9,019)Black or African-American, 0.3% (321)American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% (2,401)Asian, 0.2% (147)Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 1.7% (1,714) fromother races, and 7.9% (7,990) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race was 5.3% (5,398) of the population.[6]
| Historical racial and ethnic composition (%) | 1990[85] | 2000[86] | 2010[6] | 2020[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 96.9 | 93.2 | 86.1 | 78.6 |
| Black or African American | 1.7[j] | 3.5 | 8.4 | 8.9 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3[k] | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Asian | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander | 0.0[l] | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Other races | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Hispanic or Latino[m] | 1.0[n] | 2.0 | 3.9 | 5.3 |
According to the 2024American Community Survey estimates, 25.0% of the population was under 18-years-old, 31.8% was ages 18 to 44, 25.6% was ages 45 to 64, and 17.6% was over 64-years-old. The median age was 40.4-years-old. Among those ages 15 and older, 54.9% were married, which is 7.0 percentage points higher than the marital rate in Missouri and 5.9 percentage points higher than the rate for the United States overall. Among those ages 25 and older, 19.2% had obtained a graduate or professional degree, 33.7% only up to a bachelor's degree, 28.8% only up to an associate's degree (or some college), 16.0% only up to a high school diploma (or equivalent), and 2.3% less than a high school diploma. The rate of those obtaining less than a high school diploma is 5.7 percentage points lower than the rate for Missouri and 7.8 percentage points lower than the rate for the United States, while the rate of those obtaining a bachelor's degree is 13.6 percentage points higher than Missouri's and 11.6 percentage point higher than that of the United States.[87][88][89]
The median income among those over 15-years-old was $51,030. This is $11,269 more than the median income in Missouri and $9,355 more than that for the United States. Again among those over 15-years-old, 29.5% made $75,000 or more in income. This is 10.6 percentage points higher than the rate in Missouri and 6.8 percentage points higher than in the United States. Those at or above 150 percent of thepoverty level made up 93.8% of the population, compared to 80.1% of Missouri.[87][88][89]
The average household size was 2.52, while the average family size was 3.14. Among households, 32.3% included at least one person under 18-years-old which is 4.3 percentage points higher than Missouri's rate. Of the housing units, 74.3% are owned as opposed to rented, compared to a rate of 68.6% in Missouri overall.[90][91][92]
According to data from the Lee's Summit Police Department compiled by theUniform Crime Reporting program, Lee's Summit in 2024 had a reported violent crime rate of 109.0 per 100,000 people (which includes homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and a reported property crime rate of 2348.3 per 100,000 people (which includes arson, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). The violent crime rate of Lee's Summit was lower than that of Missouri (459.7 violent crimes per 100,000 in 2024) but the property crime rate was higher than that of Missouri (1944.4 property crimes per 100,000 in 2024). The violent crime rate of Lee's Summit was also lower than that of the United States (349.3 violent crimes per 100,000 in 2024) while the property crime rate was higher than that of the United States (1701.8 property crimes per 100,000 in 2024).[93]
According to the town's Economic Development Council,[94] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee's Summit R-VII School District | 2,886 |
| 2 | United States Citizenship and Immigration Services | 2,200 |
| 3 | National Benefits Center | 1,500 |
| 4 | Government Employees Health Association | 1,313 |
| 5 | University Health Lakewood Medical Center | 1,206 |
| 6 | John Knox Village | 1,000 |
| 7 | Saint Luke's Health System | 780 |
| 8 | ReDiscover | 708 |
| 9 | City of Lee's Summit | 660 |
| 10 | CVS Caremark Call Center | 400 |
Downtown Lee's Summit is listed in theNational Register of Historic Places.[95] It hosts the annual Downtown Days andOktoberfest festivals as well as the monthly Fourth Fridays Art Walk, which showcases local artists and musicians.[96][97][98] The Downtown Sculpture Walk and Lee's Summit History Museum are also located in downtown Lee's Summit.[99][100]
The Legacy Park Ampitheater is an outdoor music venue in Lee's Summit.[101]
Lee's Summit has three public libraries, branches of theMid-Continent Public Library.[102]
The Lee's Summit Symphony Orchestra is made up of over 200 local musicians and volunteers who perform in livesymphonic concerts.[103]
