Port of Entry

[W. Gray]

Historical nougat:

A United States Port of Entry was established 150 miles, as the crow flies, northeast of the present location of Howard.

Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to where this port of entry was located?

[jpbill]

I guess I would guess Kansas City since it on the Missouri River which has access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi.

[W. Gray]

Historical nougat:

A United States Port of Entry was established 150 miles, as the crow flies, northeast of the present location of Howard.

Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to where this port of entry was located?

I guess I would guess Kansas City since it on the Missouri River which has access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi.

I should have originally mentioned that the law was passed in 1846.

Kansas City came into existence in 1853, so it would not be the answer at that point in time.

[ddurbin]

Waldo,  I'm going to guess it was your old stomping grounds of Independence, Mo.

[W. Gray]

Waldo,  I'm going to guess it was your old stomping grounds of Independence, Mo.

Chuckle, you got that right.

In 1846, a federal law designated the western most US Port of Entry for the United States as Independence, Missouri. There had been efforts to name the town a US Port of Entry as early as 1833, but Congress dragged the issue for several years.

Also designated in the same law were new US Ports of Entry at Fulton, Arkansas, and at Van Buren, Arkansas.

Even though Independence was the western most US Port of Entry, the town was still 500 miles as the crow flies east of the Santa Fe Trail entry point into the US at Bent's Fort near present day LaJunta, Colorado.

The Independence Port of Entry lasted until 1857 when it closed. The Mexican American War, 1846-1848, shifted US Ports of Entry around.

Someone mentioned Ft Osage, northeast of Independence, as a port of entry and its web site says it was but I cannot find information where Congress legally designated the post as a US Port of Entry with customs agent, etc.

Additionally, St Louis was not designated a US Port of Entry until 1831. Fort Osage closed its trading post with the Indians in 1822. The fort was abandoned in 1827.