Editing Weston, Missouri (section)

==History==
The [[Lewis and Clark|Lewis and Clark Expedition]] stopped at "Bear Medison" island, near the location of today's city hall. Weston was the oldest settlement in the [[Platte Purchase]] of 1836 and was therefore also the farthest western settlement (thus, "West Town") in the United States until the admission of [[Texas]] as a state in 1845. Another suggested theory of origin is related to a story about a discharged US Army dragoon by the name of Joseph Moore. He bought the land and then had First Sergeant Tom Weston of D Company, First Dragoons, stationed at [[Fort Leavenworth]] across the [[Missouri River]], lay out a town plan. The town may have therefore been named for Sgt. Weston.

William "[[Buffalo Bill]]" Cody was at one time a resident of Weston, and the town was a major "jumping off" point for the [[Santa Fe Trail]], the [[Oregon Trail]] and the [[California Gold Rush]].

In 1881, Weston was the site of the [[lynching]] of the biracial Charles Reese after he was accused of the rape and murder of the sixteen-year-old Nancy Stillwell.<ref>"HEMPED TO HADES. A LECHEROUS VILLAIN’S END." The Leavenworth Times. June. 1881. Retrieved 29 June. 2017.</ref>

Weston was, at one time, the second largest port on the Missouri River, surpassing both Kansas City and [[St. Joseph, Missouri|St. Joseph]] and at one point shortly after its founding, claimed to be the second largest city in Missouri.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80064101/?terms=%22Platte%2BPurchase%22 |title=10 Feb 1905, Page 1 - The Holt County Sentinel at |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=1905-02-10 |accessdate=2022-06-05}}</ref> In 1850, over 265 steamboats a year docked at the Port of Weston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westonmo.com/?page=history|title=Visit Weston Mo - Weston Chamber of Commerce}}</ref> A flood in 1881 shifted the river into an old channel some two miles away.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/mo-weston/2/|title=Weston, Missouri – The Town That Refused to Die|author=Kathy Weiser}}</ref>

The Weston Brewing Company was first established in 1842
by German immigrant John Georgian, and was one of the first lager beer breweries in the U.S. Five arched, limestone cellars, dug to a depth of 55 feet below ground, were constructed to create the ideal conditions for Georgian's lager beer, which needed to be stored below 60 degrees. The brewery closed in 1919 when [[Volstead Act|Prohibition]] was signed into law. In 2005, the Weston Brewing Company reopened and one of the cellars now houses a unique bar which requires patrons to descend down through a small rock faced tunnel to get to the large, cool, cavern like bar.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://westonmo.com/full_content.php?article_id=730&full=yes&pbr=1 |title=Weston Brewing Company {{!}} Weston, Missouri |website=westonmo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812203926/http://westonmo.com/full_content.php?article_id=730&full=yes&pbr=1 |archive-date=2014-08-12}}</ref>

The [[McCormick Distillery]], [[Missouri District Warehouse]], [[Pleasant Ridge United Baptist Church]], Sugar Creek Site, and [[Weston Historic District]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref><ref name="nps">{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/listings/20100730.htm|title=National Register of Historic Places|date=2010-07-30|work=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 7/19/10 though 7/23/10|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>