Our Last Day in Platte City.....Cleaning 8/26/2010

Well this is our last day here in Platte City and we are going to spend it cleaning seeing as the weather has been so so nice and cool. We have even been able to open the windows at night its been so cool. I started with the awning as it had gotten filthy from the stuff running off the top of the coach onto it from the rain and the A/C. Mom started with the black marks all around the coach. After I was done I did the whole front of the coach top to bottom and Mom did all the storage compartments inside. Then I did the rest of the windows on the outside and Mom went in and did the front windows inside. After we were done that we called it a day, had lunch and took a trip to the store.


I do have some things we saw left over from yesterday that I didn't have room for on the 2 blogs yesterday. All of these pictures and history are from our visit to Weston, MO.


The Hatchery Bed & Breakfast: In 1845, a gentleman named Benjamin Wood acquired a piece of land from the town of Weston and built a beautiful, two-story, federal style home. Through the years the home changed hands several times. One of its owners was David Holladay, brother of Ben Holladay the "stagecoach king". He occupied the house until the late 1800's and ran the McCormick Distillery while his brother Ben ventured farther West to pursue other enterprises.
In the 1930's the Wood's home was converted to a boarding house. Quite often, due to the inexpensive rent, newly-weds and young married couples occupied the apartments. As time passed, many of these young couples conceived and had their children while residing there. Consequently, the townspeople coined the phrase "The Hatchery" for the "hatching" of babies.
In the late 1980's, the building was purchased by Glen and Jolene Payne. They began renovations to restore the "Hatchery" to its original form. After several years of hard work and determination, their work and dream was completed. They opened the home to the public in the form of a bed and breakfast.
The structure boasts six completely operational fireplaces, two of which have the original mantel pieces. The walls are constructed to a thickness of three bricks and the original hardwood flooring, windows and trim remain today. The Hatchery sits 1\2 block off of Main Street in downtown Weston and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


523 Main St:523 Main originally housed the How Boot and Shoe store. Constructed in 1848, from handmade brick with metal standing seam roof, this was one of the few buildings that survived the fires of 1853.


St George Hotel: The St. George Hotel, built in 1845-6, was one of three hotels in Weston during its heyday. The St. George is the only hotel building remaining. It was a working man's hotel and consisted of 47 rooms on the top two floors. On the first floor were a saloon, sample rooms (rooms behind the saloon that traveling salesmen rented to show their wares) a lobby/tobacco shop, a restaurant, and two retail spaces. It was a full three story brick structure.
A fire in December, 1890, as reported in the Weston Chronicle, left the building in ruins. We now know that the two street side brick walls were left standing. With an added brick facade, those two walls are part of the current building which dates to 1891. The building is now ten feet shorter than the original building and has a mansard roof. Except for the time between the fire and the reconstruction, the hotel was run continuously until 1984 when a small fire occurred in one of the three apartments on the first floor.
The hotel has had several owners and has been called the Weston Hotel, The Exchange Hotel, the Ryan Hotel as well as the St. George Hotel (St. George is the patron saint of rest).


512-516 Main St.: In 1844, Wilson G. Nobel, or "Boss" Nobel as many referred to him, established and operated one of Weston's first businesses; "W. G. Nobel Saddlery". "Boss" Nobel was one of Weston's earliest pioneers being registered in the Annuls of Platte County as early as 1838. The early Weston Chronicle quoted John Doniphan as saying ÒNobel saw Weston when its site was covered with forest trees and hazel brush; he helped bury the first man who died with his boots on. He saw the great flood of 1844, he witnessed the flood of '58 that washed away bridges and kept business men away from their homes until the next day. He fashioned a bridle for the great Kickapoo Chief Medora, that had a looking glass fitted to the forehead of the horse."
For 34 years, "Boss" Nobel owned and operated the saddle shop until he sold it to Julian Baker on April 8,1878. Julian Baker owned and operated the saddle shop for ten years in this location then he moved across the street staying in business for a total of 52 years.
In the late 1800's, at least two of the buildings caught on fire. The buildings were rebuilt out of the remaining structure. Part of the first building that was two stories is now one story. Thus the appearance of the buildings changed significantly. From 1911 to 1920 the Brill Furniture Company occupied the building alongside Brill's Mortuary. Later, in 1927, the Furniture Company was sold and the Mortuary then resided in two of the three buildings.
J.H. Brill and his wife owned Brill's Mortuary, they both secured embalmer's licenses and were both members of the State and National Funeral Directors' Association. Mrs. Brill was one of the first few lady embalmers in the state of Missouri. The first unit of the mortuary was bought in 1920. Later a garage and office building were added. The garage was located in the back of the building. The office was located upstairs along with a second floor suite of five rooms and a bath, the reception room was also located upstairs serving as a chapel upon request.
In 1942, the Brills rented the Funeral home to Walter and Billy Vaughn, who operated Vaughn's Funeral home. They later bought the building in 1946. The Vaughns' lived on the second floor of the funeral home in a spacious two-bedroom apartment, which was formerly used as an office and reception room. In July of 1962, the Vaughn's added the third building, buying it From Dr. L. C. Calvert who owned and operated a medical office for many years.
The Vaughn's owned and operated the funeral home in this location until they built a new funeral home located on 45 Highway. Anne Bollin purchased two of the three buildings in 1993 to expand her growing business, Missouri Bluffs Boutique, which now occupies all three buildings


