The John B. Wornall house on Wornall Road at 61st Terrace was built in 1858 on a 500-acre plot about three miles south of Westport. The closest neighbor, Hugh Ward, occupied a 450-acre farm north and west of Wornall's. The two families remained lifelong friends. John Bristow Wornall came to Jackson County with his parents from Shelby, Ky., in 1844. According to Theodore Case, historian of early Kansas City, John's father, Richard Wornall, bequeathed to him a good name, unstained in any particular, and a place in the public esteem which could only be maintained by that gentleness, uprightness and real strength always so much applauded by honest hardworking pioneers. The Wornall farm, like the Ward farm (now Loose Park), was the scene of violent activity during the Civil War. Marching soldiers from both North and South made their way on the dusty country road that became Wornall Road. The large brick mansion, (pictured) served as a hospital for the wounded of both Union and Confederate armies. Historian Case lists many of John Wornall's activities after the war. They relate to his work as a patron of public schools; director and president of the County Agricultural & Mechanical Association; contributions and letters to the Westport Recorder; Board of Trade membership when the board consisted of only 67 members; committee work with the board advocating street improvements; president of the Kansas City National Bank; president of the General Association of Missouri Baptists; trustee of the William Jewell College of Liberty and much of the time president of the board. He was married in 1850 to Matilda A. Polk of Kentucky. She died in 1851. He was married in 1854 to Eliza S. Johnson, daughter of Rev. Thomas Johnson (for whom Johnson County is named). His third marriage occurred in September, 1866, to Miss R. Johnson. Today the gracious old home with tall forest trees and green lawns looks very much as if it had been erected as part of its Country Club neighborhood. Actually, it was built as a farm home on a frontier tract. The residence is owned and restored by the Jackson County Historical Society and is open to the public daily except Mondays. Kansas City Times, August 14, 1987.
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