Olden Days

In 1803 Lewis and Clark passed through the area that would later be called Riverside. As Europeans moved west, many hunters and trappers were drawn to the area because of the abundant wildlife. By the middle of the 19th century, German immigrants began to immigrate to Missouri and Kansas. One such family of homesteaders, the Brenners, settled in the Line Creek Valley and on nearby "Brenner Ridge." The Brenners cleared land and became successful farmers of the rich bottomlands.

In 1849 the California gold rush began and Saint Louis, Independence, Westport and Saint Joseph became bustling preparation points for settlers and gold-seekers heading to California, earning Missouri the nickname "Gateway to the West." More and more pioneers discovered the verdant valleys and wooded bluffs of Riverside and decided to put down roots. Many of these family names can still be found on Riverside mailboxes and businesses even today: Burrichter, Filger, Groh, Hartman, Hasenjager, Huckett, Keller, Klamm, Leimkuehler, Linder, Miller, Pixley, Renner, Rogers, Russ and Spalding.

Because of the Missouri's strategic location linking the Northern and Southern states, many important Civil War battles occurred in Missouri. The Civil War hit the area hard with three recorded “bushwhacker” raids. However, only one family moved permanently from the area.

First Visitors, First Residents

It's not clear when the first Europeans came to what is now Riverside. The area was almost certainly used by early hunters and trappers. These included well-known French "runners of the wood" who traded with contemporary Native American tribes, such as the Osage and Kansas tribes. The first recorded visit by European Americans was the Lewis and Clark Expedition which passed along the nearby Missouri River. These two explorers sent by President Thomas Jefferson even mentioned Line Creek in their journals, referring to it as "teaming with wildlife". Today, Vivion Road is designated as part of the national Lewis and Clark Trail.
The first permanent settlers came in 1843. Henry and Susanna Brenner, along with their seven children, became the first family to make the area their home. They took up residence above the river's high mark, selecting a location well up Line Creek near modern Homestead Road, (the road is named to commemorate these early pioneers). One story disputes Henry Brenner as the original pioneer and relates that it was his younger brother Peter Brenner who actually came to the area first.

War was on the horizon in Germany and the Brenner family had long considered moving to America. Peter was sent on a "scouting" expedition from the family homeland in Germany's Rhine Valley. After passing through the Riverside area, he wrote of its excellent prospects and basically said, "It looks like home. Come on over!" W.M. Paxton, the famous chronicler of early Platte County, depicted the area as originally being covered with dense forest; a contrast to the more open savannah and prairie to the north. Describing Peter Brenner's life upon his death in 1894, Paxton noted the tremendous work that was needed to clear the land was well rewarded. "Year by year he faithfully labored and cleared the land until he had one of the prettiest and cleanest farms in Platte County."

Following the arrival and success of the early Brenner clan, other families began settling in the area. Many of these family names are still important in the region: Burrichter, Filger, Groh, Hartman, Hasenjager, Huckett, Keller, Klamm, Leimkuehler, Linder, Miller, Pixley, Renner, Rogers, Russ and Spalding. Most of these early families relied on farming (some opened shops) as their first and most important livelihood. The rich soil, nearby water and other advantages soon made the area successful. Roads soon began connecting the area's increasing stores and farms. These early residents traded goods with Parkville and the City of Kansas - today's Kansas City.

Peter Brenner became known as "The Wheat King of Platte County." Well into the 20th Century, many residents of what became Riverside based their living on raising produce to be sold at Kansas City's City Market or at other area locations. At that time, people referred to modern day Riverside as "East of Parkville." When the Brenner Ridge School was built, the area became known as "Brenner Ridge." It adopted the name "Riverside" much later - after many area businesses and locations used the name "Riverside" in their store name - including the popular Riverside Park.

