Tour Stop, “Byram’s Ford, East Bank”

[Waypoint = 39.017316, -94.521089]

Directions

Continue walking down the Historic Byram’s Ford Road until you reach the banks of the Big Blue River. The approximate path of the road is marked by yellow paint and flagging attached to the trees. As you approach the Big Blue River, look for another one of those temporary signs attached to a thin, orange fiberglass pole, about three feet tall.

Description

The path you walked on to reach the ford is an approximation of the route of the Historic Byram’s Ford Road. At some point in the future the Monnett Battle of Westport Fund is planning to use Ground Penetrating Radar equipment to find the original roadbed. Look across to the other side of the river and you will see the sign for the west bank location of Byram’s Ford. Wagons entered the river near here and stayed in the river for a bit before exiting the river near the sign on the opposite bank. The Byram’s Ford Road headed in a north/south direction when it crossed the river.

In his book, The Battle of Westport, Paul B. Jenkins described Byram’s Ford.

This point was the then widely-known Byram's Ford Crossing. Constantly in use at that day, on the main line of the road leading from Independence to the country south of Kansas City … In 1864 … it was an easy crossing at a point where the river was wide and shallow, bordered by thick woods through which the roads approaching the ford passed.

Now walk back to your car so you can drive over to the west side of the Big Blue River for the rest of the Big Blue Battlefield tour.