The Saint George Hotel, Weston, Missouri Poster

Established in 1837, Weston, Missouri, was a booming port town on the Missouri River in the early 1880s. Built nine years after the town's founding, The Saint George Hotel served many visitors, whether heading west as settlers or traveling on the steamboats. Built as a workingman's hotel, the three-storey building featured 47 rooms on the top two floors. On the first floor was a saloon, sample rooms, a lobby-tobacco shop, a restaurant, and two retail spaces. Traveling salesmen set up temporary "sample" shops behind the saloon in The Saint George hotel where they sold their wares. The town was called Weston, because at the time it was founded it was the farthest town west that wagon trains could stock up before they crossed the Missouri River and entered wilderness. The steamboats unloaded supplies for Fort Leavenworth and supplies for Westward travelers, and then loaded back up with Weston products of tobacco, ropes, hides, and later lumber, whiskey, and fruit as they headed home. Weston's population reached about 5,000 in its early days, surpassing both nearby Kansas City and St. Joseph. Weston was prosperous until the flood of 1858 crippled the steamboat trade for months and destroyed the port to Weston. The Civil War tore Weston apart, dividing its residents. By 1870 the population was only 900 people. In 1881 the river flooded again, moving into an old channel two miles west of Weston. Still, Weston persevered for the past 167 years, and now its charming streets full of shops, galleries and restaurants are a tourist destination. The Saint George Hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was completely renovated in 2006.