 Grain Valley, Circa 1930 Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Grain Valley, like the rest of our nation, ushered in the Roaring Twenties with much excitement, cultural change, and economic transformation. Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age, the 1920s were marked by prosperity, and social change but ended with the stock market crash of 1929. It is interesting to note the population of Grain Valley only increased by 4 persons, from 354 in the 1920 federal census to 358 listed in the 1930 census. However, these numbers are only for our town; they do not include unincorporate Jackson County. This area would include all of the 1,755 acres of Sni-A-Bar Farms with 17 houses and over 100 individuals living and working on the south edge of town. Along with the William Rockhill Nelson Estate came increased train traffic and visitors who came via the train and stayed at one of the three hotels near the railroad. The farms needed grain for the animals, gasoline for their vehicles, clothing, shoe shops, and barber shops, grocery stores and restaurants. Grain Valley had a vibrant economy in the early to mid-1920s. While the town may have been a hoppin’ place with a movie theater that had “talking pictures", and a skating rink, the townspeople were joining the Eastern Star, the Royal Neighbors, the Modern Woodman, the Boy Scouts of American, garden clubs, pinochle, bridge, and other groups. During the late 1920’s my grandparents had an Edison victrola and my mom talked about rolling up the rug in the living room to do the Charleston! During this time, women gained the right to vote, there was an explosion of activity in the arts and literature, and assembly lines, especially automobiles, were in full swing. Locally, the original Railroad Depot burned in 1920. O’Connell’s Tonsorial also burned 1920 (replaced by the building now called The Iron Kettle). In 1923, the high school started a football team just before the original school burned in November 1925. Also in 1923, Sni-A-Bar Farms started their famous Demonstration Days attracting crowds of 10,000. The Sni-A-Bar Bank closed in 1926, prior to the stock market crash. Things were exciting and fun in the Roaring Twenties:
Next week: Learn about Sni-A-Bar in the Roaring Twenties 
0 Comments
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society From 1911 through 1920, Grain Valley, like the rest of the nation was enjoying the Progressive Era. In the decade that gave us Charlie Chaplin, Woodrow Wilson, Henry Ford, and the decorated World War I soldier Alvin York, we also experienced reform, war and spectacular technology. In places like Kansas City amusement parks, penny arcades, dance halls, and movie theaters flourished. While 1910 marked the founding of the Boy Scout Association, 1911 was the year of NYC’s Shirtwaist Factory Fire, killing 500 workers but resulting in the establishment of building fire and safety codes. On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank the next day, killing over 1,500 passengers and crew. (And later making Leonardo DiCaprio famous!) The first crossword puzzle was published in 1913, and on a slightly larger scale, the Panama Canal was completed in 1914. Alexander Graham Bell made his first transcontinental telephone call in 1915. While World War I was raging in Europe by 1916, John D. Rockefeller became America’s first billionaire. On April 16, 1917, Congress declared war on Germany and officially joined its allies Britain, France, and Russia, fighting in World War I, a war that ended with The Treaty of Versailles, signed June 28, 1919. During this same decade Grain Valley also experienced progress and change. Kansas City wasn’t the only place to see a movie. The Royal Playhouse was built at the corner of Broadway (now Main St.) and Walnut and silent movies were shown on Saturday night. The playhouse was also used for stage plays with local actors. On Thursday night, it was a skating rink and on other nights it was the “community center” for meetings, box socials, and many other events. The population more than doubled, from 133 in 1910 to 354 in 1920. Stores “downtown” included at least two restaurants, a chili parlor, a haberdashery, a millinery shop, a drug store, an auto dealership, a garage and gasoline station, a butcher shop, three general stores, and a barber shop, and the bank. And it was in 1910 or 1911 that William Rockhill Nelson began to purchase land in Grain Valley. In 1913, Nelson registered Sni-A-Bar Farms with the State of Missouri.  By the time of his death in 1915, he had purchased 200 head of grade cows at the Kansas City Stock Yards to begin the 10-year study titled the Upgrading of Beef Cattle. Over the next thirty years, Sni-A-Bar achieved what could arguably be called the most famous Registered Shorthorn Show Herd in the United States. At the time, the research conducted at Sni-A-Bar by the United States Department of Agriculture, as well as several universities, was unparalleled. