Looking Back: Grain Valley Ushers in the Roaring Twenties

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:

• The 19th amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified on August 19, 1020
• Warren Harding died in 1923 and Coolidge became president
• Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindberg both began flying lessons
• Jan 1, 1923 Model T. Ford the first affordable car was invented
• Jan 1, 1925 John Scopes monkey trials began and challenged evolution in the schools
• 1927 Babe Ruth became the 1st player to hit 60 home runs
  
  

But there was also the bad side. Prohibition, murders, lawlessness, organized crime, and the revival of the Ku Klux Klan took some of the shine off of the decade.
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Next week: Learn about  Sni-A-Bar in the Roaring Twenties
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