A post card mailed in 1911, titled “Rounding the Stake, Blue River, Kansas City, Mo.,” pictures canoe racers with oars poised for action. The Guinotte boathouse and dock are pictured on the right side of the post card. Property on the opposite bank of the river was owned by a local group called the Camp and Paddle Club. Races usually started upstream and returned downstream, where the finish could be observed by spectators on the bridge and Guinotte boat house dock. The bridge is an old iron bridge which crossed the river at 15th Street (now Truman Road). The Blue River was a popular place in Kansas City during the summer for camping, swimming, and boating. Man-made lakes such as Lake Tapawingo and Lotawana had not yet been built and many summer cabins were available for sale or rent along the banks. The river channel was widened and improved for boating by the erection of the Guinotte dam just north of 15th Street in 1925. The Guinottes gave land needed on the east bank and the American Asphalt Company gave ground on the west bank. Ernest E. Howard, nationally known Kansas City engineer, designed the dam. It was named in honor of Jules Edgar Guinotte, probate court judge here 48 years. Kansas City Star, 24 August 1974
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