​Looking Back: Graves & Ashcraft Lots 9 – 12

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
 
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As I continue to learn more about Downtown Grain Valley, this week I will lots 9, 10, 11 and 12; the West Side. I am curious as to why the original lots on the east side of Main Street were numbered from South to North, the lots on the east side of Main are numbered from North to South, another question that will probably never be answered!

At some point, a General Store was built on lot 9. Although I had thought this photograph was taken much earlier, I now know that Worthmore Shoes were not manufactured until 1930.  If it is 1930 or later, the lot was owned by first Luther and the Robert Majors (Majors Road). 

Lot 9 The General Store
 
The general store was followed by several grocery stores. In the 1930s it was operated by Bill Minter, Clyde Fristoe, and Cecil & Anna Louise Poage. The last owner was Wayne Minter who closed the store in the early 1954. The building was vacant for several years. During the 1980s and early 1990s it was Campbell’s Gun Shop. In 1998 the building was purchased and renovated by the Grain Valley Historical Society. One of the features in the building is the original tin ceiling.
 
Around 1910, Edward and Alma Williams owned lots 10 and 11 and a brick structure was built. It is believed that the bricks for the building came from their brickyard on Sni Creek just east of downtown. The building housed a store that sold new automobiles and a repair shop for autos and buggies! By 1929, the portion of the build on lot 10 was still a garage run by Ed Huff. Later it became the post office (near the entrance, on the left) and a restaurant. Fred Roberts purchased the building in 1971, but it remained vacant for many years. Today, it is owned by the Bank of Grain Valley and houses the Pottery Palace.
 
Lot 11 was purchased from Mr. Williams by Edward Storms. He opened a drug store there. It was later operated by his son, Ellis Storms. James Casey owned and operated the drug store from  March 1953 to December 1958. Later owners of lot 11 included Thomas J. Cartner (1958), Margaret Hutchinson (1961), Sara Rogers (1964), Floyd Johnston (1966) and the Bank of Grain Valley in 1972.

Lot 10 & 11 Williams Auto


​Finally, lot 12 is home to the oldest business in town. The Bank of Grain Valley was established in 1905, by J. H. Cannon and William A. Warren.  The Warren Family owned the Bank on lot 12 until 1972. In 1972, the property on lot 11 and 12 were sold to The Bank of Grain Valley (Alan Lefko).

Lot 12 The Bank of Grain Valley
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