Sitting among the bluffs of the Missouri River is the quaint little city of Weston. Now the streets are always bustling with tourists and shoppers making their way to shops such as the Celtic Ranch and the Bella Company. What a lot of people do not know is that the town of Weston has ties to the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody and descendants of Daniel Boone, and was once a major river port that supplied Fort Leavenworth.
Although business is booming in Weston it was not always the case. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 made Missouri into a slave state which fueled years of conflicts between the planters of Missouri that had mostly come from the South, and the abolitionists from Kansas. It was not until the Civil War that the slave-based economy in Weston was ended and that nearly tore the town apart.
Slavery and war were only a few of the problems Weston residents had to endure. In 1855 a fire spread through the downtown business district nearly destroying it completely. A cholera epidemic came into town killing hundreds of residents and in 1858, the port was destroyed in a flood which affected trade for months afterward. But the worst was in 1881 when the Missouri River dealt a death blow to the town by changing into an old channel that was away from the town, thus ending Weston’s days as a port city.
Weston is once again booming as a popular tourist destination in Platte County in northwest Missouri. Festivals are held throughout the year, such as Apple Fest and Irish Fest and most weekends find the town flooded with visitors. Small shops adorn the main street, most still in the buildings built in the 1800s. Antebellum houses can be found throughout the town adding to the historical look and feel of Weston.
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