Westport High School - Herald Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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a, however, no provis- nes, Arap- Catlng and ever out of chibited by soN, '15, if jackson itil 1840 it the West. avid Ward County to Jn County. sixty acres, inal report 7. George C. Owens, ngton, and ll the lots. , 1827, the 2 cash pay- le General 31, and fif- forty acres lse and jail possible. is and the 1. In 1831 Lnding was away. The the moun- rom Pitts- carried by re landed, long eight THE WESTPGRT HIGH SCHGGL HERALD. 23 hundred mile trip to Santa Fe. The trade prospered from the first, and a custom ho-use was erected. Several people engaged in the manufacture of wagons and harness. From 1831 to 1834 the Mormon troubles interfered with the prosperity of the town, but it was not long until the Baptists, Meth- odists, and Presbyterians organized churches. A number of lodges were organized in 1846. The business of Independence suffered a severe blow when the flood of 1844 washed away the landing at Wayne City. As late as 1850 mails were dispatched from Indepen- dence to Santa Fe and Salt Lake. Independence was the scene of several con- flicts during the Civil War. It was raided by the Union cavalry in 1861, and was occupied by Confederate troopers in 1862. In 1867 churches were rebuilt and schools reestablished. Soon after this some of the courts were removed to Kansas City, which materially checked the growth of the town. The town prospered even in spite of this, and to-day has a population of 13,000. CORA BENsoN, '15. Mi--.i,l..li WEST PORT The early settlers saw that the junction of the Kaw and Missouri rivers would make a fine place for a settlement. They knew from the natural advantages that it would be the gateway to the VVest. They did not stop ex- actly at the junction of the two rivers, how- ever, but went farther down and formed a settlement at Independence. In 1831 Rev. Isaac McC-oy took up a tract of government land four miles so-uth of In- dependence on the trail leading to Santa Fe. His son john built a store on his father's land the next year. The business prospered, and several others built stores. john McCoy then divided his tract of land into small farms and sold them. Westport was the result of this little settlement. It was built in 1833. Tradesmen on the trail saw an advantage in stopping here, as it was eighteen miles closer than the landing they had been in the habit of using. A Frenchman built a road from Westport to the river, and from then on Westport grew rapidly. Gutfitting stores, blacksmiths and wagon makers flocked to VVestport. Most of the business h-ouses were built along Mill creek, which ran through the center of the town. The first tavern was built by Mr. Yocum at Westport avenue and Mill street. Later Mr. McGee built a hotel at Westport and Penn, which he sold to jack,' Harris in 1847. This hotel, The Harris House, was' run by Har- ris until 1864. A tannery, a distillery, a corn mill, a sad- dlery, and a bakery, together with a postoffice and the outfitting stores, composed the greater part -of the town's business. Between 1855 and 1860 Wesport was at her height. More business was carried on at that time than at any time since. Thirteen stores were in operation. The first church was the Union Church, built where the VVestport Bank is now stand- ing. Four denominations, Methodists, Chris- tians, Baptists, and Presbyterians, raised eighteen hundred dollars by subscription for the erection of the church. The first school was built at Fortieth and Washington. The upper part was used for preachin'. This school was moved later to Biding and Boone. Mr. C. C. Huffaker was the first teacher. During the War business fell off and did not regain its footing until 1867. After 1867 Westport grew rapidly, and in 1899 became a part of Kansas City. W. ELL1soN LUTHER, '15. ,..L...i. ' WESTPORT LANDING When Westport was established, the prin- cipal steamboat landing in jackson County was at Blue Mills, six miles below Indepen- dence. The Westport merchants found this landing inconvenient, and so they had their freight brought ashore farther up the river.