There are thirty public parks in Lee's Summit with various amenities such as playgrounds, tennis courts,disc golf courses, trails for walking and biking, camp grounds, a golf course, and a winter ice skating rink.[104][105][106] Summit Waves is the city's outdoor water park.[107]
The James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area is located just outside of Lee's Summit. It is 3,084 acres (12.48 km2) and includes human-made lakes along with woodlands, nativeflora plantings, and many deer and turkeys. People engage in fishing, hunting, hiking,birdwatching, outdoor photography, picnicking, cycling, and boating there.[108]
Six large human-made lakes and several smaller lakes are located in and around Lee's Summit. People engage in a variety of activities on these lakes such as swimming, fishing,jet skiing, canoeing, and boating.[109]
Lee's Summit is acharter andcouncil-manager form of government, represented by amayor and acity council. The city council appoints a city manager. Each of the four districts are represented by twocouncilmembers whose terms are staggered and expire every four years. Nocouncilmember may serve more than two consecutive terms.[110] The mayor is William A. Baird.[3]
The majority of Lee's Summit is withinMissouri's 5th congressional district and is represented in theUnited States House of Representatives byDemocratEmanuel Cleaver.[111] A small southern portion of the city falls within the4th congressional district and is represented byRepublicanMark Alford.[112] In theMissouri Senate, Lee's Summit is represented byRepublicanMike Cierpiot of the8th district[113] andRepublicanRick Brattin of the31st district.[114] In theMissouri House of Representatives, the city is represented by theRepublicanSpeaker of the HouseJonathan Patterson of the 30th district,[115] as well asDemocratKemp Strickler of the 34th district,[116]DemocratKeri Ingle of the 35th district,[117] andRepublicanBill Irwin of the 55th district.[118]
Portions of Lee's Summit in Jackson County are served by parts of four publicschool districts:Lee's Summit R-VII School District,Blue Springs R-IV School District,Grandview C-4 School District,Hickman Mills C-1 School District.[119] Almost all of the portion in Cass County is in theRaymore-Peculiar R-II School District. The remainder in Cass County is in the Lee's Summit district.[120]
Lee's Summit has fourreligious private schools as well: Summit Christian Academy (formerly Lee's Summit Community Christian School), Our Lady of Presentation Catholic School, Lee's Summit Academy (formerly Libby Lane Academy), andSt. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School.
Metropolitan Community College has the Blue Springs, Grandview Hickman Mills, and Lee's Summit school districts in its in-district taxation area. The Raymore-Peculiar district is in the college's service area, but not its in-district taxation area.[121] Longview Community College is located on the western edge of Lee's Summit and is part of the MCC system. It also is home to the Summit Technology Center which is a branch campus of theUniversity of Central Missouri.
A few notable movies were filmed in Lee's Summit.Truman, the 1995biographical drama film aboutHarry S. Truman, includes scenes shot in the city.[122] The 2006 documentaryJesus Camp also features footage filmed in the city at Christ Triumphant Church.[123] The 2011 comedy film3 Blind Saints, starringRichard Speight Jr. andStelio Savante, was filmed in Lee's Summit.[124] The 2024 horror-Western filmThey Call Her Death, which received a limited theatrical run before moving tostreaming services, was partly filmed atMissouri Town Living History Museum.[125]
The HistoricJefferson Highway (known as the "Palm to Pine" highway) runs through Lee's Summit.
.svg)
I-470 is anInterstate 70 spur through Lee's Summit into southern Kansas City.
US 40: Forms half of Lee's Summit's northern border withIndependence.
US 50: FollowsI-435 from the west toI-470 then spurs off in Lee's Summit and becomes just US 50.
Route 150: A highway linking southern Lee's Summit, andGrandview to the Kansas suburbs atState Line Road.
Route 291: Formerly an eastern bypass route ofUS 71, the minor freeway connectsHarrisonville and Lee's Summit toIndependence,Sugar Creek,Liberty,KCI Airport and northern Kansas City. It fuses withI-470 through parts of Lee's Summit.
Route 350: Connector highway that brings togetherI-435 withI-470 andUS 50.Two general medical and surgical hospitals which provide emergency services—Lee's Summit Medical Center andSaint Luke's East Hospital—are both located in Lee's Summit.
Municipalities and communities ofCass County, Missouri,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofJackson County, Missouri,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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