Informative Essay: The Lee's Summit Amtrak Station

Everyone’s heard of it, seen it, and knows where it’s at. But nobody knows much about it. The Lee’s Summit Amtrak Station has always interested me. Passing by the old caboose and station that sit on the side of the train tracks it’s easy to assume it’s historic. But what makes it historic? I remember as a little kid always hoping the train would stop us in the middle of our trip while driving through downtown, and how it amazed me how many carts were attached to it. I have memories of my friends and I wanting to act like rebels and walking out along the tracks. I’ve never been on the train, waiting at the station, or even looked at how much it would cost for one to ride the train. But growing up in Lee’s Summit I think it’s easy for one to

I always wondered things like “How long has this been here?” and “Do people even ride the train anymore?”. Turns out the station was built in 1905 after the original wooden structure was burned down in 1903. Also, as much as it is a historical site to downtown Lee’s Summit, it still does business. The Missouri River Runner, the train that runs through the Lee’s Summit station, which travels from St. Louis to Kansas City twice daily, serves an average of about 29,000 riders a year. I never knew you could see the Amtrak run through Lee’s Summit so easily. Many may not know this, but the Amtrak runs all year round. One that lives in Lee’s Summit might ask “Do people even care about this place?”. Although the station is no longer staffed, the depot serves as the meeting place for the Chamber of Commerce and the Lee’s Summit Historical Society which are both very important to our town.

The Lee’s Summit Amtrak station might not serve as big as a purpose as it did years ago, but it still serves passengers and shows off a large part of history to the city of Lee’s Summit. I learned that even a city that isn’t that big like Lee’s Summit takes years to build up and certain buildings, signs, streets, etc. can be traced back to the very beginning of its upcoming. I also learned that my city I live in values and takes care of it’s