Missouri, Monett High School class project Historical Markers
Students in Amy Sampson's English class researched, wrote and designed these historical markers about their town. Assisted by local historians, the students tackled a wide range of subjects, such as persistent downtown flooding, whistle stops by presidential candidates, a lynching and a football team that outscored opponents by a 504-9 margin. Sampson won a $2,000 educational grant to pay for the markers, done in the school's colors of purple and gold and erected in 2023.
Monett, as well as Neosho and Joplin, was an early aviation hotbed in
the United States. Monett had investors from the area named L.B.
Durnil and U.S. Barnsley who wanted to build an airplane. They had
two projects in Monett including the . . . — — Map (db m251422) HM
At this location, the Central School was
built around 1892 and serviced 1st through
12th grades. As Monett continued to grow
in size, Central School became the main
grade school.
Written by: Jasmine Rodriguez and Genesis
Guerra
. . . — — Map (db m251468) HM
Originally built in 1904, Eugene Field School
was a feeder school. It was located on
Benton Street at Sixth Street. It was built by
L.A. Mason, a major contractor in Monett at
the time. Other feeder schools during that
time were Plymouth and . . . — — Map (db m251471) HM
Monett High School was built in 1905.
Monett's student population later outgrew
the building and they had to build a bigger
building for grades 9-12. The second high
school building was built in 1922-23 by
M.E. Gillioz and a junior college was . . . — — Map (db m251473) HM
Logan David McKee, born on the 27th of February in 1877, is known
as a remarkable man in Monett Missouri. Logan grew up in
Hutchinson, Kansas. He came to Monett in 1891 to be a pharmacist
and worked for many drug stores in the area until he had . . . — — Map (db m251425) HM
Christopher Glenn Stark was a veteran of Monett. Christopher graduated
Monett High School in 2007, joined the Army in 2008, and was part of the
705th Explosive Ordnance Disposal company. Christopher was killed in
action on February 28, 2011 . . . — — Map (db m251412)
In the early 1900s, it was well known that there was a
cave underneath the current Monett City Park Casino. In
1918, it was reported in the Monett Weekly Times that
they were referring to the cave as a quarry. Logan McKee
was studying the cave . . . — — Map (db m251438) HM
Kelly Creek in downtown Monett has been flooding since about
1907 and there have been at least 40 floods that have been
documented. The 1927 flood arose so quickly that waitresses at
the Frisco Hotel stood on tables until firefighters came along . . . — — Map (db m251460) HM
In 1921, Monett was known for having a legendary football
team as well as having an undefeated season of eleven games.
Finis Engleman was the coach of this legendary team. Monett
had a great season that year going against Arkansas 57 to . . . — — Map (db m251475) HM
The founder of the Harvey Houses was Frederick Henry Harvey.
After he married, he and his wife opened up their first Harvey
House in 1878 in Florence, Kansas. In 1881 he replaced his male
waiters with the famous “Harvey Girls.” Harvey gained a . . . — — Map (db m251449) HM
Monett has always been known as a nice, peaceful railroad town. However, in 1894,
that was disrupted. There were five lynchings in twelve years near the turn of the
century in this area, however, only one of these was in Monett. On June 28, 1894 . . . — — Map (db m251447) HM
At Sixth and Front Streets in 1898 the Monett
Railroad YMCA was built. The YMCA was a very
active unit in Monett under the direction of Mr.
George J.C. Wilhelm. The YMCA housed railroad
workers with clean rooms, hot baths, and even gave
people . . . — — Map (db m251453) HM
Native Americans have a long history in the Monett area. Artifacts from the
bottomland of the Monett golf course and the Long farm east of town
reflect centuries of occupation dating back to the Archaic Period 2,800 to
9,000 years ago, which is . . . — — Map (db m251440) HM
Strawberries were a huge start to the Monett economy. Strawberries were
one of the first crops introduced to Southwest Missouri in the 1800s.
Southwest Missouri produced the finest strawberries in the United States
and Monett became one of the . . . — — Map (db m251444) HM
Downtown Monett Missouri is home to one of the
most famous landmarks in Monett Missouri, the
Freedom Silo located by the train tracks. The
Freedom Silo has stood for 130 years and is believed
to have been built around 1890. It is called . . . — — Map (db m251452) HM
In 1887, Plymouth Junction or Plymouth Crossing, now known
as Monett, served as a trading post and main shipping center
for the Frisco Railroad. The Frisco Railroad was originally
known as the Louis-San Francisco Railway. The railroad . . . — — Map (db m251455) HM
The Gardner home on 713 Central was built
shortly after the Sizer house by Solon Wright,
owner of Wright Dry Goods, in an attempt to
show up Callumura. Wright wanted the grandest
home in Monett. However, after the construction
of the home, . . . — — Map (db m251469) HM
The Gillioz Theater was built in 1931 and was operated by
Commonwealth Amusement by 1941. Johnson and Maack of St.
Louis were the architects of the Gillioz. This theater was very
popular amongst the local community. During the prom season
the . . . — — Map (db m251465) HM
Monett has been home to four hospitals since its founding. Dr. West's
hospital was first established in 1914 and was the first hospital in
Monett. It housed 18 beds by the time it closed around WWI. After
WWI, Dr. West later reopened his . . . — — Map (db m251396) HM
The Sizer home on 800 Central was built for the
family of Fielding Sizer, an attorney, in 1916. The
current occupants are only the second set of
people to live in the house. The house still
retains most of its original features including . . . — — Map (db m251470) HM
On the Trail of Tears there were 3 paths that
removed the Native Americans from their land to
Indian Territory due to the Indian Removal Act.
One of the paths from the Trail of Tears went just
southeast of Monett near Star City and Madry.
We . . . — — Map (db m251439) HM
Viga Burns Hall was born on 17th of June, 1892 in Hancock Missouri. Raised
by a prominent Monett businessman, Francis Marion Hall, V.B. Hall followed
in his father's footsteps founding V.B. Hall Company in 1919. A leader in the
transition from a . . . — — Map (db m251443) HM
Monett had four other names before it was called Monett. Monett was first
named Kings Prairie Depot. Monett began as a Frisco Railroad town because
of its location. By 1875, Plymouth had become a new name for Kings Prairie
Depot. The name . . . — — Map (db m251457) HM
Railroad was a prominent mode of transportation in the first half of
the 20th Century. Presidential nominees would come and stop in
towns to give speeches and try to convince people to vote for them.
These stops were known as “whistle stops.” . . . — — Map (db m251445) HM
The Waldensian church originated in Europe with the preaching of
the merchant Valdo in 1140-1217. The official symbol of the
Waldensian church is a candle positioned over an open Bible. The
original homeland of the Waldenses was in Northern . . . — — Map (db m251428) HM
Monett has always been known for baseball. In the early 1900s
Monett had local teams and semi-professional teams. There was
a team called the Athletics until the spring of 1910, then they
were renamed Rolleg's Midgets after a player from Joplin . . . — — Map (db m251477) HM
