County of village: Callaway County
Location of village: Southern border of county along MO-CC & the Katy Trail, along side MO-94
County mid-central in state
Post office location: 9635 State Hwy CC
Elevation: 761 feet
Population: 38 - 554 in the zip code of 65077
A fun fact: The only bar, or open business in Steedman for many years was a bar and grill named S.O.B.. It depended on the traffic of the Katy trail and a few local to survive. It closed in 2015, sadly. NO - it does not mean what you think...it stands for Steedman's Only Bar.
"The village of Steedman was about centrally located in the Big Survey No. 1712 containing several thousand acres, owned by Dr. I.G.W. Steedman of St. Louis for whom the town was named.
"The railroad was first known as the Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Railroad, and was taken over by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad about July of 1893. In the beginning there was a depot station and then later they also had a depot agent. In the earlier years the passenger trains made regular stops.
"The general merchandise store was built in 1893 by E.W. Lawrence. The name of the store was Lawrence & Co. and was managed by Frank Stolle and Chris Bezler. The store was sold to Charles Becker in 1912. The store has changed ownership several times over the years.
"Waiting for the first locomotive through Steedman -1896. The store built 1893. Steedman Post Office was opened January 31, 1894, in the back of the store. Frank Stolle was the first postmaster. The post office has changed locations several times since it opened, with the present location being on the site where the last blacksmith shop once stood. It was built by Mr. and Mrs. Charlie O'Neal while Dorothy O'Neal was postmaster. The present postmaster is Mrs. Lena Belle Gallatin.
"W.H.Harvey's son Busick Harvey was the first mail carrier. The present mailcarrier is Kenneth Grotewiel.
"The first school was a log building located about one half mile south of Steedman in the river bottom. Later a new one room school house was built north of the store, with one teacher teaching all eight grades. The school was closed when the new South Callaway R-2 District was formed on April 12, 1957, including 18 or more rural schools. A grain elevator was built and owned by Charles Becker some time after 1912. Farmers drove their fat hogs on foot for miles to the weigh scales to be shipped out to market by railroad. Sometimes they received as much as three cents a pound.
"The first blacksmith shop was operated by Sam Hop-seeker in 1900. The last blacksmith shop was owned and operated by F.E. Burre. Ed Becker was the barber in Steedman for many years.
"The Steedman Bank was chartered in 1915. The first board meeting was held on July 15, 1915. Members of the original board of directors were: Mr. Chris Bezler, W.H. Harvey, John Krebs, Thomas Klick and S.W. Tate. Guy H. Bezler was the first cashier and held that position until his death in 1971, with the exception of approximately 17 months while in the service of his country during World War I. On September 23, 1915, the capital stock was $10,000.00, with assets of $23,781.00. On June 30, 1983, the capital stock was $50,000.00, with assets of $7,341,000.00. Members of the present board of directors as of July 21, 1983, are: Herbert Schmid, president; Boyd X. Harvey, vice president; Glen Horstman; Darrell Krebs; and Calvin Stock. Present employees are: Glenn Horstman, cashier; Jerry Clingman and Jesse E. Sartley, assistant cashiers; Melba Owen, Aloyd Witthaus, Diane Dillon and Helen Montgomery, tellers; and Kevin Mealy, bookkeeper.
"The Steedman Cemetery was organized in 1918. The plot of ground was purchased from John Lincolnfelter. The first grave dug in the cemetery was for Ben Becker who was called into service in World War I and died a short time later on April 5, 1918. The first board members of the cemetery association were Charles Becker, Henry Schmid, and J.O. Erwin. Secretary and treasurer was Guy H. Bezler. Present board members for 1983 are Boyd X. Harvey, Kenneth Mealy and Lowell Dean Van-deloecht; secretary and treasurer is Erwin Witthaus.
"John A. Binggeli and J.T.Wren opened a garage in 1919. J.T.Wren left Steedman in 1924. The garage closed in 1947.
"So as of July, 1983, Steedman consists of the following: a church, a bank, a store, a post office and some fine South Callaway people." ~ by Christy and Mable Krebs for The Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society