Walnut Valley Times, August 19, 1881

Western Park was located in Union Center Township approximately 6 miles south of the Greenwood County line, 8 miles west of K-99, and seven miles east of the Butler County line very close to the east bank of the Elk River.
An original St. Louis-San Francisco RR plan was to have the line go from Fall River southwest to Busby, then to Howard, then to Western Park. However, there was no economically feasible way to lay track west from Western Park. The road decided the better route was through Severy, Piedmont, and Beaumont.