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society On January 1, 1900, Grain Valley entered the twentieth century as an unincorporated village. (Grain Valley News, June 24, 2021) As noted in last week's article, R. D. Mize Road was built through the center of town in 1900-1901 at the expense of the State of Missouri. On August 31,1903, the town was reincorporated. According to a 1904 map, as R. D. Mize Road came through downtown Grain Valley, the road was known as Broadway. Later it was renamed Main Street. According to the 1910 U. S. Census, the population of Grain Valley was 133. This doesn’t seem to account for the houses that has been added, however, I have not been able to verify the “city limits". I believe some of the houses on the map must not have been annexed into the town until a later date. The Sni-A-Bar Voice was a weekly journal devoted strictly to the interest of Eastern Jackson County. David Clinton Herrington, son of Merrick & Sarah (Holland) Herrington of Grain Valley, was the editor and manager from 1902 until at least 1911. According to Volume XI dated January 5, 1911, the publisher was Blue Springs Law and Publishing Co. Alma C Hall was the editor and William L. Hall was the assistant editor. The paper lasted until about 1923. The first two-year high school was built on Capelle Street next to the elementary school. Four students comprised the first graduating class in 1909. We do know that in the first decade of the twentieth century there were several businesses both south and north of the Chicago and Alton Railroad. In addition to the Grain Valley Depot and the original Cannon General Store, a lumber yard and feed store had been added.  Warren Webb Hardware, Circa 1902 On the north side of the tracks there was Warren & Webb Hardware, a hotel, a boarding house, the U. S. Post Office, a tonsorial, at least two more general/grocery stores, and the Bank of Grain Valley, built in 1905. From 1900 to 1910, the United States was experiencing the Edwardian era; the expansion of its territory, and the invention of new technologies. The automobile was on the way! By 1909, William Rockhill Nelson, owner and publisher of The Kansas City Star had begun to look for land to purchase in Eastern Jackson County…maybe Grain Valley! Was Grain Valley about to prosper along with the rest of the country. After all, 1910 to 1920, also known as the Ten’s, was the “Progressive Era” in American History. Next week, read about Grain Valley in the Roaring 20’s by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society With several cold days to stay inside and do research, I am sorry to say, I found nothing. Well, practically nothing about Grain Valley in the 1890s. The several histories I found about the town went from the establishment of a few businesses, the school, and churches in the mid to late 1880s to the early 1900s, skipping the 1890s entirely. Even my Ancestry search of residents living in town in 1880 revealed no major events in the 1890s. All I found were a few births; Martha and Dennis Costigan had a couple of children and the McQuerrys added six children to their family in the 1890s. George Ellis Storms was born in 1892. His father was a druggist, a profession his son pursued in the 1920s and 30s. Charlie Johnson, one of the town barbers, was born in 1896. On December 13. 1892, J. N. Sanders, my great-grandfather, and David C. Herrington, my great, great uncle, received a patent for their cane mill (Grain Valley News, October 15, 2020) used in the manufacture of sorghum. Other events (and births) surely occurred in Grain Valley in the 1890s, but they were not documented. It is interesting to note that the population in 1890 was 193. Unfortunately that census was lost in a fire (last week’s article), and there is no census for 1900 as Grain Valley was unincorporated. “Sometime later the incorporation papers were revoked. The town was disincorporated (today we would say unincorporated) so that the R. D. Mize Rock Road could be put through Grain Valley at state expense. If the town had been incorporated the state would not have furnished expenses for the road. The road was built in 1900-1901. August 31, 1903 the town was reincorporated and again began to prosper.” (Grain valley News, June 24, 2021). By 1910, the population had shrunk to only 133. We can only assume that the folks living in what is today Grain Valley were families of businessmen and farmers enjoying life in the Gay 90s. So what was happening in the United States in the 1890s? Here are some highlights: 1890 – President Harrison established Yosemite National Park, October 1, 1890 1891 – The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in New York City, Carnegie Hall opened, and James Naismith introduced basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts on December 21, 1891. 1892 – The first immigrants arrived at Ellis Island 1893 – George Westinghouse brought electricity to America and Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb, advocated use of direct-current electricity. The U. S. suffered it’s first financial depression. 