Civil War

The American Civil War was difficult for this part of Missouri, and Riverside experienced violence. In fact, the region may have suffered from added attention from pro-Confederate "bushwhackers" because of the presence of so many German-American families. ("Bushwhacker" was the name generally given to forces hiding in the woods or "bush" and conducting guerrilla warfare). Across Missouri, many German-Americans had sided strongly with the Union, making life difficult for German descendants in locations where guerrilla warfare was active.

On at least three occasions during the war, Riverside experienced raids by bushwhackers. The Kansas Redlegs and Jayhawkers were pro-Union forces who sometimes utilized bushwhacker tactics while William Quantrell was an effective and well-known Pro-Southern commander. Residents were often caught in the middle, no matter which side they actually supported.

Neighbors attempted to warn each other of pending attacks. Once confronted by a force, who often wore no identifying uniform, potential victims might talk their way out of attacks by offering food or other temporary help. However, the German-American residents often found that their only defense was to barricade their fences and doors and hide their valuables in a safe place.
In Riverside, the Renner family all experienced raids. These men were members of the pro-Union Enrolled Missouri Militia, which may explain why they were targeted for visits by the pro-Confederate bushwhackers. At the time, the Brenners were living in a log cabin where Plantation and Line Creek Apartments are located today. They spoke very little English. Peter and his son John were in the front room of their log cabin when suddenly they heard gunshots outside. Peter quickly hid his good Kentucky musket in the closet and put John Peter's old rifle under the bed. He knew that the bushwhackers would expect at least one weapon in the house and hoped they would find the older rifle and be satisfied. A good rifle like the Kentucky was expensive and hard to come by. Meanwhile, the men at the door were yelling, demanding to be admitted and given guns. Peter let them in and pointed under the bed where they found the old rifle. They seemed satisfied and left, taking food on their way.

Peter's brother John lived not far away in another log cabin. His warning of an attack came with the barking of the family dogs. John looked out and saw men tearing down his fence. He drew his revolver to fire but was stopped by his wife, Elizabeth. The men threatened to kill John if he didn't open the door. When he opened it, the men shoved gun barrels in his face and crowded him back into the corner, demanding money. All he had was a silver quarter. The men ransacked the house then left with his revolver and a rifle. The bushwhackers then rode south to the Renner home, now the site of the Windemere rest home at Vivion and West Platte Roads.

One of the Renner brothers was upstairs when he saw a bushwhacker come into the house. The man headed for the stairs, but before the man reached the top step, Renner fatally shot him. The other bushwhackers panicked and fled, leaving the weapons they had taken from John Brenner's home. The next morning Elizabeth went to the Renner home and saw her husband's rifle lying outside. She went in and found several women weeping over a man's body. Around the man was her husband's holster and revolver. Shaken with fright, Elizabeth explained to the women that the guns had been taken from her and her husband. She retrieved them and ran for home. On the way, she hid both the revolver and rifle in a fence corner where they remained for months. 

Early Days

The early days of Riverside heralded a hard way of life. Basic services, such as electricity, did not exist. Line Creek, a dominant feature of the area in many ways, was useful for summer food storage. "Ice houses" were a major method for preserving food well into the 20th century. In winter in the Riverside area, Line Creek supplied most of the ice. To harvest ice, wagons had to have an easy access to the creek. Settlers chose easy access cutting sites along the creek and prepared them by widening or deepening the creek bed. The ice was measured and tested, then cut into blocks. They were removed and loaded with large ice grips and driven to the waiting icehouse. Many icehouses were built underground with walls and floors of rock for maximum protection. Nails were rarely used on icehouses. Instead, tight fitting boards were held together with wooden pegs. Sometimes a building was built on top for other uses or storage of sawdust. Sawdust was packed between the ice blocks then the whole thing covered for summer. One ice-cutting location for many years was approximately 90 yards north of the Vivion Road Bridge where the creek makes a sharp bend.

One of the first recorded "Great Floods" by the Missouri River inundated much of the area in 1844. One response was the formation of St. Matthew's Church. Housed in a log building on Brenner Ridge, the congregation was first named the German Evangelical Church. The area's first school classes were held in the building before permanent facilities were built.

