Welcome to Barton County, Missouri
History of Boston
A History of Boston, Missouri
Compiled by Mrs. C. E. (Mildred Austin), 1969 Obtained from the archives in the Lamar Co. Courthouse, Lamar Mo, in 1997 by Roger Steelman Contributed to Barton County MOGenWeb by Priscilla Steelman - August 1998
Boston was comprised of swamp land approved for reclaiming on September 28, 1850 and first claimed by John P. Murray. It was sold James and John Dean in 1868 and in 1874 was sold to Alex and Cynthia Steelman.In 1880, the Missouri Pacific built the railroad and a dream was born. Mr. and Mrs. Steelman donated the land for the right of way out of their farm property. They called the crossroads where the first trains were persuaded (sic) to stop, CARLETON STATION. This endured briefly. In July 1881, Mr. and Mrs. Steelman gave 10 acres on the East and 10 acres on the West side of the track and filed dedicatory plot of the village. They named it Beloit.
Three business men who saw advantages of a rail outlet were W. P. Adams, W. H. Thompson, and Dr. J. W. Speece. The first two engaged in the sale of general merchandise and the latter operated a drug store.
Around 1900, a Post Office was obtained. There was another Missouri office named Beloit, so the village became BOSTON. A school district was organized and a school building erected. Church services were conducted in the school house by circuit riders. Stock pens were erected and loading equipment installed. BOSTON became a major shipping point for cattle and other live stock.
Jim Box installed a grain elevator so the shipment of grain was added. The Odd Fellows erected a large frame Hall. The Box family, Dr. Warren, and members of the Crutchfield family were among the early dreamers and business people.
The I.O.O.F. Lodge #303 and the Anti Horse Thief Association #278 headed by president C.C. Coates of nearby Esrom and Secretary A. U. Williams were very active in the early days. Walter R. Calvert, Boston school teacher, was elected representative in the State Legislature. He served two terms from 1899 to 1902. Calvert, a Democrat, was perhaps Boston's most famous citizen in the Missouri General Assembly. He was Chairman of the Labor Committee. Succeeding depot agents were Tommy Owens, Will Bouser, Clarence Canray, and Leonard Dalton. Postmasters and Merchants were Lewis Williams, Henry Collins, Christian Riley, and son Albert A. Riley (who also operated under the firm name of Harvey and Miller), and Mr. and Mrs. John Lawless and son Leslie. The latter was a Postmaster. Mrs. Nettie Lawless was appointed Postmaster in 1914 and served until her retirement in 1949. Mrs. Mildred Austin was appointed Postmaster in 1939 and is still serving. [author of this document].
Boston perhaps reached its Hey Day in 1911. One of the most active businesses was owned by Samual Short and son Liel. They engaged in blacksmithing and wood work and in later years they added a garage. Others were James Owens Hay and Grain, Johnie Cones and Al Blair Building Contractors, T. C. McConnel Saw Mill and Threshing machines operation, James F. and Maud Brown General Merchandise and the J. L. Box Grain Elevator and Lumber Yard.
In 1913, four devout Methodist men decided BOSTON should have a chapel. They were A. Y. Williams, Jim Lisher, Will Meyers, and R. H. Rex. These men started subscription lists for the building of a Methodist Church. The building was erected in 1915 and is the only original public building still functioning.
Later merchants thru the years were A.M. Rand, J. L. Box, Alva Vanwiper, Harry Bouser, Lewis Longnecker, J. W. Baker and Doyle Throckmorton. C. A. Harrington was elected sheriff in 1912 and C. E. Austin in 1944.
Opal Riley's son wrote an article several years ago on BOSTON. This article, which rests in the archives of the Missouri Historical Society in Jefferson City, seems to me to cover BOSTON. He did leave out the merchants from his grandfather's day until we came back home in 1933. I have supplied these. I like his closing thoughts. They express my sentiments nicely.
"A tiny weed shrouded sign stands alone beside the track marking the almost forgotten scene with a single proud word "Boston". A mile away the world goes hurtling by on gasoline powered machinery on highway #71. The wheels of commerce churn noisily seven miles to the North at Lamar and five miles to the South at Jasper and eleven miles to the East at Golden City. But in the small village surviving there is little to break the silence but the occasional song of a meadow lark. But an observer armed with old memories may almost hear lusty shouts of busy drivers, the happy laughter of a crowd of eager school children, the hustle of the grain wagons unloading, and the stomping of hoses which once characterized this small village. During the busy harvest seasons steady streams of wagons slogged through mud or dust toward the Boston Depot hauling grain and hay out of the region. But the down hill trend accelerated during the years between World war I and World War II and the building of the highway one mile West as trucks and cars led the parade of business away from the rail side village. Eventually, the stock pens found no use and were destroyed. Homer Stockdale bought and moved the depot to his farm. fire and economic necessity began to destroy most of the business buildings. Changes in social habits brought and end to the lodges. The Post Office, however, remained. The Austins remained and BOSTON continues to survive."The Stockdale family still use the large hay barn occasionally. Some hay is shipped by rail from BOSTON. Koss Construction Co set their plant up in BOSTON in 1925 when 71 Highway was first paved and again in 1947 when it was resurfaced. So BOSTON is one of the few villages attempting to carry on coming to life occasionally as when 50 car loads of tile were set on the siding requiring a crane to load it on the trucks. The past year the pipe for the Barton Co Rural Water Line was partly set in BOSTON.The old frame school building still stands, used only for elections, looking out forlornly on once busy, happy streets. Students in the area attend Jasper R-5 School, the result of reorganization. Elsewhere along the once bustling streets, there are twelve residences, a United Methodist Church, the vacant school, and a windowless vacant house. The dream is gone but the memory remains, marked by the village which cannot grow, but will not die, and the sound of a 20th century diesel horn fading in the misty distance.