1894 – Congress declared the 1st Monday in September as Labor Day to appease workers after the pullman strike was settled. 1895 – Volleyball was invented 1896 – The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece 1897 – The first Boston Marathon was held 1898 – The peace treaty ending the Spanish American War was signed in Paris 1899 – On February 14, 1899, the U. S. Congress approved the use of voting machines in federal elections. Known for beginning the use of Clydesdales in their logo, August Anheuser Bush, Jr., grandson of the founder of Anheuser-Busch brewery was born. Also born in 1899 was Al Capone, January 17, and Fred Astaire, May 10. And so, we have the Gay 90’s in Grain Valley, in Missouri, and across the nation! Grain Valley was re-incorporated in 1903. Maybe information for the next decade will be more easily found! by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society By 1880, the young village of Grain Valley was well established. With the train came a depot, a general store and, in 1879 the U. S. Post Office was established. During the 1880's more people “moved to town.” While some came from the small farms surrounding our town, many more came from eastern states and were just passing through, allowing for the fact that several of the early streets and roads around town were named for families that had departed by the turn of the century. The same can be said about the business owners and service providers. During the 1880s the families living here did establish a school and churches. In 1883 the Christian Church was established. Their first building was replaced by a large brick Church on the southwest corner of Main and Walnut Streets. When the building burned in the mid-1970's, the congregation relocated on Jefferson Drive, north of I-70, where it continued to serve our community serve until the early 2000s. It closed and was replaced by a non-denominational congregation. On July 11,1884, the Village of Grain Valley was incorporated. The same year, the First Baptist Church was established. In their early years, the Baptist Church shared space with the Christian Church. In 1889, a Church was built at the current location. The Methodist Episcopal church was established in 1889. Their old church on Capelle is now the oldest building in Grain Valley. Although the Capelle School was on the northern edge of town, near the end of the decade the residents of Grain Valley saw the need to build a school “in town.” The first school for grades 1-8 was constructed at the corner of Walnut and Capelle Streets. On land just north of the Methodist and across the street from the Baptist, they probably felt it was a safe space for their children to be educated!  Students, Faculty, and Board of Education Early Grain Valley School By the end of the decade, the town had grown. They now had two hotels –although one may have been a boarding house. They also had another general store (grocery), a druggist, and doctors. They had a barber shop, a shoe repair and shop owners. And for their livestock; a livery staple, a blacksmith and a wagon maker. Finally, they had a carpenter and a painter. What more could you need, or want? By the end of the decade, one source reported the population as 193 men, women and children. However, I can find no documentation for this figure. On January 10, 1921, a fire in the Commerce Department building, Washington, DC, resulted in the destruction of most of the 1890 census. Over 99% of the 1890 U.S. census was burned; of the 62,979,766 people enumerated in the census, the records of only 6,160 survived the fire. Later that month, the still-damp and singed remains of the original 1890 general population schedules were moved to a warehouse for temporary storage. The director of the Census at the time, Sam Rogers, recommended that the existing 1890 documents were unsalvageable and ought to be destroyed. They were finally destroyed in 1932. I currently have no way of knowing who was included in the 193 individuals counted. I also don’t have what land area was used for the count. I do know that the population in 1910 was only 133. Did the population shrink? Did the town size change? Where is the 1900 Census? If the weather cooperates I will try and find some answers before next week! Meanwhile, stay warm and keep cleaning out those drawers and closets; attics and basements. I look forward to your donations to the Grain Valley Historical Society SOON.  by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society For the next few weeks this column will look at Grain Valley by the decades. But let us first consider 1878 & 1879 and review what we already know about our town. Before the end of the 1870s the railroad built the first depot just east of Main Street. And across Main Street and just south of the tracks, J. H. Cannon had built a general store. (Grain Valley News, January 18, 2025) The 1880, United States Census list 80 individuals living in the “village of Grain Valley.” They occupied 13 homes; dwelling number 147 through 