I stumbled upon something interesting. Riverside has a nice long write up on the history of Platte County's southernmost burg here. Here some cut and paste plagiarized excerpts:
The first permanent settlers came in 1843. Henry and Susanna Brenner, along with their seven children, became the first family to make the area their home. They took up residence above the river's high mark, selecting a location well up Line Creek near modern Homestead Road, (the road is named to commemorate these early pioneers). One story disputes Henry Brenner as the original pioneer and relates that it was his younger brother Peter Brenner who actually came to the area first.
Peter Brenner became known as "The Wheat King of Platte County." Well into the 20th Century, many residents of what became Riverside based their living on raising produce to be sold at Kansas City's City Market or at other area locations. At that time, people referred to modern day Riverside as "East of Parkville." When the Brenner Ridge School was built, the area became known as "Brenner Ridge." It adopted the name "Riverside" much later - after many area businesses and locations used the name "Riverside" in their store name - including the popular Riverside Park.
The early days of Riverside heralded a hard way of life. Basic services, such as electricity, did not exist. Line Creek, a dominant feature of the area in many ways, was useful for summer food storage. "Ice houses" were a major method for preserving food well into the 20th century. In winter in the Riverside area, Line Creek supplied most of the ice. To harvest ice, wagons had to have an easy access to the creek. Settlers chose easy access cutting sites along the creek and prepared them by widening or deepening the creek bed. The ice was measured and tested, then cut into blocks. They were removed and loaded with large ice grips and driven to the waiting icehouse. Many icehouses were built underground with walls and floors of rock for maximum protection. Nails were rarely used on icehouses. Instead, tight fitting boards were held together with wooden pegs. Sometimes a building was built on top for other uses or storage of sawdust. Sawdust was packed between the ice blocks then the whole thing covered for summer. One ice-cutting location for many years was approximately 90 yards north of the Vivion Road Bridge where the creek makes a sharp bend.
The oldest structure still standing in Riverside, St. Matthew's Evangelical Church, is also one of the most distinguished historical landmarks in southern Platte County; it is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The church was originally a log cabin built in 1844, in the area originally known as "East of Parkville" (later called Brenner Ridge).
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