1804Government
The area that became the European-American city of Sedalia was founded by General George Rappeen Smith (1804–1879), who also founded nearby Smithton, Missouri.
1856Government
Here is another account:
In 1856 General Smith bought the land upon which Sedalia now stands, and founded the city.
1857History
He filed plans for the official record on November 30, 1857, and gave the area the name Sedville.
1858History
Robbins (1858–1918) in 1883.
1860Government
Until the city was incorporated in 1860 as Sedalia, it had existed only "on paper" from November 30, 1857, to October 16, 1860.
1861Infrastructure
=== Railhead ===
Following a victory for those proposing the "ridge route" for the railway over those advocating the "river route", the railway reached Sedalia in January 1861.
1864Military
On October 15, 1864, Shelby's Confederate cavalry brigade surrounded the Union post of Sedalia.
1865Military
Sedalia was made a military post early in the war and remained such until its close in 1865.
1866Infrastructure
Sedalia was an important railhead for the massive Texas cattle drive of 1866.
1881Government
The Sedalia Business College and Institute of Penmanship was founded in 1881.
1894Education
Smith College, a historically black college (HBCU), operated from 1894 until it burned down on April 26, 1925.
1899History
The Board of Trustees received word of the $50,000 grant in the fall of 1899.
1900History
By 1900 its population of more than 15,000 made it the sixth-largest city in the state.
1901Architecture
The building was completed in July 1901.
1937History
Murray, 1937), the first Boy Scout Troop in Missouri (and one of the first in the nation) was formed in Sedalia in 1909, a year before the national organization was officially c...
1941Military
Whiteman, an Army Air Corps pilot who was killed during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
1959History
=== Television ===
The classic, long running Western series Rawhide, which ran on CBS from 1959 to 1966, featured Sedalia as a destination for cattle drives.
1960Infrastructure
In the late 20th century, structural changes in the railroads meant the loss of many industrial jobs, but the city has held on to a population close to its 1960 peak while devel...
1964History
They had been sited there since activation in early 1964 of the first Minuteman missiles under the control of the 351st Missile Wing located at Whiteman Air Force Base.
1965Architecture
Sedalia is home to the nation's first sheltered workshop, which opened in 1965.
1974Culture
In 1974, the Missouri State Fairgrounds was the site of the Ozark Music Festival, one of the largest but least remembered major music festivals of the 1970s.
1977History
Sedalia was featured in two widely seen 1977 films: Heroes, starring Henry Winkler and Harrison Ford; and the made-for-TV movie Scott Joplin, starring Billy Dee Williams.
1983History
In the American television movie The Day After (1983), aired by ABC, Sedalia is destroyed when the Soviet Union attacks the Minuteman II Missile silos around the area.
1992History
Concern remained high until all the missiles were dismantled between 1992 and 1997 as a result of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and Russia.
2000History
=== 2000 census ===
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,339 people in the city, organized into 8,628 households and 5,228 families.
2008Culture
Imhauser, a member of the Board of the Liberty Center Arts Association, created the show in 2008, basing it on her own knowledge, extensive research of Sedalia's history and fro...
2009History
It was shown again in December 2009 with an improved script and a slightly altered cast.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 21,387 people, 8,850 households, and 5,226 families residing in the city.
2016History
The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $42,152 (with a margin of error of +/- $2,806) and the median family income wa...
2020History
=== 2020 census ===
The 2020 United States census counted 21,725 people, 8,750 households, and 5,056 families in Sedalia.
2021Disaster
=== Tornadoes ===
On October 24, 2021, a EF0 tornado touched down east of Sedalia.