159, although I didn’t find the number 156 on the census. In 1881, Grain Valley published a directory which included three doctors; Dr. Keener, Dr. Daniels and Dr. Starnes, but the 1880 census listed druggist as the occupation of George Keener and James Daniels. Dr. J. W. Starnes was not on the census. It would make you wonder exactly what credentials were required to be a “Doctor?” Of the 80 residents, 8 lived in the Hawkenberry Boarding House and 9 lived in the Keener Boarding House. The Keener home must have been quite large to accommodate George, his wife, their 8 children and 9 boarders, nearly ¼ of the entire population. Was it located near the railroad? The occupations of the boarders were listed as cook, telegraph operator, and 7 were railroad workers. The 8 boarders at the Hawkenberry’s included Dr. Daniels, Mr. Paden, the school teacher, his wife and daughter, and 5 men listed as bridge builders. Don’t you wonder which bridge they might have built? Was the bridge over the railroad or was it over Sni-A-Bar Creek? I’m sure we’ll never know. That only leaves about 40 people that rounded out the population in 1880. They were the Spindles (he was a blacksmith), the Graves (he was a dry goods merchant) the Wrights (he was a carpenter), the Grahams (he was a day laborer), the Keshlears (he was a liveryman), the Bohns (he was a retired merchant), and the Reyburns (he was a carpenter). Of course, the Cannon General Store was just across the railroad tracks, but the Cannons didn’t live “in town.” Next week we’ll take a look at the directory and find out about Grain Valley in the 1880s.  Grain Valley's first depot. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society  by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Even before the original town was established, residents of the area had begun to emerge as leaders. Their voices were heard as they voted to annex the Graves and Ashcroft Addition into the town in 1887. The earliest date found at the Recorder of Deeds office was when lot 4 was sold to James T. Weatherford on December 10, 1887. The lots in this addition had previous owners, however, the lots were not an “official” part of the town.  GRAVES & ASHCRAFT’S ADDITION 1 & 2 Because I have previously written about these additions, I will share with you a portion of the manuscript of Patricia Davis Parr from a presentation she made to the Historical Society 25 years ago. The portion in italics are my words, usually correcting a name or date. “Grain Valley as I remember in the 1930s and 40s …starting at Walnut Street Grain Valley Christian Church was a beautiful brick building with leaded stained-glass windows. Built in 1910, it burned in the early 1970s. Next was the house lived in by the Savage Family. Another small house…I really do not remember it but my collaborator does. (I wish I knew who her collaborator was.) Lot 5 The Sni-A-Bar Bank building was operated by J. M. Hall. It was a concrete building with two floors and giant pillars in front This bank closed in the early 30s due to the depression. (It actually closed in 1926 due to very poor management and unsecured loans.) In the thirties it was used as a feed store and a pool hall. (In the 1950s and early 60s it housed a barber shop, sometimes a beauty shop and an apartment on the upper level.) Lot 6 was a café with many renters, one was Ollie Elliott, then a millinery shop run by Mrs. Owsley.  RYAN’S LOCKER PLANT, LOT 7 Charles and Ida Ryan ran the locker plant and also a grocery store on Lot 8. Inside on the north side was dry goods and on the south side was groceries and a large display case with penny candy and a rolling ladder to get to high shelves. This building was two stories, and housed upstairs was a theater. The Royal Neighbors held meeting upstairs, as did the Modern Woodman of the World. The W.P.A. sewing room was at this location for a time. John P. O’Connell was the town barber when the first building at this location burned in 1920. He rebuilt the two-story and rented it to Charles Ryan who soon purchased the building. The alley was located on the south side of the building. Lot 9 housed a grocery operated by W. M. Frost and his wife Sophia. (Interesting; two grocery stores across the alley from one another!) Later it was operated by J. W. Minter. The next building was used for many purposes. It housed the W. P. A. sewing room in the late 1930s and after that the Grain Valley Post Office was located along with C. E. Kirby’s repair shop for his gasoline trucks. Before this was his location Joseph Bartlett had his first café there. Lot 11 was the Drug Store operated by Ed Storms and later by his son Ellis Storms. The building next to Storm’s Drug Store was the two-story Bank of Grain Valley. It was the only bank in eastern Jackson County not forced to close during the depression. It was operated by W. D. Warren until 1960. The upstairs was rented to The Masons and The Eastern Star. Also, the first floor rear had an office for Dr. Johnson and Dr. Dwyer. There was also a grocery store operated first (1934) by Clyde Fristoe and later by William (Bill) Tucker. And that, my friends, is the west Side of Main Street. The remaining lots in the Graves and Ashcraft Addition were the homes along the north side of front street to Capelle, the east side of Capelle, and the south side of Walnut going east back to Main; or two square blocks -- homes, businesses and two churches, the Christian and First Baptist. Of the two, only First Baptist of Grain Valley remains. In recent years, Valley Community Church has moved into the old Mid-Continent Public Library building and parking lot. (Lots 13-17). If Ryan’s Locker Plant looks familiar, it should. That is now Crosetti’s Pharmacy.  