Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • 2023 Garage Sale Directory
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • 2023 Garage Sale Directory
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form








​news

Looking Back: Continued From Last Week… In The Words Of Birdie Potts Davidson

10/8/2020

 
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society    
 

     The founders of Grain Valley wanted to locate it west of the present site but Britton Capelle, who owned the land, didn’t want a town on his place. Mr. Graves and Mr. Ashcroft asked for the town to be further east and here it was located.
     In 1888, Dr. Kinger and Dr. Storms seemed to be among the first to build houses in the village.* Adams Spindal was a mechanic, blacksmith, cabinet maker and casket maker. He made a small casket and placed it atop his roof to advertise his caskets. Mrs. Arnoff build a hotel and served travelers from far and wide.
     I feel I should include Stony Point, as it was a town much earlier, a few years before the Civil War. It was 2 ½ miles south of Grain Valley. Rocks and stones were everywhere, therefore the name of Stony Point. A board school house was constructed on the peak of a hill to be the center of education for boys and girls of the neighborhood.  The interior was simple and bare. The crude seats were huge logs split in half and supported by blocks and placed on each side of the room.
     There were no desks, their few treasured books were kept on the floor. They could not afford to pay the teacher much, so it was a short term in mid-winter, for then there was no work for the older boys to do at home.
     A store or trading post was established by Mr. Jake Gregg. He was also the Postmaster, having a crude Post Office in the corner of his store.
     Broad minded citizens felt the need for a place to worship. Soon a building was erected in the Valley about 2 miles west of the store. It was called Pleasant Valley Church. It was Methodist.
     On August 25, 1863 General Thomas Ewing issued Order No. 11. Everyone (not pledging their allegiance to the Union) moved out of Jackson County. They returned in 1866 to find a lot of destruction.
    The church was badly in need of repair. The members decided to build in a new location on the old Gore farm near the Perdee Chapel Cemetery. Levi and Sinia Emily (Dillingham) Potts (Birdie’s grandparents) and family were members there.
     The store had been destroyed during the war. Mr. Marshall Crawford built a new store on his 32-acre farm ½ mile west of the old store site and he too served as postmaster receiving no salary except 60% of the sales of stamps.
     The mail was carried once a week from Independence by Mr. Booth. In 1873, Mr. Crawford sold his land and store to Mr. James H. Cannon for $40 an acre ($1,280). In addition to running the store, Mr. Cannon served as Justice of the Peace and performed several marriage ceremonies in the little village. Nearby there was a grist mill operated by Mr. Enoch Russell. Not far away he also ran a sawmill.
     In 1878, the railroad was built 2 miles north of Cannon’s store. In a short time he selected a new location just south of the railroad crossing and here erected a store and moved his merchandise to Grain Valley. Purdee Chapel was sold and much of the lumber was used to build the Methodist Church in Grain Valley in 1889.
     The economy was very poor. We could earn very little, if any money. A penny for Sunday School, a nickel for Church, but we gave what we could. We joined the church and promised to support it with our presence, our prayers, and our money. We were happier and our ailments and problems of the week seemed fewer when we could attend church on Sunday.
     There were many homes in Grain Valley prior to 1888. (She may have meant 1878.)
 
     Birdie Potts Davidson (1901-1999) was a life-long resident of Grain Valley. She is a 1921 graduate of Grain Valley High School. She joined the Methodist Church in 1915 and was a lifelong member. She wrote this history for the church centennial in 1988 and 89.
 

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid19
    Covid-19
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Technology
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

Grain Valley News is a free community news source published weekly online. 
(c) 2023 Grain Valley News

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
Picture