How It All Began

The Weston Historical Museum began with an organizational meeting on October 6, 1959. This first meeting was attended by Dr. R.J. Felling, Mrs. B.J. Bless Jr., Charles Bless, Sonny Hull, Browning Hull, Leroy Feden, Leslie Dyer, T.J Beach and Al Hasemeier. Over the next 12 months many individuals from the community continued to meet to establish the Museum.

The first objectives of the new organization were to establish Articles of Incorporation, prepare by-laws, elect officers and trustees and select a site. In March 1960 the Museum purchased the current building from the local Baptist Church. The design work of the interior began at this time which included the mural of 1855 Weston and the display cases. This work was completed in June 1960. Also in March, representatives of the Museum met with the Platte County Library Board for the purpose of providing a library in the front half of the Museum. The library remained in the Museum until 1978.

The Museum is administered by a Board of Trustees which was organized into three classes of six per class. Each class serves three years and the first Trustees were elected on March 30, 1960. In later years the Board of Trustees was expanded to ten members per class.

The opening of the Weston Historical Museum was celebrated on October 23, 1960 with an open house and the first Weston “Old Homes Tour”. A meeting of the Trustees on October 26 reflected the excitement the members had with overwhelming success of the opening and homes tour.

This broad success is reflected by the fact that money to finance the start of the Museum came from every state in the Union and all items in the Museum have a direct connection with Weston and the surrounding area.