WESTON, a flourishing post-village and river port of Platte county, Missouri, on the Missouri river, 200 miles by the road W. N. W. from Jefferson City, and 3 miles above Fort Leavenworth. It is one of most important and commercial towns on the Missouri river. The frontier position of Weston renders it a favorable starting point for the emigrants to California, &c. : the vast extent of this emigration, for a few years past, has greatly increased the activity of trade, and opened a ready market for cattle, provisions, &c., at excessively high prices. One or two newspapers are published here. First settled in 1838. Population in 1851, about 2500. (Baldwin & Thomas, A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States ... 1854)
WESTON, A flourishing city of Platte county, Weston township, on the Missouri river, at the mouth of Bee Creek, and on the Weston and Atchison Railroad, nearly completed, 7 miles from Platte city, the county seat, 500 miles by water and 325 by land from Jefferson City. It was first settled by Joseph Moore, in the year 1838; the post office was established in 1839. The chief products of the surrounding country are rye, buck-wheat, corn, oats, hemp, barley and tobacco; timber, burr oak, walnut and elm. Average price of unimproved land $25, cultivated $40 per acre. It contains five churches, a branch bank, one newspaper, the Weston Platte Argus, published by William F. Wiseley, and issued on Fridays. It has several good schools, seminaries, and academies, viz., Weston High School, Catholic High School, Weston Select School, Pleasant Ridge Academy, and St. John's Female Seminary, one Masonic lodge, Weston No. 53, and Phœnix Lodge, No. 30 I.O.O.F., one agricultural implements manufactory, two bakeries, one billiard room, six blacksmiths, one bindery, two booksellers, four boot and shoe dealers, three brick yards, one brewery,two cabinet shops, twelve carpenters, four wagon and carriage makers, two clothing dealers, three commission and forwarding houses, four coopers, two dentists, one hemp factory, one distillery, two drug stores, one dry goods store, two engravers, one express office, one fancy goods store, two steam flouring mills, five groceries, six general stores, one gunsmith, one hardware store, two harness shops, one hat, cap and fur store, two hide and leather dealers, two hotels, three jewelers, two livery stables, one lumber yard, one marble yard, one nursery, one rope factory, three sash makers, two steam saw mills, one stove and tin shop, one tobacco factory and telegraph office. Population 3,500. (The Missouri State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1860)