Historical Markers and War Memorials in Greenville, Missouri
Greenville is the county seat for Wayne County
Greenville is in Wayne County
Wayne County(53) ► ADJACENT TO WAYNE COUNTY Bollinger County(3) ► Butler County(7) ► Carter County(8) ► Iron County(34) ► Madison County(11) ► Reynolds County(3) ► Stoddard County(12) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
"All that is necessary to elect women to official positions is that men work to elect them — just as women work to elect men."
Alice C. Moyer-Wig, 1928
"If I had a gift of some great educational or political . . . — — Map (db m184186) HM
Ed Barrow and his son H. O. (Harland) had a grocery store on the first floor of this building. H. O. was the last mayor of Old Grenville and the first mayor of new Greenville. Charles "Plu" and Frank "Mack" barrow occupied the second floor where the . . . — — Map (db m187133) HM
"Before the Civil War, Zedekiah Bedwell is reported to have buried an iron-bound box containing his money: who found it is not known. Many who dug for it found nothing."
Rose Fulton Cramer
Wayne County . . . — — Map (db m183619) HM
During the first week of December in 1838, a group of more
than 1,100 Cherokees passed through Old Greenville on their
Trail of Tears journey to the Indian Territory, in what is now
Oklahoma. Led by John Benge, they were one of 13 groups
of . . . — — Map (db m197281) HM
During the 19th century, travelers passing through Old
Greenville had an important decision to make. How would they get across the St. Francis River? There was no bridge crossing the river required use of either the ferry or the ford.
The . . . — — Map (db m197405) HM
"I know of no other flower that more nearly represents a baby than a rose. The rose is equally admired and cherished for its beauty, its purity and its radiance, the world over. It is the universal flower of the world. The baby, bless its little . . . — — Map (db m209521) HM
Welcome to the Grenville Bike Trail
The Grenville Bike Trail (blue) is a three mile hard-surface trail that connects the City of Greenville with the historic town site of Old Greenville. The trail is accessible for bicycles and . . . — — Map (db m189723) HM
"The top floor was for women…I remember the jail held two women…the Dickerson Girls. They were in jail for robbing some folks."
Frank White — — Map (db m187085) HM
"... In those days your school and your church was (the) life of your community." -Mary Gleen
In 1899, the Greenville Methodist Church was built with the best available materials. It had a seating capacity of several hundred people. Torn down . . . — — Map (db m209663) HM
"... That was ... a marvel, how they handled those stones with no machinery... That was the hottest summer I have ever lived through... those poor guys got them stones on their shoulders and walked up running planks." -Paul Stokefy, 1987 . . . — — Map (db m209666) HM
U.S. Senate candidate Harry S Truman visited Greenville on October 2, 1934, during a campaign swing through southeastern Missouri. Her gave speeches that day along U.S. Route 67 at the county courthouses in Fredericktown, Greenville, and Popular . . . — — Map (db m187284) HM
"…Sam Hasting was quite a fisherman — he loved to fish and he'd stand and talk about fishin' 'bout half the time. It's taken him a long time to cut your hair cause he'd have to stop and tell you how long that fish was he caught."
- . . . — — Map (db m187129) HM
"I remember when I was a kid, Mr. Davis gave me a quarter for my place at the Hastings' Barber Shop. He was in a hurry and I was happy to give my place. That quarter was the easiest money I ever made."
- Virgil Clubb, . . . — — Map (db m187241) HM
Can you guess what this concrete cube is?
Chances are that you would not recognize this block of concrete as a traffic control device, but that is what it was.
The manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, first published in 1927, was . . . — — Map (db m210076) HM
John S. Marsh and his son Harold had a general mercantile store here and a lumber yard across the street. Items such as Red Goose work shoes, Curlee Brand suits, dry goods, hand tools, farm equipment, hardware and caskets were all sold in Marsh's . . . — — Map (db m209515) HM
(First Panel): Memory Lane
Welcome to Old Greenville national Historic Site. Because of its historical and archaeological significance, the old town of Greenville was listed on the National Register of Places in March of 1990. Today, . . . — — Map (db m183644) HM
Welcome to the Memory Lane Trail
Memory Lane Trail (red —) consists of about one mile of leve,, hard surfaced trial, routed along the streets and sidewalks of the Old Greenville town site. the Memory Lane Trial is . . . — — Map (db m184187) HM
The building that served as parsonage for the Methodist Church was located here. A stucco building built in 1928, it was last occupied by Rev. S.H. Anglin and his family. The building burned while occupied by the Anglins, and their four-year-old son . . . — — Map (db m209659) HM
In 1940, as the Wappapello Dam neared completion, the citizens of Wayne County held a referendum. By a clear majority, they voted to retain Greenville as the county seat, rather than move it to Patterson, Silva, Williamsville, Piedmont or any . . . — — Map (db m187356) HM
(Listing of keys matched to the annotations on the aerial photograph):
1) Union Cemetery
2) C.V. Estes, Bose H.P. Bennett, F. Hughes
3) Frank C. White, Nellie Polk
4) Wheeler W. Dennis, Whitner, Absheer
5) Amy H. Costner
6) . . . — — Map (db m208895) HM
Hiram N. Holladay was the driving force behind the growth and prosperity of Old Greenville during the late 19th Century. Holladay began his working life as a teamster. In 1869, he helped to build the Belmont Branch of the St. Louis Iron Mountain . . . — — Map (db m183811) HM
In the early 1800s, settlements began here at Old Greenville, where two ancient Indian trails converged at a point where the St. Francis River could be readily forded. By 1810, a small ferry established by the Bettis family provided an alternate . . . — — Map (db m169782) HM
This aerial view of Old Greenville in April, 1939, shows the town during the period when the Wappapello dam was under construction. The population at that time was about 570 down nearly half of what it had been forty years earlier during the . . . — — Map (db m183638) HM
(Listing of keys matched to the annotations on the aerial photograph):
1) Union Cemetery
2) C.V. Estes, Bose H.P. Bennett, F. Hughes
3) Frank C. White, Nellie Polk
4) Wheeler W. Dennis, Whitner, Absheer
5) Amy H. Costner
6) . . . — — Map (db m209656) HM
Throughout its long history , Old Greenville had a need to accommodate travelers and visitors, particularly when the Wayne County Court was in session.
When Greenville was moved above the rising waters of Wappapello Lake in the early 1940s, . . . — — Map (db m187306) HM
Floods were a recurring challenge for the residents of Old Greenville. During the 14-year period between the earliest settlement here, and completion of the Wappapello dam in 1941, which finally prompted a move to higher ground, Old Greenville . . . — — Map (db m197228) HM
When Greenville was founded in 1819, the original layout consisted of an 18-block area along the St. Francis River (yellow). As the town grew, most of the new additions and businesses developed along Timmons Street. The business district was . . . — — Map (db m184201) HM
This house was owned by Isaac "Ike" Daffron and later by George and Nora Ownbey. They rented rooms to the public and served meals for as low as 25 cents. The building was built using concrete blocks with an imitation stone face. — — Map (db m187132) HM
In the spring of 1900, Sam Brown was living with his wife Annabel, their two sons, and her younger brother, Will Grant, in a shanty in the woods two miles southwest of Hiram. Sam Brown (30) and Will Grant (21) had been working together for about . . . — — Map (db m187422) HM
In April 1939, Louise Myers (48) of Gravelton, a small town in northeastern Wayne County, murdered her husband Grover M. Myers (54), by infusing his homemade tomato wine with insecticide.
Grover Myers was a construction supervisor working on . . . — — Map (db m187361) HM
Harriet Smith's two-story frame residence was located in the center of this property. Mrs. Smith's husband, Ed, was cashier of the Wayne County Bank and a partner in the Smith-Rhodes Mercantile Company. He died in 1926 and later Mrs. Smith . . . — — Map (db m231477) HM
"…kids used to climb those steel post and slip into the show. The lady that owned it would paint those post withhold waste oil from the garages to keep the kids from climbing on it (to get to the theater)."
