King City, MO

King City lies in southwest Gentry County, Missouri, on U.S. Route 169 just north of the Gentry–DeKalb county line. John Pittsenbarger was the first European settler, arriving with a tent in 1856. He applied to call the place Petersburg, but that name was already in use elsewhere in Missouri, so the town eventually became King City. Local accounts differ over whether the name honored postmaster general Horatio King or a local Rufus King. The 2020 census counted 799 residents.

For much of the twentieth century, King City sat at the center of a Kentucky bluegrass seed region stretching across northwestern Missouri. Resident John Weller became known as the “King of Blue Grass Raisers,” a nickname that gives the agricultural economy a distinctly local character. The Big Pump, a large historic oil pump now displayed at the Tri-County Museum, adds an unexpected roadside landmark on the highway. King City R-1 schools include elementary and secondary grades, keeping the town’s civic life close to its farm and highway setting. It is a small place with a big agricultural nickname and a memorable pump beside Route 169.