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THE WORNALL HOUSE

The house was once the center of a 500 acre farm. It originally stood three miles from the nearest town, the town of Westport. It wasn’t until the 1890's that Westport and Kansas City officially became one city. In the 1850's Westport was actually the larger town. It was on the head of the Oregon, California and Santa Fe trails.

 
The Wornall family came to western Missouri from Kentucky in the 1840's. They bought 500 acres of land, for only $5.00 an acre and were able to pay for the whole farm in one year by selling horses, mules, corn, and wheat to those moving west. The farm stretched from 59th to 67th Street, Main to State Line. By 1858, the family felt that they were wealthy enough to afford building a new home. It has been restored to show how wealthy farmers lived on the edge of the frontier in the years before the Civil War. It was used as a hospital during the Civil War. The Jackson County Historical Society purchased the house from the family in 1964. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 61st and Wornall.