Did this vintage postcard view of Weston miss the charm of the old river town?

This postcard from the 1960s might be most notable for what’s not pictured on it.

The view down Main Street in Weston, Missouri, shows the Weston Historical Museum and nearly none of the charming old storefronts that still draw visitors today.

But it does highlight the “river town” topography that put Weston on the the map in the 1830s. The Missouri River passed by at the foot of the hill, bringing a steady supply of traffic and commerce. Grand homes and three hotels spoke to Weston’s early prosperity.

At one point, the town’s population reached 5,000, Including Elijah Cody, whose nephew Buffalo Bill Cody vacationed there as a child.

Burley tobacco, raised by settlers from Kentucky and Tennessee, was the cash crop that fueled Weston’s booming economy. Warehouses full of it (and later hemp) were loaded onto boats headed for points beyond.

But tougher times lie ahead.

First, the town’s many Southern sympathizers saw their cause defeated in the Civil War. Then two disasters hit in quick succession. In 1881, flooding forced the Missouri into a new channel two miles from town. And a fire in 1890 devastated much of Main Street.

Weston’s population plunged, and continued to decline for decades. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that the town’s rich supply of antebellum buildings began to bring antique seekers and history hunters back again.

In 1972, 22 city blocks were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Weston Bend State Park opened outside town just eight years later.

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