A
HISTORY OF NOVELTY MISSOURI
Novelty School Project, Sept 13, 1948
4th
Grade: Margaret Howe, teacher
Students: Charles Howe; Dale Leckbee (Norma’s brother);
Edra McGlothlin-Gaines-Beach; Helen Parrish-Ausmus-Hayes (Alvie Parrish’s
sister); Marilyn Snow-Lincoln; Dale Swann (Randy Doss’ uncle); Garland Waibel
(Vernie’s son). (Parts added later
are noted in italics.)
Long
ago only Indians lived where our town
now stands. There were no houses here
then. The Indians lived in tepees made
from skins of animals. Outside their
tepees, they built fires over which they cooked their food.
After a
while white men came to this spot. They
came in covered wagons drawn by oxen.
They built log cabins to live in.
Each cabin had a fireplace over which they cooked their food. They burned big logs in their
fireplaces. Each cabin had a chimney to
let the smoke out.
Among these
early settlers who came to this community were Dr. Tom Pendry and Mr. Nars
Hunter. Dr. Tom Pendry built a log cabin
for a home and office and opened a little store. As this was a wilderness then, the spot was
not easy to find. However, he raised a
flag over his office so that it could be more easily seen. His wife,
Mrs. Jane (Ross) Pendry, thought
this a very novel idea so they called this spot Novelty. Their son, Peter, was the first baby born in
Novelty. (This flag was raised in the
area of Carl & Mae Perry’s house, now the home of Beth Bacon.)
Mr. Nars
Hunter together with his wife and family, was on his way from Kentucky to
California by covered wagon, but as they came through Missouri, they liked this
land and purchased a large amount of it and settled here. It was he who plotted this land into a
village in 1857. (The “Nars Hunter”
house was the Walter Mauck house, on highway 156 and has been occupied by
various families since the passing of Mr. Mauck.) Other early families were the Townsends’
who came from Maryland, the Ross’, who came from Kentucky, also Norris, Doyle,
Hickman, McCullough, Botts, and Owen families.
During the
Civil War, the guerrilla fighters came to Novelty. At that time, Mr. Charles Ross was running a
drug store here. As there was no bank
closer than Quincy, Illinois, he had a large sum of money on hand. He gave it to his wife and she hid it in an
old black dress hung up on the back of a door.
The guerrillas could not find it.
One of them said that he didn’t believe they had any money from the
looks of their furniture. However, Mrs.
Ross was proud of her furniture if it was only good boxes covered with calico.
Among the
early businesses in Novelty was the Ross and Pendry Drug Store and the Billy
Riley Shoe Shop. Mr. Owen was a very
good hand to make boots and shoes. A
hotel and livery stable was soon added with new dwelling houses the town was
becoming active. The oldest house that
is still standing (remember this was written in 1948) is the house that
Mr. Herb Browning lives in—it has been built on to since. (the house was torn/burned down and
Vincel Foreman’s home is now on this site.) Also, the house where Miss Sarah Woodard
lives was one of the first farm houses.
(located where the “hunting lodge” is now.)
In the early
days a little log school house was built out east of town. Later it was moved to town. Later new buildings were built as needed. There have been three public buildings
besides the present school building.
This building was built about 1928.
(and used until 1989 when the elementary was closed for the
consolidated Knox County R-I Elementary School.
The high schools in the county had been consolidated in 1963. The building was torn down in the 1990’s.)
The
Oaklawn College was founded by W. N Doyle in Novelty, MO in 1876. He taught for five years in the upper story
of the public school building. Then the
College building was erected by the scholarship plan in 1881. (It was closed in ___, and the building was
moved to Hurdland Missouri where it still stands today. Other buildings were nearby for
“dormitories?)
As the
people of this community felt an early need for worship services, they soon
begin to build churches. The Christian
Church was organized in 1868 in a little brick building on the same spot as the
church stands today. This was built to
replace the brick building in 1897. A
North Methodist Church was organized at an early date (building on the
eastern side of Novelty, near the cemetery),
as well as a Presbyterian Church.
Later a south Methodist church was organized. (this
was located in the first block south of today’s Highway 156 on Third
Street.)
Around 1870
a creamery was started in the west part of town. They bought the farmers’ cream and made it
into butter. However, this did not last
long until it was changed into an axe handle factory. The material for the handles was taken from
the native timber. Within a few year
this was changed into a saw mill with a grist mill run in connection with
it. A steam engine was used for power.
Perhaps the
next great event that happened at Novelty was the building of a railroad in
1913. This line connected our town with
Shelbina and was of great help to the farmers in sending out their stock as
well as receiving products and mail here.
However, by 1930 this line had been done away with. (The depot for the train was west of
Novelty, where the ball park was once located—west of Marilyn Lincoln’s
home.)
