Sedalia, originally named Sedville, grew from George R. Smith's plan for a railroad hub on land he purchased after the Pacific Railroad line was not routed through Georgetown, with the town platted in October 1860 and the first train arriving on January 17, 1861. Named for Smith's daughter Sarah "Sed," Sedalia reached 300 residents by December 1861, survived an early Civil War halt in railroad construction, and then expanded as rail work resumed in 1864, its first newspaper appeared, and it became Pettis County seat in 1865. A brickyard opened in 1866, gas lighting reached some homes and businesses in 1868, and George R. Smith's rail vision advanced when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway began construction from Sedalia to Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1870, following an earlier but interrupted effort by his Tebo and Neosho Railroad. By 1873, Sedalia was linked by rail to Kansas, the Indian Territory, Denison, Texas, and the eastern United States, and its economy was strongly shaped by railroads and large machine shops. The Missouri Pacific and Katy railroads remained central into the 20th century, with Katy headquarters, hospital, and shops in town, and a grand depot designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert opening on May 10, 1896. Around that same time Scott Joplin studied at George R. Smith College for Negroes, performed in local clubs, and in 1897 composed the Maple Leaf Rag before moving to St. Louis in 1901. The Missouri State Fair, created in 1899, moved to Sedalia in 1901 and became a yearly event except for two years during World War II, combining agricultural competition with entertainment and introducing many Missourians to new technologies such as tractors, automobiles, and airplanes. Railroads continued to matter through both world wars, employing 2,500 men during World War I, but the Katy declined after World War II, closing its shops in 1957 and demolishing them in 1962. That year the depot was rented by the Boeing Company for work connected to Minuteman missile complexes near Whiteman Air Force Base; Boeing left in 1966, the Katy abandoned the depot in 1983, and the building stood empty for 18 years after later gaining National Register recognition in 1979. An agreement in 1987 began public acquisition of the MKT corridor and depots, renovation of the Sedalia depot ran from 1998 to 2001, and the former rail line became part of Katy Trail State Park, preserving the route and the lasting place of railroads in Sedalia's history.