St. Matthews Church

The oldest structure still standing in Riverside, St. Matthew's Evangelical Church, is also one of the most distinguished historical landmarks in southern Platte County; it is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The church was originally a log cabin built in 1844, in the area originally known as "East of Parkville" (later called Brenner Ridge).

St. Matthew's was first known as the "German Evangelical Church". In 1851 it was renamed "St. Peter's Evangelical Church" and later the name became "St. Matthew's." The church was organized in 1844 by the Rev. Conrad Heckmann, a Presbyterian minister, and a small group of German and English pioneers of Platte and Clay counties. Rev. Heckmann was born in Bissendorf, Germany, and educated in Holland, before coming to America.

The founding of St. Matthew's was born from tragedy. During the great flood of June 1844, the Missouri River spread from bluff to bluff, covering even the highest ground in the valley. When the water finally receded and the people viewed the devastation of their homes and crops, they realized their own inability to deal with tragedy and the community's needs and decided to establish a church. Charter members of the church were Adam Renner; Henry Burrichter; Fred and Henry Hartman; Valentine Filger; Henry, Peter and Daniel Groh; John and Simon Klamm; and Jacob Russ. These men and their wives and children formed the core of this early congregation.

In 1851, the members asked the Evangelical Synod of North America for a minister. In 1865 the congregation was admitted to the Evangelical Synod of North America and named "St. Matthew's Evangelical Church". The exact date for construction of the first buildings at the church site are unknown. A log church, a parsonage and a parochial school all were constructed toward the top of the hill during this early period. A larger church building was constructed in 1877. This 1877 building formed the basis of the present church structure. The original parsonage burned in 1886, but was rebuilt next to the church the same year. The church was a one-room frame building with clapboard siding and a high gable shake shingle roof. Although there have been many additions and renovations in the intervening years, the congregation still worships in this century-old structure.

About 1913, the east portion of the present church was extended to form the present chancel. The partial basement under the chancel area housed a coal furnace, replacing a wood stove in the sanctuary. Access to the basement was through a small building placed at the back of the church. The present tower and main entrance were added in 1917. A large stained-glass window installed at a later date now marks the original double-door entrance. The church building was enlarged in 1928 and 1929 with the addition of the south hall and basement. Worship services had been in German since the church was founded but in 1917 (due to anti-German sentiment from WWI), the congregation gave up the language of their forefathers and held services in English.

The bell tower at the church was silent for several years, so The Young People's League raised money to give it a voice. In 1918, fund raising efforts bought a bell, which was installed in the tower for a 30-day trial. It must have been satisfactory because the January 1921 records show "Payment for bell - $228.59." The bell quickly took on meaning to the community. When St. Matthew's bell rang out over the countryside, people for miles around would stop whatever they were doing and listen. The bell's song could be heard for quite a distance. It rang slowly at funerals, once for each year of the deceased's life.

However, the 750-pound bell did cause some unforeseen problems. In 1924, the League paid Dan Klamm $90.79 for material and labor to repair the bell tower. In 1923 a "light fund" was underway to replace the gas lamp fixtures the church's League installed four years earlier. In addition to stage plays, money was raised through ice cream socials, fruit socials and pound socials. In 1924, the League underwrote electrical wiring and fixtures for the church and parsonage to the tune of $189.05.

The Women's Union (originally the Ladies Aid, later called the Women's Guild and now the Women's Fellowship) was active in these early years. Their early benevolences included orphans, German children, the New Eden Building, the old Ministers' Home in Blue Springs, Mercy and Deaconess Hospitals, and numerous poor local families. The ladies financed a good portion of the church budget as well as modernization of the church properties. Their annual bazaar was always a moneymaker, but their biggest source of income was the dinners they prepared for farm sales all over the area. The meals they cooked at the frequent John Deere Plow Co. demonstrations – often for as many as 500 people – earned them the reputation of being the finest cooks in the county. The church League's plays were very successful, and they were taken "on the road" to North Kansas City, Parkville and even Lexington. So when Fellowship Hall and basement were constructed in 1928-1929, a stage complete with footlights was included in the plans.

