Kansas City, despite its name, is located on the western edge of Missouri state, on the bank of the Missouri River (a much smaller town, also called Kansas City, is found on the other side of the River in Kansas state). The town was founded in 1839 at the point where the Kansas River flows into the Missouri. It became the starting point of the three overland routes leading westward towards California and Oregon: the Santa Fe Trail, the California Trail and the Oregon Trail. After 1869, it was also a key railroad junction too. It received the name Kansas City in 1889.