Hog Branch

Homer Township is one of twenty-four townships in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 449.

The Marais des Cygnes massacre (, also ) is considered the last significant act of violence in Bleeding Kansas prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War. On May 19, 1858, approximately 30 men led by Charles Hamilton, a Georgia native and proslavery leader, crossed into the Kansas Territory from Missouri. They arrived at Trading Post, Kansas, in the morning and then headed back to Missouri. Along the way, they captured 11 Free-Staters, none of whom were armed and, it is said, none of whom had participated in the ongoing violence. Most of the men knew Hamilton and apparently did not realize he meant them harm. These prisoners were led into a defile, where Hamilton ordered his men to shoot, firing the first and last bullet himself. Five men were killed and five severely wounded. Only one Free-Stater escaped injury.Hamilton and his gang returned to Missouri. Only one man was ever prosecuted for his involvement in the massacre: William Griffith of Bates County, Missouri. In the spring of 1863, Griffith was recognized and arrested. That October, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Griffith was hanged on October 30, 1863. Charles Hamilton returned to Georgia, where he died in 1880. The incident horrified the U.S. and inspired John Greenleaf Whittier to write a poem on the murders, "Le Marais du Cygne", which appeared in the September 1858 The Atlantic Monthly.

The Marais des Cygnes Massacre Site, also known as Marais des Cygnes Massacre Memorial Park, is a state historic site near Trading Post, Kansas that commemorates the 1858 massacre of the same name. On May 19, 1858, during a period of political instability and sporadic violence known as Bleeding Kansas, a group of pro-slavery border ruffians captured 11 abolitionist free-staters. The prisoners were forced to a nearby ravine, where 10 of them were shot, resulting in five fatalities. The abolitionist John Brown later built a fort near the site. The first commemoration at the site was two stone markers erected by men of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment in 1864, although these monuments had been destroyed by souvenir hunters by 1895. In 1941, the land where the massacre occurred, as well as an 1870s-era house constructed by a friend of Brown, were transferred to the state of Kansas. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974. The Kansas Historical Society administers the site, which is interpreted by signage and a hand-cranked audio recording.

West Point Township is one of twenty-four townships in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 573.West Point Township took its name from the community of West Point, which is now considered a ghost town.

Amsterdam is a city in western Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 242 at the 2010 census.

Vinton is an extinct town in Bates County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.A post office called Vinton was established in 1871, and remained in operation until 1904. The community was named after the local Vinton family.

Plum Branch is a stream in Bates County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of Miami Creek. Plum Branch was so named on account of the plum trees in the area.

West Boone Township is one of twenty-four townships in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 582.West Boone Township derives its name from the pioneer Daniel Boone.

Merwin is a village in Bates County, Missouri, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 69 at the 2020 census.

Linn Valley is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 956.

Jingo is an unincorporated community in Miami County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

La Cygne (pronounced lay SEEN) is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Marais des Cygnes River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,050. The city is named after the Marais des Cygnes River which is a French translation of an Osage appellation meaning "marsh of the swans".