​Looking Back: Transportation 150 years Ago

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
 
As much as the dreaded train which blocks the track and causes delays is our modern-day curse, without the train there would be no Grain Valley. Imagine buying you groceries at Pink Hill or getting your mail at Stony Point.

As noted previously in this column, 150 years ago there was NO GRAIN VALLEY. The people living in this area were at Pink Hill, Stony Point, Lickskillet (Oak Grove), Lone Jack, Tarsney, well you get the picture. Prior to 1878, they moved about the countryside via horseback or wagons. Some may have relied on mules and oxen, or walking.

As the Historical Society prepares to welcome The Smithsonian Exhibit, Voices and Votes, we are preparing our local exhibits.  This portion of the exhibit is designed to show how local decisions influenced our town and our place in American democracy. Over the next few weeks this column will highlight the effects of transportation on our town.

The C & A railroad began in Illinois in 1847 and gradually expanded, reaching Springfield and Joliet by the early 1850s. ​​​​This railroad went through a series of name changes in its early years, becoming the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad in February 1855, the St. Louis, Alton & Chicago Railroad on January 21st, 1857 and the Chicago & Alton Railroad on October 10th, 1862.

The C&A completed its line to Kansas City in 1879, including a bridge over the Missouri River at Glasgow and a bridge over the Mississippi River at Louisiana, Missouri. This connection formed the famous "Triangle" route, linking Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City. 

The railroad established depots in several Missouri towns, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. The Independence C&A Depot, built in 1879, is notable as one of the oldest and only restored two-story frame stations in Missouri. 

The Chicago & Alton Railroad in Missouri arrival spurred growth in towns like Grain Valley, contributing to the development of industry, transportation, and livestock markets. Situated only a few hundred yards west of Sni Creek, Grain Valley was a stop so they could take on water for the  mighty steam engines which pulled the trains. Later Grain Valley was a stop for passenger trains bring visitors from across the nation and several foreign countries to Sni-A-Bar Farms. Freight trains hauled the Sni-A-Bar grade cattle and other livestock to the market in Kansas City.

The Chicago & Alton underwent several reorganizations and name changes, eventually becoming the Alton Railroad in 1931 and later merging into the Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad in 1947.  Today, portions of the former Chicago & Alton tracks are used by Amtrak and other rail operators. 
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Grain Valley Crossing, Circa 1915
Visit the Grain Valley Historical Society and learn about transportation in Grain Valley, from the 1878 railroad to I-70 in 1965 and beyond. Learn when “Main Street America” came through Grain Valley!
Photo courtesy Grain Valley Historical Society