Kaufman Building: The Kaufmann building, located at 518-520 Main Street, began its life as a grocery and provision store in 1854. At that time the two story structure was brick with a cast iron facade on the first floor.
A. G. Bell operated a restaurant on the first floor in 1886 and Mrs. M. Bell had an ice cream parlor there in 1896. H. H. Hedges married Mary Bell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Bell, specializing in baked goods and providing catering services at the location around 1909. In 1919, the building housed the Gould Battery Company, which was owned by George Parrish who is best known as the 'father of electricity' for Weston and most of Platte County. Even though Parrish was an expert electrician, due to overwork and days without sleep, he was electrocuted while repairing a line to a building on Market Street.
In the 1940s, the first floor was used as a dentist office and in the 1950s and 1960s both floors were apartments owned by B. J. Bless, Jr. In 1973, the second floor was converted to a modern apartment. In recent years, the apartment area was used for storage and left to deteriorate as water poured through a decaying roof. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the '518 Main' portion housed a variety of antique dealers and retailers.
The Kaufmann Building was purchased in 1996 by Cathy A. and Phelps D. Murdock, Jr. The exterior was repaired, improved and painted in authentic historic colors. The first floor portion, known as 518 Main, and the entire second floor, known as 518-520 Main, were substantially repaired, redecorated and integrated into a single retail establishment to accommodate Currant Cottage, a home furnishings and antique store, operated by the Murdocks.
The Kaufmann Building has been home to Renditions Polish Pottery Shop since 2009. After a complete renovation, the first floor has returned to its original high ceilings, wood floors, and exposed brick walls. During the renovation the upstairs was also completely gutted and converted into two loft-style apartments.





420 Main St: n 1866, B.F. Freeland opened the first of a long line of grocery stores at the building at 420 Main Street, which continued until 1996, when McCormick Distilling Company took over the space for their Country Store. Between 1886 and 1996, seven different grocery markets operated in the space. The only interruption to the grocery store legacy was in 1886 when A.H. O'Dowd, who served as Weston's postmaster for four years, opened his Furniture & Undertaking business. This combination may seem bizarre now, but was actually fairly commonplace during this period.
A period newspaper article describes the stock of Mr. O'Dowd's store as "...thoroughly up-to-date in every particular, including an immense and carefully selected line of furniture; in suites or single pieces; wall paper, picture and room molding, window shades, rugs, oil cloth, matting and kindred supplies, in connection with which repairing and upholstering is done". The article goes on to describe Mr. O'Dowd's qualifications as an undertaker, relating that he was a "...practical funeral director and embalmer, a graduate in the science from the Oriental School of Embalming under Prof. F.A. Sullivan of Boston, and a licentiate under the State Board. He is a member of the State Funeral Directors Association, and in connection with this department of his business, he handles a fine stock of goods, including all grades and styles of caskets, cases, robes, suits and slippers, also being prepared to furnish a hearse".


The Benner House Bed & Breakfast: The Benner House Bed & Breakfast was built in 1898 by Mr. George Shawhan, owner of the Shawhan Distillery, known today as McCormick Distillery. Listed on the National Register of Historic places, this lovely Victorian home is a fine example of steamboat Gothic architecture.
In the 1900's the home was purchased by Mr. Charles Benner, a gentlemen farmer, who preferred to live in the "cityÓ. The home remained in the Benner family until 1986 when it was purchased by Ken and Karen West and converted into a bed and breakfast. The present owners, John and Julie Pasley, have continued the traditions of the early 1900's. The home is beautifully decorated with antiques and turn of the century pieces.
Upon entering the home, one immediately steps back in time. The double wrap around porches, gingerbread detail and large windows over looking the verandas enhance the spaciousness of this lovely old home. Original hand carved oak and beveled glass grace the front doorway along with brass lightning fixtures leading the way up the hand carved oak staircase. All the rooms have ten-foot ceilings, six foot windows, oak woodwork and pine floors.

Weston United Methodist Church: The Civil War brought construction of the Weston United Methodist to a halt. The church found itself divided on the slavery issue and during the war the church stood empty and unfinished. With peace restored the building was completed and in 1868, nine years after construction had begun, the Church was dedicated with a grand celebration.


Well that's about all from here for today so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick