Ask the editor Joe Giuliani, Editor[/caption]

Newcomers and natives of Fort Bend County alike might wonder what a suburb nestled against the city of Houston possibly has to do with a Great Plains state nearly 800 miles away.


The answer has to do with real estate. According to the Texas Historical Commission, two Houston-based Realtors bought up land in what is now Missouri City with plans to subdivide it and sell the individual parcels to migrants from around the country looking for opportunity and a warmer climate. The two real estate men—R.M. Cash and L.E. Luckel—advertised their offerings throughout the Midwest, most heavily targeting cities and towns in Missouri, according to the THC. However, it was another real estate mogul—W.R. McElroy—who coined the term, Missouri City, after he had followed Cash and Luckel’s lead and bought up land nearby.


In 2007, Missouri City leaders borrowed the state of Missouri’s nickname—the Show-Me state—and adopted as the city’s motto, “The Show-Me City.”