The windows from the razed outer walls of the sanctuary were used in the new outer wall of Fellowship Hall. The unusual architectural features over the folding doors, which separate the two rooms, mark the locations of the original sanctuary windows. During the next decade, the congregation struggled to pay off the debts incurred by that ambitious building program. In 1934, when the Evangelical Synod of North America merged with the Reformed Church in America, the little church on the hill became "St. Matthew's Evangelical and Reformed Church." Stained glass windows for the sanctuary were dedicated in June 1943. In 1944, the Hundredth Anniversary Committee chose the installation of new pews as an anniversary project. Sometime in the mid-1940s, the architecture in the front of the church changed. The opening to the chancel had formerly matched the stage opening in Fellowship Hall. It was oblong with dark wine draperies surrounding the opening. Lloyd Brenner undertook the making of the arch and drew up the plans for it. In 1947 the men of the church excavated the basement under the sanctuary. During the next two years, the women had plumbing installed, purchased a gas stove for the kitchen, had cupboards built, bought folding tables for the new dining room, bought dinnerware, had linoleum laid and equipped the kitchen.

A new parsonage was built in 1951. The old parsonage was razed to permit the expansion of the parking area. In 1957 the church name was changed again, to "St. Matthew's United Church of Christ," although it returned to "St. Matthew's Evangelical Church" in 2009. Around 1964 a used Baldwin organ was purchased. In 1967 a carillon was installed, replacing the bell. In April 1980 a new Allen Electronic organ was purchased. The basement was redecorated in 1983. In the mid-1980s, the lovely old Gulbransen baby grand piano in the church was refinished and tuned. This piano had been given to the church by Louiza Truskey Brenner.

When the carillon was installed in the bell tower in 1967, David Todd purchased the bell. He took it to Weatherby Lake, where it was used to warn boaters of approaching storms and call the community together in times of emergency. After Mr. Todd's death, the bell's voice fell silent. It was moved to a side lawn of the City Hall of Weatherby. In November 1983 Richard Brenner purchased the bell and donated it to the church to be placed in a tower on cemetery grounds adjacent to the church— in time for the church's 140th anniversary. There it remains to remind future generations of what St. Matthew's Evangelical Church has represented to past generations. The bell was rededicated Oct. 21, 1984.

Cemeteries

Riverside has 3 cemeteries with gravestones that date back to 1857. The first was connected with St. Matthew's Church and was called, appropriately, St. Matthews Cemetery. There is also a family cemetery, the John and Elizabeth Brenner Cemetery, and the newest, East Slope. Until 1965 the St. Matthews Cemetery was under the direction of an elected board of directors; it is now maintained by St. Matthew's Church Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund, Inc. 

Schools

During the history of Riverside, there were three early schools that helped educate the area's young people. Boydston School was located on the north side of what is now I-29 and Northwood Road. Brenner Ridge School was across from Eagle Animal Hospital (Florence and Gateway). It later became a grocery store and a home, before being removed. But for many, "the" school was in a little frame building called Lakeside School where Miss Leila Keller, the first teacher, taught from 1921-1924. Some of the first classes held in Riverside actually took place in St. Matthew's Church. In the early years of the church, there was not a school in the community and the Sunday school class was used for secular education. Other schooling took place in a log home near the Brenner cemetery.

Lakeside School was the oldest school in the area. It was built before 1880 near the industrial area south of 9 Highway and Vandepopuliere. Originally serving as Riverside's first grocery, it later became the schoolhouse and was eventually razed in the 1950s. Because of its time and place, Lakeside left many memories. For years, students with last names such as Haeutter, Brenner, Renner and Linder were taught by teachers like Lelia and Amelia Keller.

