Missouri Counties
Missouri County map
Click Image to Enlarge

Missouri Counties

Missouri has one hundred and fourteen counties and one independent city. St. Louis City is separate from St. Louis County and is referred to as a "city not within a county." Following the Louisiana Purchase and the admittance of Louisiana into the United States in 1812, five counties were formed out of the Missouri Territory at the first general assembly. Most subsequent counties were apportioned from these five original counties.
 

Platte County, Missouri

Platte County Education, Geography, and HistoryPlatte County, Missouri Courthouse

Platte County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the state of Missouri. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 89,322. Its county seat is Platte City. The county was organized December 31, 1838 from the Platte Purchase, named for the Platte River. (Platte is derived from the French word for a low, shallow, or intermittent stream.)

Platte County is part of the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area and contains some of the city's northwestern suburbs. Kansas City International Airport is located in the county, approximately one mile west of Interstate 29 between mile markers 12 and 15. The land for the airport was originally in an unincorporated portion of Platte County before being annexed by Platte City, and eventually Kansas City.

Etymology - Origin of Platte County Name

Named for the Platte River. The principal river of the county. It rises in Nodaway County, flows south, and empties into the Missouri River. The Lewis and Clark Journal has this entry: "...passed the mouth of a small river ten miles above the Kansas called by the French Petite River Platte (or Shoal River), from the number of falls in it." The French compared it to the larger Platte River of Nebraska. Locally it was not known as the Little Platte. The name Platte for both rivers has the sense indicated by Lewis and Clark of "shoal" or shallow, which is eminently characteristic of either stream. (ATLAS PLATTE 1907, Th's L. and C. Vol. I, 62)


Source: Atchison, Anne. "Place Names Of Five West Central Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1937.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

History of Platte County

Organized in 1828 and named for the principal stream of the county, Platte River (q.v.). At the time of its organization, it had its present boundaries: Buchanan County on the north, Clinton and Clay Counties on the east. The Missouri River separates it on the south and west from the state of Kansas. (LAWS OF MISSOURI 1838, 23; Eaton)

Source: Atchison, Anne. "Place Names Of Five West Central Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1937.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 427 square miles (1,110 km2), of which 420 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 6.6 square miles (17 km2) (1.5%) is water. The county's southwestern border with Kansas is formed by the Missouri River.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

  • Buchanan County (north)
  • Clinton County (northeast)
  • Clay County (east)
  • Wyandotte County, Kansas (south)
  • Leavenworth County, Kansas (southwest)
  • Atchison County, Kansas (northwest)

Education

Public schools

North Platte County R-I School District - Dearborn
Park Hill School District - Kansas City
Platte County R-III School District - Platte City
West Platte County R-II School District - Weston

Private schools

Clay-Platte Children' House Montessori School - Kansas City (PK-08) - Nonsectarian
Martin Luther Academy - Kansas City (K-08) - Lutheran
Northland Christian Education System - Kansas City (PK-12) - Nondenominational Christian
St. Therese School - Kansas City (K-08) - Roman Catholic
St. Pius X High School - Kansas City (09-12) - Roman Catholic
Prairie View KinderCare - Kansas City (NS/PK) - Nonsectarian
Christ Lutheran Pre-Kindergarten School - Platte Woods (NS/PK) - Lutheran



Compare More Colleges and Universities
Find the Right School

Find more schools to match to your needs.


County Resources
US Counties
Click Image to Enlarge