Missouri Trivia: Tarsney Store

​by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society

​     It wasn’t always Porky’s Blazin BBQ.  It was once known as the Tarsney Store, located in the town by the same name. 
     A post office was established there in 1891, and remained in operation until 1902. The store and gas station remained in business until the 1960s and other businesses came and went over the years. Just up the road, south of Porky’s is a red house, that was the Tarsney School which Ken Winterode and his wife converted to their home in the mid-60s.          
     Although many students who attended there ended up at Grain Valley for high school, reorganization in 1949 put Tarsney School in the Lee’s Summit School District. The town was named for J.C. Tarsney (1845-1920) who was elected United States congressman in 1886, and was reelected three times. Tarsney was a lawyer in Kansas City and he never lived in the town which was named for him.