In later
years our town has been served by a hard-surfaced road and mail twice a day by
truck. All of this has made our town the
center of a progressive little community.
METHODIST
CHURCH SOUTH
Novelty
Church: This was organized in the fall
of 1884, with the following members:
John Sharp and wife; John Lyon,
wife and daughter; Ole Richardson, wife and two daughters; Mrs. Abraham Lewis
and two daughters, John Lewis and son.
In 1884 the church united with the Masonic Lodge in erecting a frame
building; the total cost of which was $1,500.
The lower story of this building is used as a place of worship, and was
dedicated as such in the summer of 11885, by Dr. E. B. Hendrix, now Bishop
Hendrix. The pastors of this church,
which is included in the Novelty Circuit are Mount Tabor, Newark, Pleasant Run,
and perhaps some others.
METHODIST
CHURCH
Novelty
Church: According to the best information,
this church was organized about the year 1855, although no record of early
church history can be obtained. Among
the first members since the war (Civil War) are Lewis Wright; William
Demoss, C.W. Cockrum, D.F. Hunsicker, James McCall, and their wives. The church building is frame, and was erected
in 1866, at a cost of about $1,500. The
pastors of this church have been Revs. Messner, Scott, Hollingsworth, and
Cater. The present membership is
thirty-two. The Novelty Church Circuit
is composed of the church at Novelty and 3 others, viz: Walnut Grove, 7 miles southeast of Novelty;
Locust Hill, 5 miles northwest, and Eucebia, 5 miles southwest. The present pastor in charge of the churches
on this circuit is the Rev. E.B. Cater.
NOVELTY
LODGE A.M. & F.M. No 181
The first
officers and charter members of this lodge were S.D. Hunter, Worthy Master; R.
F. Pendry, Senior Warden; M. Wetherbee, Junior Warden; and Samuel Hulen (Huling?);
R. G. Cady; David Brown; and Nathan Norris.. The charter bears the date of May 23, 1859,
but the dispensation must have been granted a year or two previously, as the
first hall was created about 1858. The
hall, a frame building, was afterward sold to the I.O.O.F. and is still in their possession. The Masons erected a second hall in 1880, a
frame building, which was burned in the spring of 1882; the records and
furniture perished in the fire. In 1884
the lodge, in conjunction with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in Novelty,
erected a frame building at a cost of $1500; the upper story of which is used
by the Lodge, and the lower as a church.
The present membership of the Lodge is forty-five, and the present
officers are N.J. Watson, J.S. Hunsaker, and Benjamin Kimbley, John Herriot,
C.A. Ross, and Marshall Poor.
NOVELTY
LODGE, I.O.O.F. No 210
This lodge
was organized before the Civil War but during that time it went down, and the
charter and records were taken possession of by the Grand Lodge. At present, it is impossible to arrive at the date of that first charter,
or give a history of the lodge under it.
The present charter bears the date May 20, 1869, and the officers are
H.S. McClintock; J.S. Hunsaker; W.H.F.
Owen; and the officers are H.S.
McClintock, J.S. Hunsaker, W.H. F. Owen and L.F. Bryan. The lodge owns the frame hall that was
erected by the Mason in 1848, and afterward purchased by the lodge. Present membership is 20.
A.W. LEWIS
A.W. Lewis,
a prominent and leading citizen of Knox County, is a native of Maryland, and
was born October 5, 1835. He is the son of Aaron and Nancy C (Adams) Lewis, the
former of Dorchester Co, MD, where he died in September 1883, and the latter a resident of Knox
County where she lives with our subject.
A.W.
remained with his parents in Maryland until 20 years of age, and then came to
Knox County where he has since resided.
In 1858 he located on a farm in
Bourbon Township, where he lived 3 years, then settled in Salt River Township,
where he is now in possession of a farm of 490 acres, all well improved and
cultivated. He is quite extensively
engaged in stock raising, and ranks among the leading farmers of the county. In 1858, he was married to Rachel Richardson,
daughter of Ole and Anna Richardson, by whom he has had 10
children. August 1, 1862, our subject
enlisted in the Confederate Army, Ninth Missouri Regiment, and served until the
close of the war, participating in the battles of Perry Grove, Little Rock,
Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, and the last named battled received a wound in his
shoulder, the effects of which he has
never recovered. He is a staunch
Democrat, but he never sought nor held office.
He is a member of the Masonic order; his wife belongs to the
Methodist-Episcopal Church South, which was built at Novelty through the
persistent efforts of our subject, who is a public-spirited man, and greatly
interested in the growth and welfare of the community in which he lives.
WILLIAM H.F.
Owen
William H.F.
