Argentine is a community of Kansas City, Kansas, located in the southern part of Wyandotte County. It is bordered on the west by the Turner community, on the east by the Rosedale community, on the south by Johnson County, and on the north by Armourdale community and by the Kansas River.
Argentine was primarily recognized for the prosperous silver smeltery for which it was named.[1] Built on the site of a former Shawnee reservation, the proximity of the railroad, local lumber sources, the smeltery, and in later years, steel manufacturing, meant that the city enjoyed a considerable amount of economic success for quite some time.
When the smeltery finally closed, the city found itself in the throes of an unprecedented financial crisis and began to seek entry to nearby Kansas City in 1907. Although the community was annexed and became the seventh ward of Kansas City, Kansas in 1910, the neighborhood retains its own distinct flavor and personality.
Prominent nearby landmarks include Argentine Carnegie Library (the last Carnegie library in the Kansas City metropolitan area), the grave of Tecumseh's brother, the Shawnee prophet Tensquatawa at White Feather Spring, Sauer Castle at 945 Shawnee Road, and the Argentine mural located at 30th Street and Metropolitan Avenue.
The neighborhood is the location of one of three rail yards on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the Argentine Yard.[2]