Later, a small summer cottage, located north of the John and Elizabeth Brenner Memorial Cemetery, was purchased by the school board and rented out. In 1920, this school seceded from the Lakeside district. The cottage was rented for three years and called East Lakeside. It was a one-room school with a stove in the center. Grades first through fourth were taught here. In 1924, bonds were voted for the construction of another school. East Lakeside eventually became a grocery. All traces of the building are now gone.

Many Riverside residents also remember Brenner Ridge School, once located where El Chaparral Apartments are today. Initially constructed as a two-room school, it was attended by students living from Northmoor to Northwood Road. The memory of those early one- and two-room schools still lingers. In an earlier interview, Mrs. Keller recalled scenes at Lakeside that are straight from a Norman Rockwell painting. "The school had double desks with ink wells," she said. "Some boys liked to dip the girls' ponytails in them. There was a heating stove in the middle of the room and a 12-inch platform in front so the teacher could keep an eye on things. Reading, writing, arithmetic, penmanship and geography were among some of the subjects taught to all grades.

Schoolbooks were handed down from family to family until they fell apart. Older boys usually could only attend two to three months during the winter when the weather was too bad to farm." Students walked three to five miles to school with books and sack lunches for the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. school days. Other days the school was used as a community center by Park College for Sunday school. The school had two later additions, including modern plumbing in the 1950s. Throughout this period, most high school students from the area attended North Kansas City High School. This continued until the formation of the Park Hill District in the 1950s. Also during this time, the Brenner Ridge School became a school for exceptional children. In 1923 the Lakeside District had split again. A new school was built and called Brenner Ridge.

After the Park Hill District was organized, all three schools were eventually demolished as part of consolidation. The biggest school news in the late 1990s was when Park Hill South High School was completed in west Riverside. This modern facility near I-635 is the second high school in the Park Hill District and provides a significant new focus for the Riverside community. The city and individual residents have responded with support for programs such as the school's Renaissance project and funding of symphony performances.

Brenner Home

The historic Brenner home at 2020 NW Platte Road commands a prominent knoll overlooking Highway 9 and the Missouri River. The house, originally painted white with bright red trim, includes a cellar with the hand print of its builder, Albert J. Brenner. The original three-room house, built in November 1899, is currently the oldest residential home in the Riverside area. The home was enlarged to nine rooms in 1909 to accommodate the Brenner's growing family of eight children. At that time, this home was considered the most modern of homes with its gaslights, furnace, water and indoor plumbing. Brenner dug two wells that pumped water up a very steep hill into a large reservoir system that supplied water for the home and a water hydrant for the barn. 

Brenner made his livelihood farming the 60 acres surrounding the home. The soil was considered by many as unfavorable for crops to grow, but Brenner produced great quantities of grapes, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. He also had a large orchard of pear, apple and cherry trees. He was known as the "Pole Bean King Farmer" because he planted at least 10 acres of pole beans. During the harvest of fruits and vegetables, up to 200 pickers helped prepare the goods for sale at the city market.

Bells

Riverside has several strong ties to bells. From 1920 to 1964, the old bell at St. Matthew's Evangelical Church (NALC) could be heard for miles as it rang for church gatherings. "It was like a memorial to hear that bell ring," recalled Richard Brenner. "During funerals, the bell would ring once for each year of the deceased's age." The church bell was dedicated in 1920 and was located in the tower until 1964 when it was replaced by an electronic carillon. After passing through several owners, Richard Brenner purchased the bell in November of 1983 and restored it to the church grounds in time for the church's 140th anniversary. 

It rests in a tower on cemetery grounds adjacent to the church. There it remains to remind future generations of what St. Matthew's Evangelical Church (NALC) has represented to past generations. The bell was rededicated Oct. 21, 1984. E.H. Young, the late owner of Red-X, was also a bell lover. The longtime business and community leader collected hundreds of unique bells. Some are visible in his business, but others are kept in a private collection. One of his bells hangs in a bell tower at the E.H. Young Riverfront Park. With the park's beautiful brick Riverwalk, the Bell Tower ensures E. H. Young Riverfront Park will continue as one of the most attractive in the region.