Looking Back: The First Decade -1880's

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.
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