Marshall man reflects on Napton's past

Mill stones and a marker remind visitors about the mill that was once central to Napton's economy.
(Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News)

[Click to enlarge]

Jonesboro, as it was called then, was considered an important point around 1824 when it contained a store, a mill and a blacksmith shop, according to a history written by W. E. Shackelford in the 1967 Saline County history.

Shackelford said Jonesboro had its ups and down, but was revived around 1865 when it had a merchant, mill and store.

Zoar Baptist Church is one of the oldest churches in Missouri, according to Shackelford's history. Even though the records were burned in 1867, the church is thought to have organized around 1827. The first church was a log house built about 1831 for $250. The membership worshiped there until 1849. The third church was built around 1860 at a cost of $1,500.

Napton was still a thriving community with about 70 residents in the 1930s before the depression, when Marshall resident Kenneth Hollywood grew up there.

"It was a wonderful, beautiful place at one time," said Hollywood.

At that time he said there were four stores in town. August Miller had a grocery store, and was also the railroad depot agent. William Heckman had a general store with groceries and hardware. T.L. Nicely had a grocery store and a barber shop and the Shackelford brothers also had a store and "sold a little chicken feed and corn," he said.

O.J. Watts owned and operated the bank.

Dr. Robert Stouffer had an office in Napton. "As far as I know he never owned an automobile. He rode a horse to do all his doctoring outside the office," said Hollywood. He said there was also a hotel building west of the bank, although he doesn't remember it being open.

There was also a concrete elevator there, which had been built in 1915 by the Rea and Page Milling Company of Marshall, according to Shackelford's history.

"That was quite a thing to see the horses and loads of wheat going into the elevator," said Hollywood. "It was almost like the trucks and trailers nowadays," he said, adding they sometimes had lines.

"They were unloaded at that time by hand," he said. He said it was in the later 1930s before farmers started hauling the grain in trucks. There were also stock pens near the railroad where people took stock to ship on the railroads.

"People would drive hogs and cattle in there and ship them to St. Louis mostly," said Hollywood. "They drove them, they didn't haul them," he said, adding that he would sometimes see dead hogs along the road, that didn't make it all the way to the stockyard.

"I don't remember when it was, but I know I rode the train to town and back, the last day they had a passenger train through Napton," said Hollywood, adding he was pretty small at the time.

Hollywood's father began as a rural mail carrier out of Napton around 1924. He used a horse and cart for the 27-mile route until buying his first automobile in 1929. Although, they lived in town, like some of the other residents, they kept a milk cow, a few pigs, chickens and the horse his father used in the mail route.

Hollywood attended Napton School, graduating in 1936 as the only person in his class. In the eighth grade, he said, there were two in his class. In the school, which included all 12 grades, there were probably about 40 students, he said.

He walked to the school, as several of the students did.

"Some walked from way over south of Blackwater River," he said. Several also rode horses.

"They had a regular horse barn by the school and that thing would be full of horses," he said.

In 1935, Hollywood was a member of the Napton High School basketball team that was Saline County champions.

"We beat Marshall twice that year," he said. On the team were also Woodrow Nicely, Henry Heckman, Russell Shackelford, Roy Beverberg, J.L. Buntin, Paul Odell and Willis Alfrey, coached by Frank McGraw.

The high school closed in 1946 and the elementary school closed later. The Napton School building was torn down several years ago. Most of the stores closed during the depression, said Hollywood.

Contact Marcia Gorrell at marshallag@socket.net