1904 Map, Original Town. 4 acres, more or less. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society The City of Grain Valley is currently 6.17 Square miles. My quick calculation revealed that it is approximately 3,948.8 acres or 987 times larger than the original town in 1878. According to city records the population of Grain Valley in 1880 was 80 people. In 2020, the official population was 15,627 or about 196 times larger than 140 years earlier. That kind of puts things in prospective! The Original town was platted to include 38 lots of varying sizes and stretched North to South from Walnut Street to Harris Street and East to West from Cypress Street to Broadway (now Main Street). According to early records from the County Recorder of Deeds at the Jackson County Courthouse in Independence, the early lots were sold to W. B. Bishop, G. C. Browne, R. D. Wood, L M. Harris, J. A, Spindle, J. O. George, Dr. Keener, J. Keshlear, Mell Hulse, M. Bokin, Elisha Moore, Jacob F. Gregg, E. F. Williams, D. M. Majors, H. H. Dean, and the Chicago & Alton Railroad. The railroad property included Lot 35 plus the “right of way” and the land where the original depot was built. That depot burned in 1920, and the new depot was built further west in the Graves ad Ashcraft Addition. This group included shop owners, a doctor and a few homeowners. (Visit the Historical Society to learn more about Grain Valley’s first citizens.) Over the years these lots housed a livery stable, a couple of gasoline stations, a small hotel, a lumber yard, a farm supply and feed store, a hardware store, a millinery shop, a tonsorial (barber and bath), a plastics manufacturing company, grocery stores, a marina, restaurants, an ice house, a slaughter house, the depot, and two homes of very prominent residents: the Williams Family and Mr. & Mrs. Loring. These lots are currently occupied by two beauty shops, the muffler shop, the car wash, the tattoo parlor, a pet shop, J & M Auto Repair shop, EMIG Racing, and soon to open, a restaurant on Lot 26. I’ve read that the U. S. Post Office was housed in one of the businesses and by 1915, another business housed the telephone office. Of course, the telegraph office was at the depot. From the beginning, the town had a mayor and council members who came together to vote and voice their opinions. In 1881, they voted to annex the Graves and Ashcroft Addition and the first City Directory was printed. (Grain Valley News, May 23, 2022). Next week I will write about the “west side” of Main Street.  From the Illustrated Atlas of Jackson County Missouri, 1877 by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society When doing research for my weekly article in Grain Valley News, it is always good to feel the information is accurate. Fortunately, this map is as accurate as we can get. It was printed just one year before Grain Valley became a town, so we know precisely who owned the land in and around our town when it was established on September 5, 1878. Downtown Grain Valley is about as close as we can be to the center of Section 35.* In the May 19, 2022 issue of this paper, I wrote about James Lucas, the individual that gave 4 acres (more or less) of land to the city of Grain Valley. The information below was copied from the document found at the Recorder of Deeds office at the Jackson County Courthouse in Independence. Know all men by those present that I James F. Lucas of the County of Logan in the State of Illinois do by those present set apart four acres of land located in the County of Jackson and the State of Missouri described as follows, that is to say, commencing fifty-eight feet south of northwest corner of the east quarter of the southwest quarter of Section (35) thirty-five, Township (49) forty-nine, Range 30, hence seven hundred and fifteen feet, hence east four hundred and forty feet, hence south to the railroad hence following the railroad due West one hundred and twenty feet hence south to the southern limits of the town hence West to the place of beginning making in all four acres more or less all of said tract of land situated on the Kansas City-St. Louis and ( ? ) railroad. For the ( ? ) and purpose and profit of the town of Grain Valley. The aforesaid town being laid off by Joseph Peters given under my hand and seal this fifty day of September A.D. 1878. James H Cannon. As I stated at