Westwood is a city in northeastern Johnson County, Kansas, United States.

[4] The land where Westwood is located was originally occupied by the Kansa and Pawnee Indians.

However, beginning in the 1830s, Captain Joseph Parks, then Head Chief of the Shawnee, worked with the U.S. Government to remove the Shawnee tribes from Ohio to the newly opened reservations in northeastern Kansas.

In exchange for his services, the government awarded Parks 1,290 acres of land straddling what is now Johnson and Wyandotte counties as part of an 1854 treaty with the Shawnee.

The land that would eventually become Westwood was ultimately awarded to Parks' granddaughter and her husband, Catherine and John Swatzell.

That home is still located at 4958 Rainbow and is considered the beginnings of the community that would eventually become Westwood.

[6] Following World War II, the land around the Swatzells' residence began to be seriously developed as a suburb of Kansas City.

Residents originally formed the Hudson Mission Homes Association as a loose group who worked to bring streets and utilities to the area.

The Westwood Neighborhood Association was formed in 1987 for the purpose of hosting community events.

[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.41 square miles (1.06 km2), all land.

[9] The original boundaries of the city were 47th Street to the north, Rainbow Boulevard to the east, Shawnee Mission Parkway and the rear property line of the homes on 51st Terrace to the south, and Mission Road to the west.

In 1960, the city also annexed Westport Annex and Westport View, extending the boundaries of the city to include 47th Place, 47th Terrace, and 48th Street from Rainbow Boulevard to State Line Road.