Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society

Portals to the Past

by David W. Jackson

Celebrate Westport's 175th anniversary

 

The next time you stroll through the Westport area of Kansas City and enjoy the night life, locally owned restaurants, or boutique shops, consider the 175 years of history that surrounds you. 

John Calvin McCoy—son of the Rev. Isaac McCoy, founder of the Shawnee Mission—made an investment in 1833 that he wished to capitalize upon. He built a two-story log building on the northeast corner of Westport Road and Pennsylvania to serve as a business structure and residence. The next year on April 4, 1834, McCoy was appointed U.S. Postmaster of “West Port.”

          Then, on February 7, 1835, McCoy filed a plat for 62 lots that became the nucleus of Westport, Missouri. Santa Fe…and later Oregon and California Trail…travelers outfitting in Independence 20 years thereafter, would have the opportunity to enjoy “civilized” society one last time before “jumping off” on their journey west. Remember, State Line up to 1854 was the western edge of the United States, and Westport was the farthest ‘western port’ of access to the frontier prairie.

          Westport became a thriving trading station. Traders following the two-way trail between Westport and Santa Fe, Mexico, exchanged fine goods, staple groceries, clothing, and blankets imported from Manchester, England, for Mexican silver ingots. And, the furs and buffalo robes of the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte, and other Native-American cultures were exchanged for goods supplied by European-American traders and mercantilists like McCoy and his contemporaries, Alexander Majors and Jim Bridger, who are memorialized today with a larger-than-life statue in Pioneer Park at the intersection of Westport Road and Broadway.

          McCoy’s next achievement was to convince Missouri River steamboats to continue upriver from Independence and anchor at a landing closer to Westport. This natural rock ledge, located at the base present-day Grand Avenue, allowed for the transport of supplies and settlers to the edge of the frontier..and much closer to McCoy’s Westport community.

          A settlement soon formed at the River’s edge, and “Westport Landing” soon became the new "Town of Kansas," which McCoy and other investors purchased and incorporated. This town eventually grew into a major metropolitan city…Kansas City.

          Westport was incorporated in 1837, when a special charter for the city was obtained.

          Thirty years later, the climax of the great attempt of the Confederacy to break the Union defense west of the Mississippi took place on October 21, 1864 with the Civil War Battle of Westport. The fighting began near present-day Forest Hill Cemetery and stretched through present-day Loose Park and into the area of the Country Club Plaza. Imagine 29,500 men in the engagement where 1,000 were killed, and several thousand were wounded. A new

Battle of Westport Museum is operated by volunteers in the main shelter at the entrance to Swope Park.

          The town was eventually incorporated as a fourth class city in 1881, and A. P. Warfield was elected mayor. However, within 15 years, Westport ended with its annexation into Kansas City. D. D. Drake’s term as Westport’s last mayor ended at 5 o’clock on December 2, 1897 (a challenge to the annexation was settled by the Missouri Supreme Court in 1899).

          On Saturday, October 25, 2008, plan to celebrate Westport’s 175th Anniversary. Some of the participating locations include: Pioneer Park; Harris-Kearney House; Duke Simpson’s Lot; Westport Public Library; Westport Presbyterian Church; Nathan Scarritt Home; and, Boone’s Trading Post. And don’t forget Kelly’s (formerly Albert Boone’s mercantile store), and Loose Park and the John B. Wornall House Museum, which are intimately connected with the Battle of Westport.

          Collaborators have planned a day long schedule of events that include a Santa Fe Trail dedication; covered wagon rides; guided walking tours; historical re-enactments (Shotgun Wedding; Reverend Johnson Speaks; Runaway Bride; Border War; Order No. 11); Missouri Town Band and “Bluegrass Missourians” performances; trading post with oxen, artisans and food; special exhibits and displays; and frontier arts and crafts workshop for children.

Plus, the film screening of “A Step Above the Plaza: Celebrating Westport’s African-American Community.”

For more information visit: www.westport175.com

 

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