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'TTB .1 .W - - X. 22 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. Around' Early Kansas City THE SANTA FE TRAIL The early part of the eighteenth century saw the beginning of a prosperous trade with New Mexico. In the first years the route across the great plains went directly west from the Missouri River to the mountains, and then south to Santa F e by the circuitous trail from Taos. When the traffic assumed an impor- tance demanding a more easy line of travel, the road was changed to the left bank of the Arkansas until that stream turned northwest, at which point it crossed the river and con- tinued south to Raton Pass. The famous trail crossed VVestport avenue at what is now called Mill street. The trail, together with some excellent springs on the bank of the old mill creek, were very largely respo-nsible for the settlement and importance of the town of VVestport in later years. Because of its position, Westport became a great outhtting station. Manufactories of every kind relating to transportation sprang up. Santa Fe was then a town of about two hundred thousand inhabitants, crowded up against the mountains. Although the town was dirty and unkempt, it still retained some portion o-f the grace which long lingered about it. The Palace, the largest mud house in the town, is very noted historically. As the his- tory of Santa Fe is the history of New Mex- ico, so is the history of the Palace the history of Santa Fe. I Many famous characters, such as Kit Car- son, -Iim Badger, Uncle Dick Norton, and others, were closely associated with the trail. The Atchison, Topeka. Sz Santa Fe Railroad substantially follows the trail through the Rocky Mountains, which in this part affords the wildest and most picturesque scenery on the continent. The palace coaches, however, that cross the old trail to-day carry no provis- ion for yelling Comanches, Cheyennes, Arap- ahoes, etc. They lose no time treating and trading with the Indians, and are never out of sight of the miraculous changes exhibited by the advance of civilization. - BESSIE M. K1DsoN, 'l5. INDEPENDENCE Independence, the county seat of jackson County, was founded in 1827. Until 184-O it promised to be the great city of the West. The General Assembly appointed David Ward and Julius Emmons of Lafayette County to select the seat of justice for Jackson County. They preempted one hundred and sixty acres, had it surveyed, and made their final report to the Circuit Court March 29, 1827. George W. Rhodes made a plot of it. S. C. Owens, Garrett M. Hensley, DI. R. Swearington, and john Smith were authorized to sell the lots. This was done July 9, 10 and 11, 1827, the lots being sold partly on time. The cash pay- ments amounted to 337957. The General Assembly added eighty acres in 1831, and fif- teen additions of two hundred and forty acres each soon afterwards. A court house and jail were built and occupied as soon as possible. About sixty persons bought lots and the work of building a town was begun. In 1831 the Santa Fe trade began, and a landing was established at Blue Mills, six miles away. The goods had to be brought through the moun- tains to Pittsburgh by wagon. From Pitts- burgh to Independence they were carried by boat. At Independence they were landed, and the wagons started out on their long eight hun pro was mai I inte but odi1 A1 r sev aw 185 dei Hit the by TC' CO 1'1'1I Tl tO' th H1 tl ga at ei Sf o d I tl s d S 1. i

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,!,,.--S, ,tm f 'TA' exu- ,,,.,..!---- -ffr-mcrrtt sift it 2 y 24 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. Soon after this, J. C. McCoy had his stock of goods brought ashore in the woods above Chouteau's warehouse. In 1832 a regular landing was established where Grand avenue now reaches the river. This was the beginning of Westport Landing, iwhich afterward developed into HThe Town of Kansas. It would be difficult to conceive a less inviting spot for the building of a town. But this angle in the Missouri River was the best natural road to the West and the South- west, and it was the highest point to which goods for the great Santa Fe and plains trade could be taken by boat without increasing the cost of land transportation and encountering worse roads. This Missouri River landing was part of a 256-acre tract owned by a Frenchman, Prud- homme. Several residents of Jackson County, who had observed the tendency of trade to center at the landing, conceived the plan of founding a town on the Prudhomme estate. VV hen the sale was held, the company bought the land for 34,220 This was the original site of Kansas City. I There were many different opinions about the prospects of the new town. Independence and Westport nicknamed it Westport Land- ing, and so it became generally kn-own. Sen- ator Benton remarked that it was destined to become the greatest commercial center west of St. Louis. The great portion of the early trade of the town was similar to that of all frontier towns, and was carried on chiefly with the Indians, the employees of the mountain traders, and the Mackinaw boatmen. As early as 1840, it was not uncommon on the arrival of Macki- naw boats to see as many as three or four hundred men on the levee, all buying more or less from the traders. The Indian trade con- tinued to flourish at VVestport Landing Cnarned The Town of Kansas in 18395, and at Independence, until 1843, at which time it was temporarily suppressed by order of Gen- eral Santa Anna. josEPH1NE HELLMAN, 'l5. SHAWNEE MISSION, KANSAS VVithin three and one-half miles southwest of NVestport High School there is one of the most historic spots of the Middle West. In 1839 Rev. Thomas johnson with his wife and family left his Ohio home to come to the Shawnee Indians as a missionary. I By l829 he had received appropriations from the Methodist church and a land grant of 2,24-O acres from the government, the total value -of both amounting to nearly f5lO0,000. with tho money he bout tt school, dormitory, chapel, dining room, class rooms, and manual training rooms, as well as a substantial home for himself. The best of material was brought fr-om St. Louis, and the buildings are in ex- cellent shape today. Settlers came here and established homes. The school and mission had nearly a hundred pupils. These Indian boys and girls, and even men and women, were taught to sew, spin, cook, and do carpenter work. They were also taught to love and revere God. The town, for such it was now, thriyed, and a store and a postoffice were established. For many years quiet and peace reigned. The children of the pale face and those of the red man went in and out as one family, all under the wise guidance of Rev. Johnson. A few years of this peaceful life and all was changed. Rev. ,Iohnson took a decided stand for slavery. The Mission became a meeting place for Southern sympathizers. It was only natural then that the territo-rial legislature decided to mo-ve its capital to the Mission. They occupied the building that served as dor- mitory. This building housed two governors. The grandfather of ex-Governor Hadley of Missouri taught here for some time. The legislature passed laws so stringent that they called forth a wave of indignation from the aboliti-onists. Spirit ran high, and in 1865 Rev. Johnson- was wantonly shot down in his doorway. He was buried in the little grave- yard that is situated in the southeast corner of the Mission grounds. NV of n peace depol move know Th Rev. Willi now rich