the time, my research revealed that Lucas was a land speculator from Illinois and he never actually lived in Grain Valley. Once the town was established, his surrounding land would have been more valuable. James H. Cannon was the Notary Public who signed the deal. Remember, he had already built a mercantile next to the railroad! It would appear that nearly 150 years ago men were already looking for a great “financial” deal. A few prominent patrons were listed in the atlas with addresses in Pink Hill or Stony Point. Remember it was 1877; there was no Grain Valley, yet! Those names were T. C. & D R. Broaddus, Jacob Gregg, and A. B. Hiell; all of Stony Point. And from Pink Hill the atlas listed M.L. Hall, B. F. Mitchell and Merrick Herrington (my great-great grandfather). If you look closely, there are many names on the map in Sections 25 through 27 and 34 through 36 that I have written about in previous issues of Grain Valley News. They helped to establish our town which was incorporated on July 11, 1884. Hopefully, you will recognize some of them: Levi Potts, Britton Capelle, Elisha Moore, John Christison, and W. T. Gilliland to name a few. The men I have mentioned still have descendants in the area. * A section if land is 640 acres or 1 square mile. You can visit the Grain Valley Historical any Wednesday from 10:00am - 3:00pm and learn more about the families that participated in the democratic process that shaped our town. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Twenty-one years after the United States Congress made Missouri the 24th state (August 10, 1821), Jacob Franklin Gregg was born on March 22, 1844. Some accounts tell us he was the first baby born in the tiny village of Stony Point. Known as Frank, he was one of ten children born to Jacob and Nancy Gregg, who came to Jackson County in 1825. They purchased land at Stony Point in 1843. Jacob Gregg held several positions in Jackson County, including sheriff, postmaster, and in 1850 he was elected to the Missouri State House of Representatives. Gregg and his neighbors and fellow landowners, Alexander Mc Alexander, Henry Haines, William Baugh, Jesse Barnard, and Robert Parker, to name a few, saw fit to build a school, a church, and establish a general store and post office, all before the Civil War. Democracy in action! Pink Hill was placed on the map by the United States Post Office in 1854 and Charles St Clair carried the first mail overland from Matthews Landing (near Levasy). In the same year the first school was built. George Love and Asbury Neer platted a town of 40 lots on 10 acres where present day Pink Hill and Kirby roads intersect northeast of Grain Valley. The first homesteaders in the area were Samuel Young in 1843 and Jacob Keshlear and William Holland in 1845 and Robert Graham (my maternal great, great, great grandfather) in 1849. Many of the families in both communities came from Kentucky or Tennessee, so on August 25, 1863, when General Thomas Ewing issued Order No. 11, both villages were abandoned by the residents with loyalties to the Confederate States of America. After the War Between the States some returned and others moved to the area. Both villages continued to thrive for a few years. School boards were established, mayors were elected, laws were written, the villages each had a sheriff. In 1871, the Pink Hill Methodist Church was established. In 1873, James H. Cannon arrived in Jackson County. He was a farmer and teacher at Stony Point. Later he established a mercantile there, and in 1876 he became the postmaster. Both villages hoped for the railroad to come through their community, but when the Chicago and Alton Railroad was completed in 1878, the tracks were laid in a more or less straight line from Oak Grove to Blue Springs. Both towns were bypassed. Mr. Cannon moved his mercantile to the railroad and Grain Valley was established!  The Cannon Store. Grain Valley, Missouri, Circa 1878. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society. by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society As the Historical Society prepares for the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street, this column will reflect how Democracy: Voices & Votes has affected Grain Valley. The column is not meant to be a history lesson; it would take someone far more intelligent than me to write that column. Rather, over the next several months I hope to focus on how our town came to be and some stories about how the citizens of our town have helped shape our history. So, let's start at the beginning, not the beginning of our country, but the beginning of our state. A petition to Congress from Missouri requesting statehood was presented by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Henry Clay on January 8, 1818. The first U.S. Land Sale in Missouri was recorded at the St. Louis District Land Office on July 13, 1818. While Missouri had a population large enough for statehood, the voices of both the US Senate and the House of Representatives debated for over two years before voting to admit Missouri on August 10, 1821. It was all part of the Missouri Compromise admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states in the nation. Many statesmen agreed that the compromise both delayed the Civil War and sowed its seeds. On December 15, 1826, the Missouri State Legislature authorized the "County of Jackson," named after the seventh president of the United States of America, Andrew Jackson. Land west of Buckner Tarsney was part of Osage Indian land from Treaty of 1808 and land east of Buckner Tarsney was part of Lafayette County Jackson County was purchased from the Osage Indians and carved into 9 townships. Here are some historical facts. 