Owen is the son of S. W. and Elizabeth (Edwards) Owen, and was born in New York
State in 1826. The father was a native
of Delaware, and born in 1803. He
followed various occupations until he became 25 years of age and then learned
the shoemaking trade. He went to New
York State, lived until 1829, then sailed down the Susquehanna River upon a
raft, and landed at Plymouth, Penn. Where he located and followed his trade for
a number of years. He Is now a resident
of Farrandaville, Penn. The mother of
our subject was a native of New Jersey, and was married to Mr. Owen in
1825. She died in Pennsylvania in 1885.
Our subject
learned his trade of his father, and remained with him until he became of
age. In 1850 he went to Illinois, and
located at Crystal Lake, McHenry County, where he remained about 2 years and
then removed to Monticello, Lewis Co, MO, but made a final move to Novelty,
Knox County, about 1858, where he has
resided ever since, following his trade in which he is very proficient, and
where he carried a stock of goods that would do credit to a much larger town
than Novelty. While in Pennsylvania, in
1849, he was married to Phoebe A. Roat, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Roat, by
whom he had 6 children. Our subject is a
member of the I.O.O.F. and the Masonic fraternity, and in politics is a
Republican. He is a public-spirited man,
and takes great interest in all educational matters, to which he donates as
much as he is able.
RICHARD
THOMAS PENDRY
Richard
Thomas Pendry, M.D., a leading physician and resident of Bourbon Township, was
born in Munfordville, Barren Co, Kentucky December 26, 1830 and is the son of
James and Rebecca Crane Pendry. The
father was a native of Virginia and accompanied his parents to Ohio as a child
settling near Cincinnati. When a young
man, he went to Barren Co, KY where he was married. In 1844 he moved to Marion Co, MO locating in
Palmyra. James afterward moved to
Philadelphia, Marion Co. He was a
cabinet-maker by trade, and worked at this business all his life. Previous to his residence in MO, he lived in
Perryville, Boyle Co, KY for several years.
He died of advanced age while visiting our subject. Rebecca Pendry, the mother, was born in
Mercer Co, KY, now Boyle Co, in 1810, and died in Philadelphia, Marion Co, MO
in 1846. She and her husband were
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Our subject
is the eldest of a family of 7 children, as far as known, all being alive at
the present time. He received his
education at Marion College and in 1849 began the study of medicine under DR.s
Reed and Parsons, of Quincy, Ill. In
1850 he went to California, and engaged in mining and training, in which he was
quite successful. He returned in 1853 by
the Vanderbilt line, by the way of Nicaragua and New Orleans. He went directly to Knox County, and engaged
in the mercantile business at Novelty, which was not much of a town then. But soon began to grow and is now one of the
nicest towns in Northeast Missouri. Our
subject has the credit of being the founder of the town. At the commencement of the Civil War, he
abandoned business life, and moved upon his farm, 2 miles east of Novelty, and
has since engaged in agricultural pursuits.
In 1864-65 he resided in Philadelphia MO and again engaged in business,
but in the latter part of 1865 returned to Knox Co, and embarked in the dry
goods and grocery business, in which he remained until 1884 when he sold
out. During 1869-70, he had attended
lectures at the St. Louis Medical College, receiving his diploma, and since
that time has practiced his chosen profession in conncection with his lucrative
practice. In June, 1885, he married Jane
K. Ross, daughter of John and Martha Ross, and a native of Brown Co, Ohio, and
to this union four sons and four daughters were born. Dr. Pendry has been in politics; is a member
of the Masonic fraternity, and is classed among the highly respected and
eminent citizens of the county.
GOODLAND
Goodland,
located 18 southwest of Edina was formerly a place of some trade, but now merely
a local habitation and a name. (Around
Billy Aucutt place—John Joseph Taylor brick house built in 1840.) (Kenneth Moyer had “Goodland Farms”
written on his truck.)
PLEASANT RUN
The church
organized has a membership of only 14.
It was a part of the Edina Circuit until 1884 when the Novelty Circuit
was formed. Preaching is held in
the schoolhouse No 14 three miles north
of Novelty. (Paul McEndree called it
“Bloody Run” and out by the Botts place—which is near where Ben Bradley lives?)
NOVELTY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1917-1918 (forward )
In 1914-15,
there were nine pupils enrolled in the Novelty High School with eighty-six in
the grades. The work done at that time
in the High School was not approved, nor had it been at any time in the past.
In the
following two years, the enrollment increased until 1916-17 there were
sixty-nine in the High School and 127 in the grades, with all of the work
approved by the State Superintendent.
In the years
from 1915 to 1917, $1,000 worth of laboratory equipment and library books have
been added for the students and various other improvements have been made in
and around the building.
The result
of all this is that the average daily attendance has reached 99% and the
enrollment has more than doubled. In
1916-17 the Novelty Public School ranked second in the county in attendance.
