Westport, Kansas City

Westport is a historic neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Originally its own town, it was annexed by Kansas City in 1897. Today, it is one of Kansas City's main entertainment districts.

Background

Westport was first settled by Reverend Isaac McCoy and his family in 1831, along the Missouri River. It was platted three years later, and formally incorporated in February of 1857. Isaac's son John Calvin McCoy is generally considered the "father of Kansas City" after he formally founded the town and then got his supplies from a rocky point on the Missouri River between Grand and Main Street that became known as "Westport's Landing." When the landing became popular young McCoy and other residents banded together to form the "Town of Kansas" company to buy the land.

The community thrived during the mid-1800s as an outfitter for migrants traveling any of the four now-historic trails (Oregon, California, Santa Fe and Lewis & Clark) which went through the area.

During the Civil War, there were many skirmishes between pro- and anti-slavery groups in the area, and the Civil War's Battle of Westport was fought there in October of 1864.

After the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and the Civil War, Westport's role as the starting point for migrants slowly declined, even as nearby Kansas City grew. It was annexed by Kansas City in 1897.

Today, Westport is known as a center of entertainment and nightlife (including blues music) in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area.

Westport is home to a number of bars, including Kelly's Westport Inn, an Irish-themed bar located in the oldest building still remaining in Kansas City. Kelly's was also the main set in Malcolm & Eddie, a sitcom starring Eddie Griffin and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Westport also has a lively music scene, with many venues for live musical entertainment.

Gallery

Kelly's, at 500 Westport Road, and Chouteau's Store, at 504 Westport, are the oldest buildings standing in Kansas City.

ee also

*California Trail
* Oregon Trail
*List of neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri

External links

* [http://www.westporthistorical.org/ Westport Historical Society]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/calbk:@field(DOCID+@lit(calbk047div1)) Notebooks of James Gillespie Hamilton] (a Westport merchant), from the Library of Congress website
* [http://www.westportkc.com/ WestportKC.com] Guide to the Westport district of Kansas City.
* [http://www.westportvipclub.com/ Westport VIP] The VIP treatment for Kansas City's nightlife scene in and around Westport.