History of West Line

by Stanley (Bud) Richardson

The area where West Line is was inhabited by the Poney Indians which was one of the 12 tribes of the Osage Indians. Then in 1854 a town was formed and named "STATE LINE" . That was then the K.C.N. & F.S. Railroad was run thru the area from Harrisonville to Paola. This town had a few people but did not grow very much. Several years later the railroad became known as the "KATY".

Then in 1870 the K.C.P. & G. Railroad was put thru a half mile West of "State Line town", running north and south . This later became called the Kansas City Southern railroad.

In 1872 the name of the town was changed to WEST LINE and the town began to grow.

This was the same year of the big bond swindle when 3 people tried to leave Harrisonville by train with all the money . The train was stopped at Gunn City and the 3 were shot. Two of these are buried at Glenwild Cemetery which is one mile to the north of West Line. The reason I mention this is that the leader of the group was chairman of the court and was from that area. It took 50 years to pay off the bonds.

In 1874 there was a school house near the entrance to Glenwild Cemetery on the south side of the road. The Methodist used it on Sundays.

By 1878 there was an elevator built on the south side of the KATY two blocks west of main street. It was owned by a Mr. McCormick who also built what was called a mansion two blocks west of the elevator and a little south. The cost was $5000. It still stands today but has been neglected for many years. The top of it can be seen from the intersection of main and locust streets.

In 1893 the boiler at the elevator blew up killing 2 men and injuring several others.

In 1878 WEST LINE had a stock yards located two blocks west of main on the north side of the KATY tracks. Many Cattle was shipped to market in ST Louis.

A Young man wanted to get married but had no money, however, he knew there was a herd of cattle being driven to West Line from the south. He joined the drive and just before reaching West Line he killed the owner. He then shipped the cattle to market, but was soon caught and hanged from a tree.

In 1880 the Christian Church was built at the top of main street hill and is still in use today.

In 1881 the 2 room school was built where the rock school is now.

In the 1890s and later there was at least 20 businesses in West Line at the same time. General Store, Hotel, Lumber Yard, Bank, Barber Shop, Stockyards, Elevator, Restaurant, Dancing School, two doctors, four blacksmiths and many more. There was even a jail in West Line.

The Lumber yard burned down which was located just north of the Christian Church.

In 1904 a Chocolate Factory was built where the elevator had burned. It was owner by Mr. Holinger and operated about 3 years. He purchased milk from the area farmers. In 1907 the Paola paper said the factory was to move to there. Also in the same paper , reported a man said he would burn it down . That night it did and was blamed on sparks from the train and Holinger collected insurance.

In 1900 a Clinton man shipped a lot of seed to the West Line depot and consigned it to himself. Later he burned the depot and collected the insurance. He was caught and jailed. A new depot was built on the south side of the tracks.

From about 1890 to the 1930s the WEST LINE BASEBALL TEAM was very good and often played the KANSAS CITY MONARCH's.

In 1972 the West Line Post Office closed . This happened because the Post Office sent out a petition to the residents to find out if they wanted to keep the Post Office, but the way it was written the people thought they were voting to keep it, but they voted to get rid of it. Their address is now Cleveland, MO.

North West Line Town

In 1890 a company from the east plotted a town named "North West Line" on the east side of the Kansas City Southern Railroad one block west of Hwy 2. It covered about six blocks and a store was built along with several houses. This small town did not grow very much and disappeared in 1910 when the railroad was raised the tracks about 15 feet higher.
 

VILLAGE OF WEST LINE
PO Box 342
Cleveland, Mo 64734
(816) 899-2261

Population  98

Incorporated in 1975

 

Mayor   2 yr term

Steve W. Lyon--2009

 

Aldermen
Steven Chandler--2008

Donald Eugene Bailey--2008

Calvin Ray Barrett--2008

Robert Irvin--2009

Modified: 04/17/06