Our aim is
“Nothing but the Best”. Next year,
(1917-18) we expect to have the largest attendance and enrollment of any High
School in Knox County, i.e. one hundred
in High School giving 15 units of approved work, which when completed will be
sufficient preparation for College entrance without examination.
Remember
that the success and improvement of our school represent the success and
improvement of the entire community.
Therefore, we ask the parents and patrons of the Novelty School to
co-operate with us that we may render the highest efficiency to the community
and to each individual child. Our aims
are identical and when a mutual understanding is secured the method of procedure
and the results obtained will be entirely satisfactory.
To help the
parents, patrons, and pupils to a better understanding of the general
management, plan and purpose of the school, we publish the catalog.
********
A.F. Elsea,
Superintendent of the Novelty Public School at this time.
G. T
Bennett, Principal of High School
Mrs. G. T
Bennett, 7th and 8th grades
Mrs. A. F.
Elsea, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades
Leona C.
Homan 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd grades
NOTES
ADDED LATER (from 1995-2022) (in addition to those made in the manuscript)
1. The Townsend’s lived in the house that Mike
Kite had until it fell in about 2020.
Prior to that was Mrs. Perrigo’s.
2. Alma Doyle was near the corner where Leon
Perry lived—west edge of town on gravel road going south, that Larry Primm owns
now.
3. Miss Sarah Woodard house was where
the Hunting Lodge is now.
4. In 1957, the Mark Twain Telephone was
“on its way”…..phones in homes, but not yet connected. Prior to the co-operative coming, there was a
Telephone Office with the McCloskey family running it. Later, Maxine Perry was the operator.
5. In 1963, the county-wide organization
of high school was opened, so the Novelty school only had grades 1-8
there. That closed in 1989 when the
county-wide elementary school was opened at the site of the high school east of
Edina. The Novelty building was torn
down in the mid-90’s., with the cement floor and playground equipment still
there for use by town children.
6. In 1966, a community club was
organized for the purpose of sponsoring summer baseball/softball. Fundraising annual events included a horse
show, and tractor pull, free fish fry, Fun Day.
The ball park and horse show arenas were fixed with lights for night
events. The location of this was where
the old train depot had been—on the west end of Broadway street
Businesses in Novelty were:
Feed Store—Richard (Joe) Ray
Grocery Store—Mike Kite
Drug Store—S. E. Peavler
Phillips 66 Station—Rex Franke
MFA Station/Garage—Bill Cheatum
Post Office—Jr. Wilkerson
Fur Buyers—Mike Peavler and Ron Baker.
7. Businesses in 1995:
Novelty Seed Co—Edra Gaines.
They had built the “seed house” in 1981:
it was sold to Bill Collier in 1996.
Parrish Implement—Alvie Parrish
--Terry
Spencer
Quincy Soybean—(east of town on highway 15)
Tri-State Hide—Ron Baker
Post Office—Betty Perry
8. The Post Office Building was formerly
a locker, run by Ernie and Helen Snow (Marilyn’s parents). The family lived in the basement for a time. Lonnie
Thompson had run the locker prior to the Snow’s. Before
it became a locker, the building was a bank in the late 1800’s.
9. Dr. Holmes’ home a block north of
where the school stood, was built by the Emerson family—Pearl’s father (Pearl and Julia Perry Emerson).
1 Store Buildings in downtown Novelty
were demolished mid-2000’s ???
11. Café. Was built in mid-70’s by Joe and Jean
Ray. For a time, their daughter, Elaine,
ran a beauty shop in the east ½ of the building. Several others then have run the café with it
at present (2022) being occupied as a home/commercial kitchen.
12.Patrick Gibbons purchased land where the
store buildings were located from Ray Griffith and has used them for his
farming storage as well as seed cleaning.
13.When was post office moved?
14.John Love’s where Vidah Yates beer joint was?
15.State highway barn was first on
Highway 156, right west of the Legion Hall (Bill Cheatum’s garage), with George
Howerton being head man. (George and
wife had lived in “Jim Lincoln’s old house” on northwest edge of Novelty.)
Later Alva Parish (of Locust Hill) was in charge. The Highway Barn built a new facility east of
the schoolhouse…it was completely closed later when all crews were moved to
Edina.
16.Other stores/businesses through the
years? We had a newspaper in 1921! Don’t
know for how long though!
A. A millinery shop was west of the locker, and
also in the cluster of buildings on 3rd Street. Time—unknown.
It was run by two sisters, last name of Lovenger who made the hats to
sell.
B. Dr. Holmes practiced medicine from
his home in south part of town for many years.
ANYONE WITH MORE INFORMATION CONCERNING BUSINESSES/ETC IN NOVELTY, PLEASE COMMENT, OR LET US KNOW. WE'D LOVE TO ADD IT TO OUR LIST!
