The two women in our group heard shops and were all for exploring Weston. So we headed out. One of the first surprises was the terrain on the way to Weston. We passed through a river valley and then started into hills that remained me of the hills of Kentucky. As we approached Weston, the outskirts looked at any small town in rural America.
As we made our way to the downtown area, the houses and buildings remained me of an old river town. I expected to see the Missouri river from the downtown area. When we reached the downtown area, I was surprised not to find a river close by. What I found out later was Weston was an old river town. At one time over 300 steamboats a year docked at the Port of Weston. The Missouri River brought supplies and grew Weston to over 5,000 people. But a flood in 1858 moved the Missouri River about a mile and half from Weston. That disaster, a major fire and the Civil War reduced the population to less than 1,000. As we drove into town, I saw the today’s population given at just over 6,000.
We found a parking space and started to explore the downtown area of Weston. The downtown area is just a few blocks long so you can easily explore it on foot. There are many shops full of antiques, unique clothes, art, jewelry, gifts, and local produced items. A major portion of the town is on the National Register of Historic Places including the shops and residences just off the main street.
The real surprise was located in the Saint George Hotel. The hotel houses the National Silk Art Museum. The Saint George Hotel is one of the main buildings in Weston. It is the largest downtown building and was established in 1847. Besides being a hotel, there is a Champagne and Wine Bar and an excellent restaurant called Charlemagne’s. The restaurant is excellent place for lunch or dinner. We had lunch at Charlemagne's and enjoyed it immensely.
The National Silk Art Museum is full of rare silk art produced in the 1800’s. The silk art is reproductions of paintings created by weaving silk textiles to produce pictures of the art. It was the major means of reproducing art master pieces prior to photography. The museum is a national treasure and is the largest collection of silk art of this type in the world. We were lucky enough to have the curator, John Pottie give us a tour of the museum. What started off as a small purchase of a billiards scene has turned into over 200 silk art masterpieces and a very impressive museum. All five of us were very impressed and fascinated by the National Silk Art Museum. This alone is worth a trip to Weston Missouri.
The McCormick distillery is located just outside of Weston, but they have an outlet store downtown called the McCormick Country Store. You can taste some of their products and make a purchase of all their products at this location. We all tried the double chocolate vodka and had to take some home with us.
Besides the Saint George Hotel, there are many other accommodations for you to stay including Bed and Breakfast, camping and motels. Kansas City is not that far away either full of motels and hotels.
Weston has many other attractions besides shopping and dinning. There are several wineries, a brewery, and parks in the area for you to visit. Weston also has full calendar of festivals that are spread out over the year. The local Weston Museum is also a great place to visit and is full of local history and artifacts. Lewis and Clark passed through Weston on the Missouri river and there is an exhibit located in the train depot. Many of the attractions are free.
Overall, the five of us were very impressed with Weston Missouri and all it had to offer. We will be returning in the future to revisit some attractions and see some we did not get a chance to explore on this trip.
For more information, you can visit the following Web sites:
http://www.nationalsilkartmuseum.com
http://www.thesaintgeorgehotel.com
http://www.charlemagnesrestaurant.com
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