Weston, Missouri

Weston, Missouri
—  City  —
Location of Weston, Missouri
Coordinates: 39°24′48″N 94°53′52″W
Country	United States
State	Missouri
County	Platte
Area
• Total	1.6 sq mi (4.2 km2)
• Land	1.6 sq mi (4.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	797 ft (243 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	1,631
• Density	994.8/sq mi (384.1/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	64098
Area code(s)	816
FIPS code	29-78856
GNIS feature ID	0728648

Weston is a city in Platte County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,631 at the 2000 census.

History

Lewis and Clark Expedition camped out 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 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. It is this individual the town is named for.

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.

Weston was at one time the second largest port on the Missouri river, surpassing both Kansas City and St. Joseph, however a flood in 1881 shifted the river into an old channel some 2 miles away.

Geography

Weston is located at 39°24′48″N 94°53′52″W (39.413370, -94.897780).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,631 people, 676 households, and 459 families residing in the city. The population density was 994.8 people per square mile (384.0/km²). There were 724 housing units at an average density of 441.6 per square mile (170.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.49% White, 0.67% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.

There were 676 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,214, and the median income for a family was $53,015. Males had a median income of $36,466 versus $27,132 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,794. About 5.2% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Weston is the home of McCormick Distilling Company, producers of a large number of liquors, it was founded in 1856, and is the oldest whiskey distillery west of the Mississippi River and the oldest continuously operated distillery in the United States.

Weston was, prior to its cultivation being prohibited by the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, the world's leading producer of industrial hemp. It is the world's leading producer of twist tobacco.

External links

• Historic maps of Weston in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri