Robert T. Van Horn

Robert Thompson Van Horn (May 19, 1824 – January 3, 1916) was an American lawyer, the owner and publisher of The Kansas City Enterprise, the 6th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri during parts of the Civil War, a member of the Missouri General Assembly, and a representative of Missouri's 5th, 6th, and 8th congressional districts.

Early years Van Horn was born on May 19, 1824, in East Mahoning Township, Pennsylvania, to Henry and Elizabeth (Thompson) Van Horn. He attended a common school and apprenticed to a printer. In 1844, he moved to Pomeroy, Ohio, where he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in about 1850 and began his practice in town.

Kansas City and Civil War Van Horn moved to Kansas City in 1855. In 1856, Van Horn purchased the newspaper The Enterprise and renamed it The Kansas City Journal, which published daily from 1858 until its closing in 1942.

In 1857, he became member of the city's board of the aldermen. He became the postmaster of Kansas City the same year and held the position until 1861.

Van Horn was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876, 1880, and 1884. He was also a member of the Republican National Committee in 1872 and 1884.

Van Horn was elected to represent Missouri's 8th congressional district in the Forty-seventh Congress from 1881 to 1883. He then successfully contested the election of John C. Tarsney for representative of Missouri's 5th congressional district in the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from 1896 to 1897. He sought re-election in 1896, but he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination.

Later years and death

Van Horn retired from editorship of The Kansas City Journal in 1897. He died on his estate, "Honeywood", at Evanston Station, in Independence, Missouri on January 3, 1916, and was interred in Mount Washington Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.

Van Horn High School was built on the site of Honeywood, in 1955. Truman Road was originally called Van Horn Road in his honor.