Belton, MO
Belton sits south of Grandview and the Jackson County line, on Route 58 just west of I-49 and US-71 and close to the Kansas border. Raymore is the next city east, and Peculiar lies south-east down US-71. Platted in 1871, it was probably named for surveyor Capt. Marcus Lindsey Belt. On the interstate, give the direction of travel and the mile marker; in town, give the Route 58 cross street.
Raymore, MO
Raymore, east of Belton and north of Peculiar, joins the surnames of two railroad men, George Rea and Henry Moore, in its name. Route 58 runs past city hall on Municipal Circle, and the Watkins Family Farm Historic District is on the National Register. The city has grown quickly and shares the Raymore-Peculiar school district with its neighbor to the south.
Pleasant Hill, MO
Pleasant Hill sits where Route 7 meets Route 58 in the north-east of the county and reaches into Jackson County, with Lee's Summit to the north-west and Harrisonville to the south. After the Civil War the town center moved down the hill to the Pacific Railroad, leaving the ridge-top Old Town, and that rail line is now the western end of the Rock Island Trail State Park. Big Creek runs along the west side, and the National Weather Service's Kansas City office is here.
Peculiar, MO
Peculiar lies right beside I-49 and US-71, south of Raymore and south-east of Belton. One story says its first postmaster, after several names were rejected, asked for something "sort of peculiar". Old Peculiar is a short way east on the East Fork East Branch South Grand River. On the interstate, lead with the direction you are heading and the last exit you passed.
Lake Winnebago, MO
Two wards make up Lake Winnebago, and both wrap closely around the reservoir the city is named for in north-central Cass County. Route 291 runs south out of Lee's Summit into the city, and Raymore lies to the west. It began as a village in 1963 and became a fourth-class city in 1975. Name your street and the part of the shore you are nearest.
Loch Lloyd, MO
Loch Lloyd is a private, gated village on the Kansas line west of Belton, built around a lake on Mill Creek and the golf course of The Country Club at Loch Lloyd. It incorporated in 2003 rather than be annexed by Kansas City or Belton, and it shares Belton's 64012 ZIP code. Entry is controlled, so arrange access at the gate and give the village name, not just the ZIP.
Cleveland, MO
Cleveland lies in the west of the county, south of Belton and south-west of Peculiar. Thomas T. Maxwell platted it in 1890 as Maxwell, and it now carries President Grover Cleveland's name; the Midway R-I school district is based here. Give the road you are on and say whether Belton or Peculiar is the nearer town, because that decides the way in.
Strasburg, MO
Route 58 runs through Strasburg, a very small town in north-eastern Cass County, east of Pleasant Hill, with Kingsville in Johnson County the next town east on the same road. It started in the 1860s as Crawford's Fork and was renamed after Strasbourg. Crawford Creek, a Big Creek tributary, runs along its east side, and Big Creek itself passes to the south.
Riverview Estates, MO
The West Fork of East Creek runs through the eastern side of Riverview Estates, a tiny village in the north-west of the county, just south of Belton and north-west of Peculiar, in the Belton school district. Tell us the street and which bank of the creek you are on.