Centennial - Elsberry, Missouri - Community Commemoration on Waymarking.com

County of centennial: Lincoln County
Location of marker: S. 4th St. & Broadway St., city park, Elsberry

Marker text:

"Elsberry is located fifty-eight miles north of St. Louis where the western margin of the Mississippi bottomlands and the rugged hill country of the Lincoln Hills region meet. An area of outstanding natural beauty surrounds Elsberry. Rolling hills of oak, hickory, and maple are ablaze with breathtaking scenery each fall and adjacent farmlands, creeks, and rivers provide excellent habitat for many species of wildlife. Three conservations and the nearby Lock and Dam #25 on the Mississippi River provide exceptional opportunities to spot bald eagles in the winter months.

"The history of Elsberry began when Robert T. Elsberry bought 103 acres of land in Lincoln County in 1868. In 1879 three Clarksville businessmen formed the Clarksville and Western Railroad Company that was to run between Clarksville and Dardenne (now St. Peters.) Elsberry and a group of local landowners decided to found a town based on the railroad and convinced the railroad to build a depot on his land. The depot was built in August of 1879 and the town of Elsberry was platted in the same month.

"All of the businesses and many of the homes of three small settlements near the new Elsberry depot, Lost Creek, Cross Roads, and Nelson, moved almost overnight to the new town. Until the coming of the railroad all the shipping of stock, grain, and necessary merchandise of the northeastern part of Lincoln County was through the Mississippi River town of Falmouth, three miles to the east. Elsberry absorbed the businesses of Falmouth, most of the businesses of nearby New Hope, and the post office from Nelson. Only New Hope has survived as a community to this day.

"The first merchants were Smither, Carroll & Co., who came from Clarksville with a stock of groceries and hardware, and occupied one end of the depot. The first businesses in town included a harness shop, a gristmill, a newspaper, and a bank. The Elsberry Flouring Mills was doing an extensive business by 1883, manufacturing and shipping flour and meal. This grain elevator served as a vital part of Elsberry and the surrounding agricultural community for over 120 years before this oldest building in Elsberry burned to the ground in 2003. A memorial marker along MO-79 marks the spot of this misfortune.

"A large number of business enterprises started up in Elsberry in its early years in what now would be called a "bubble." A number of these parties started with a small capital investment, expecting Elsberry to grow so rapidly that their success was assured. Many of these businesses failed but Elsberry, being in excellent agricultural country, managed to become a prosperous town. Elsberry's most successful business today is Forrest Keeling Nursery. This nursery specializes in growing trees using a patented root production method technology. Trees from Forrest Keeling have been used to reforest the wetlands that were damaged by the 1993 flood, other reforestation projects across the country, and historical restoration projects." ~ The Great River Road

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