Weir (also known as Weir City), one of the important towns in Cherokee county, is located on the St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. 14 miles north of Columbus, the county seat, and 11 miles from Pittsburg, the metropolis of this section. It is an incorporated city, has waterworks, electric lights, fire department, an opera house, a bank, a newspaper (the Journal), a feed mill, a public library, schools and churches, telegraph and express offices, and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. An excellent quality of coal is mined in the vicinity and shipped from Weir in large quantities. The town was founded in 1872 as a zinc mining point. In 1880 the population was 400. In 1890 it had grown to 2,138, in 1900 the population was 2,977 and in 1910 it was 2,289.