Paul Stokely, . . . — — Map (db m187174) HM
"... When the ladies rode horses they rode sidesaddle and the women saddle had a think stuck up on one side instead of the horn out on the center, and they hung one knee over that and with both feet hanging over one side of the horse." Paul . . . — — Map (db m209519) HM
"...Stricklands bought, sold and traded farm products (eggs, chickens, hogs). The store sold for cash, but most customers bought on the credit, paying once a month. Some even worked for the merchandise... ranked wood, ironed, just the best they . . . — — Map (db m209516) HM
In July of 1862, more than 100 members of the local State Militia (12th M.S.M. Cavalry - USA), commanded by Capt. William T. Leeper, were camped here, northwest of Greenville, guarding the Fredericktown Road. Ignoring "grapevine telegraph" rumors of . . . — — Map (db m208725) HM
Early on the morning of July 20, 1862, a skirmish was fought here between the local Union Militia (12th M.S.M. Cavalry) commanded by William T. Leeper and the Confederate 15th Missouri Cavalry, led by Timothy Reeves. Many of those men were from . . . — — Map (db m208726) HM
[Marker features photos of historic gas stations]
Hunter's Resort Conoco • C. M. "Percy" Lee's Shell • J. A. Davis's Col-Tex Station • George F Wikinson's • Ed & Edna's Standard Oil • L Wilcox's Standard Oil • Frank Ward's Cities Service • . . . — — Map (db m187089) HM
"... I can remember my dad, hauling in a load of wood to pay for a year's subscription (to the paper)..." -Virgil Clubb
Constructed in 1907, for the St. Francois Iron and Land Company, this building later contained the offices of the . . . — — Map (db m209605) HM
During the 19th century, high water on the St. Francis River was often an obstacle to travel through Wayne County. Here at Old Greenville, the river cold be safely forded in two places during periods of normal stream flow, but when the river was up, . . . — — Map (db m208873) HM
The last of five Wayne County courthouses located here at Old Greenville was built in 1925-26. Governor Sam A. Baker, a native of Wayne County, laid the cornerstone on May 21, 1925. The building was designed with a concrete basement to elevate it . . . — — Map (db m187416) HM
"These (men) work either in the employ of the tie contractors or independently. They usually build shacks in the forest, where they live in primitive and lonely fashion.
Tie hackers are looked down upon by the farming population and often are a . . . — — Map (db m187424) HM
When this picture was taken in 1935, William Helm owned this building where Floyd Turner and Monty Durham had a grocery store and meat market. A year later, Mr. Durham sold his share of the company to Mr. Turner, who became the sole proprietor when . . . — — Map (db m209548) HM
"… you could buy a pretty good pair of overalls, which was the most common work
clothes at that time, for about 98 cents at Ward's Store. A real good pair for $1.25"
- Paul Stokely
Ward's Store was located here when . . . — — Map (db m186614) HM
(Front):
Early called the "State of Wayne" for its vast size when it was organized in 1818, the county once extended to the western border of Missouri Territory. Now 741 sq. miles of the eastern fringe of the Ozarks, the county is a . . . — — Map (db m170234) HM
"…(Jones' Drug store) was a pretty good sized drug store and in the back they had a juke box and we'd dance in there. It was a place where kids hung out."
- Mary Glenn
Organized in 1900, the Wayne County Bank existed . . . — — Map (db m187236) HM
"…I can remember (the 1925 courthouse) was built, cause I cleaned brick when they tore the old one down. They re-used them on the inside walls. I got paid 15 cents a hundred and I'd clean a thousand a day"
Paul Stokely, . . . — — Map (db m187157) HM
(Left Side): In honor of our boys who entered their country's service. Dedicated to those who gave their lives in the defense of liberty in the World War, 1917-1918.
(Right Side):
Killed in Action
Charley Kearby Arnold Hodge . . . — — Map (db m169985) WM
Harriet Smith's two-story frame residence was located in the center of this property. Mrs. Smith's husband, Ed, was cashier of the Wayne County Bank and a partner in the Smith-Rhodes Mercantile Company. He died in 1926 and later Mrs. Smith . . . — — Map (db m230049) HM