1834 Sni-A-Bar Township was organized 1842 Robert St. Clair brought his wife and 6 children to a 1000-acre farm in the area which became Pink Hill in the late 1840s. Their 12 -room home was destroyed during the Civil War. 1844 Jacob Franklin Gregg was born at Stony Point on March 3, 1844 1845 Benjamin and Lucinda Warren homesteaded near Tarsney Lake. 1847 William Robert Kirby went west to pan for gold. He returned and married Susan Capelle. 1850 The Post Office opened at Stony Point and Jacob Gregg (father of Jacob Franklin Gregg) was appointed the first postmaster. 1854 The first school house was built at Pink Hill. July 25, 1854 A post office was established at Pink Hill. Charles St. Clair carried the mail from Independence. 1858 Pleasant Valley Church (Baptist or Methodist) was built at Stony Point. 1860 The census establishes Jacob Gregg as living with wife Nancy and their 10 children in Stony Point. 1863 August 25, 1863: Order #11 issued by Gen. Ewing…. much of Pink Hill was burned by the Kansas Red Hogs. 1873 James H Cannon arrived in Jackson County. He was a farmer and teacher at Stony Point. Later he established a mercantile there and in 1876 he became the postmaster.  Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society After three years of striving to establish a market for a Historical Society calendar, I give up! There are so many free calendars out there, I have not been successful in selling a Grain Valley Historical Society calendar. While I saw the $10 price as a donation to support the Society, most people saw it as the price for a calendar they didn’t need. So, like many ideas that come and go, the calendar is history. So is The Royal Playhouse. The final picture in the final calendar is The Royal Playhouse. It was built around 1910 on lot 1 & 2 in the Yennie addition by Jasper Newton Sanders, my maternal great grandfather. The building had two small businesses on the east end facing Broadway, now Main Street. On one side there was a chili parlor operated by Sanders’ son-in-law, Walter Elliott. The other side was a haberdashery operated by another Sanders son-in-law, James I. (Jib) Belford. The remainder of the building was one large room with a stage across the west end. Over the next twenty years, the building served a variety of functions. Community plays and musical productions were performed there along with silent movies and later talkies. It was used as a skating rink, for dances and as a basketball court. After the first high school burned in November 1925, the high school basketball games were played there. It was also one of the many spaces used for classes during the 1925-26 year until a new school could be built. After Newt Sanders died, it was operated by a Mr. Hall for a short time. By 1940, it had become a gasoline station and auto repair shop operated by Ray Frantz. And finally, after 1945 it was purchased by Mr. Fred Roberts. Known as “the junk yard,” it was actually in business as a salvage yard, scraping jeeps, trucks, tanks, and occasionally air planes bought from the U. S. Government after World War II. The build set empty for several years before it was torn down. The space is now one of the Downtown Grain Valley parking lots on the Northwest corner of Main and Walnut Streets. I will also continue to look for a better photograph of the building, when it was new and in its prime; perhaps one taken during the Roaring 20's. As always, I seek your help in locating such a photo!  The Royal Playhouse. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Last week I told you Aunt Ellen (Snodgrass) lived in the house on Lot 9 in the Grain Valley addition known as Davis Place. There were 19 lots in the addition with houses along both sides of North Main Street, now Front Street and along the south side of Walnut Street from Capelle west to the edge of town. In those days, the “edge of town” was a mere 250 feet away. The entire addition was 250 feet (east to west) and 670.5 feet (north to south; or Walnut to the railroad track). By the later 1940s until the 1990s, Lot 9 was known as the Heidelberger Home. Hazel (Kiff) and Tom Heidelberger lived there for more than 50 years. The door on the left led into the kitchen where the cookie jar was always full when I would go there with my grandmother or my (real) Aunt Opal. Tom’s mother lived across the street in the home August