After the War of 1812, a community slowly assembled around Fort Osage. In 1836, Archibald Gamble officially platted the Town of Sibley. Gamble, the brother-in-law of the Fort Osage factor George Sibley, named the town after Sibley. Using the Fort Osage landing and planning on ferry operations, Gamble and Sibley envisioned a town made prosperous from river trade, steamboat outfitting, and providing goods and service for overland trail travelers. The town did experience a modest amount of prosperity in the late 1830s and early 1840s.
Sibley never grew into more than a small village as the economic center of Jackson County was Independence. Sibley also suffered from a series of tragic events. In 1844, a severe flood destroyed many of the businesses located at the base of the bluff. The town was also virtually destroyed by Union forces in June 1863, as Sibley was a refuge for Confederate guerillas during the Civil War. A serious fire in 1878 and a tornado in 1880 again damaged much of the town. In 1887, the Santa Fe railroad crossed the Missouri River at Sibley, and the business center and most of the residents moved about a half-mile to the south around the railroad depot. This part of town is often called “New Sibley.”