The museum, located at 6115 Wornall Road in the Brookside area of Kansas City, is furnished to represent the daily life of a prosperous, pre-Civil War family.

In 1843 Richard Wornall sold 640 acres (2.6 km2) of Shelby County land, thirteen slaves, and most of his livestock and possessions to settle debts totaling almost $25,000.

With the rest of his money, Richard Wornall, his wife Judith, and their two sons George Thomas and John Bristow moved to Westport, Missouri.

Upon arrival there in October 1843, Richard Wornall purchased five slaves and a 500-acre (2.0 km2) farm from the town's father, John Calvin McCoy.

During the American Civil War, the Wornalls' home was used as a field hospital for both the Union and Confederate forces after the Battle of Westport.