Museum Without Walls
This official emblem marks the Museum Without Walls' designated locales for the reclamation and reintroduction of Weston’s people of African descent. Our goals are simple: to raise awareness of the lives and contributions of this once-obscured population before and after they became citizens, and to honor the Black forebears, their descendants, and the achievements that helped make Weston the town we all love today.
The Dinah Robinson Courtyard
Dinah (Wright) Robinson, born about 1817, arrived in Weston, Missouri, from Hedgesville, Berkeley County, Virginia, enslaved in 1842. On February 16, 1859, she purchased her freedom from Rev. J.B.Wright, as well as that of her husband, Thomas, and their children, Moses and Eliza Jane. Mrs. Robinson then purchased the lot this courtyard now stands on January 3, 1860.
The 1856 antebellum bricks along the retaining walls have been engraved with the names of her formerly enslaved neighbors buried without a marker at Laurel Hill Cemetery, as well as well wishes from Weston merchants and loved ones.
The Dinah Robinson Courtyard is the Main Street entrance to the Weston City Park and is the inaugural Museum Without Walls memorial, established in 2021.
Pictured here is the interpretive panel mounted on the courtyard plinth. Visitors can explore the sites featured on its map by following the 30-stop Weston Black Heritage Walking and Driving Tour.
Memorialized Bricks Hand-Hewn in 1856
Following successful advocacy by the Black Ancestors Awareness Campaign (BAAC), the City of Weston passed a resolution in September 2021 dedicating the courtyard in honor of Dinah Robinson. It stands as the first lifetime achievement memorial in Historic Weston honoring an influential Black citizen and her community—many of whom rest in unmarked graves at Laurel Hill Cemetery. The courtyard perimeter is paved with historic antebellum bricks handcrafted on-site by enslaved laborers and salvaged from Thomas Street’s Renz Livery. Today, inscribed tribute bricks from local residents and businesses border the space, creating a meaningful, welcoming respite for locals and visitors alike.
Weston Bricks by Rebecca Ehrich
Charter BAAC Member
Weston Township 1844 Map Section
Blackhawk Walk and Memorial Stone
After the Civil War, the 500 block of Blackhawk Street became home to a small, growing Black community, with Black-owned homes and businesses, the Second Missionary Baptist Church, and the Weston School for Colored Children (renamed the Mary McLeod Bethune School in 1900). Because of these community pillars, the area frequently hosted neighborhood gatherings and baptisms.
The block was also prone to flooding; an 1844 map section of Weston Township shows Blackhawk Street twice interrupted by the wandering Mill Creek.
Many decades later, this city block between Thomas, Spring, Main, and Washington Streets became the modern-day Weston City–Ben Holiday Park.
Weston Black Heritage Walking and Driving Tour
By 1850, Weston stood as a bustling border town of nearly 5,000 people—up from just 300 a decade earlier. An estimated 45% of its residents were Black, creating a complex and vital community during a pivotal era defined by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act and border state conflict.
Discover the places and people behind this legacy at your own pace or book a group tour.
The Weston Black Heritage Walking & Driving Tour features 30 stops tracing little-known Black historic locales across the area.
Weston Banners Series
Celebrates Black History Month
The Weston Black Heritage Banner series, our fourth Museum Without Walls exhibit, commemorates some of Weston’s notable residents of African descent through 27 banners displayed along Main Street in Historic Downtown Weston during February. Please consider helping us honor them with a $150 sponsorship per honoree.