and Margaret (McAlexander) Heidelberger had owned since the early 1900s. Tom’s sister Ruth Brown lived in the house next door on Lot 10. Aunt Hazel (Kiff) came to Grain Valley from California. She was raised by her aunt; yes Ella (Mrs. Ray Frantz) really was her aunt! Tom died in 1980. Their daughter, Florence Marlow, lived with her mother for a short time before “Aunt” Hazel died in 1992. Like Aunt Ellen, Aunt Hazel was my Sunday School teacher in the primary class; first, second and third grades. Like Ellen Snodgrass, she was very nurturing and kind. We all loved her. I recall that she always remembered us on our birthday with a small gift, like a handkerchief or hair barrettes. She made each of us feel special on our birthday. I am very happy that the house on Lot 9 along with others along Front Street has been or is being renovated. Most of these houses were built around the turn of the last century (late 1890s to early 1900s) and it is wonderful that they are being restored - maybe for another 100 years!  The Heidelberger House. Front Street. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I drove West on Front Street a few weeks ago and discovered that another home was being renovated, or as I like to say, brought back to life. While the historical part of me would like to see it painted white and restored with some of the original charm, I am just glad it isn’t being torn down. The house is built on Lot 8 of Davis Place, an addition to Grain Valley filed with the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds on October 8, 1888 by William and Nancy Davis. Without some additional research (for a warmer day and another trip to the Recorder’s office at the courthouse in Independence, MO) I cannot tell you when this house was built or by whom. What I can tell you is I have always referred to the home as the Snodgrass House. That’s because, Ellen Snodgrass lived there in the 1950s and 60s. Ellen was the widow of Marvin Snodgrass (1888-1936) a farmer in Grain Valley. While Ellen (Beyers) grew up in Blue Springs, Marvin was born (and died) in Grain Valley. His grandparents came to Jackson County from Virginia, his father Parmer was born south of town and married Sarah Potts. Marvin’s sisters were May Corlew and Molly Roof long-time residents with homes next door to each other on Walnut Street, just across the back alley from “Aunt” Ellen. No, she was not my aunt, but when I grew up, we call a female contemporary of our parents and grandparents either Mrs. or Aunt; it’s just what you did. I knew Aunt Ellen well because she was my first Sunday School teacher. She, along with her sisters-in-law, attended the old Methodist Church on Capelle Street and Aunt Ellen taught in the nursery for 35 years. I was one of the lucky children to receive her hugs, homemade cookies, and Bible stories back then. In the fall of 1952, I began 1st grade and so Aunt Hazel (Heidelburger) became my teacher. She lived in the house next door, Lot 9, Davis Place. Maybe that’s some history for another story.  Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society  View From the Tracks, Circa 1925. Mr. Tate, the station master. Photo credit: Grain Valley Historical Society by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society While the train is the subject of a great deal of negative press in Grain Valley today, growing up in the 1950s and 60s, the train was a good, make that a great, asset for our town. After all, as stated many times, without the Chicago and Alton Railroad, there would be NO Grain Valley. And at the middle of last century, the train brought the mail; the train brought clothing and household items from J. C. Penney and Sears and Roebuck; the train brought seeds and roses from Jackson and Perkins, and on and on! Let’s face it. In the 1950's, Grain Valley had fewer than 400 people, not a lot of cars waiting to cross over the railroad tracks. By the late 1960's, when the old depot was torn down, Grain Valley’s population had grown from 552 in 1960 to 709 in 1970; again, not a ton of cars or people waiting to cross the tracks. And if I had to guess, a really long train might have fifty cars. The Doodle Bug, which brought letters and packages each morning and evening usually had about 8 to 12 cars including the engine, the coal car and the caboose. Other than the freight cars carrying the mail and two or three passenger cars, the train was very short. Of course, it always stopped at the depot, just West of the crossing to leave the mail, so the three or four cars had ample opportunity to pass. The November 2024 calendar page shows the back side of the depot, as seen from the train. If you don’t know, this was the second depot in Grain Valley, located on the south side of Front Street, just west of Main Street. It was built around 1921 to replace the first depot which was destroyed by fire. According to the 1904 map, that depot was located on the north side of the tracks and two blocks further east in the “original” town.  |
Categories
All
Archives
March 2025
|
RSS Feed
