County of town: Lincoln County
Location of town: east central in county; crossroads of MO-AA & CR-597
County is eastern border central in state
Population: 0
"Mashek was southeast of Truxton, in Bedford Township." ~ Map of Missouri, 1911, Rand McNally.
"It was six miles northeast from Hawk Point and six and one-quarter miles northwest from Troy." ~ The State of Missouri, 1904, Walter Williams, page 429.
"The post-office was discontinued in 1905.: ~ General Sceme of Missouri, 1905, Taft, page 61. [document for use by railroad clerks]
"Because a handful of Central European immigrants staked out their futures in the rolling, timbered country northwest of Troy in 1848, Hawk Point has never been your typical Anglo-Saxon-German Midwestern farming town. Rather it has a different style and flavor.
"Possibly no more that half a dozen Bohemian families were the original pioneers, but more came during the 1850s and 60s -- people with names like Knizel, Shramek, Martinek, Kallash, Kuda and Shilharvey.
"The region these first-generation Americans chose later became the location for the village of Mashek which at one time had a church, a store, a post office, a blacksmith shop and a community hall.
"Now only the Catholic cemetery remains to remind the present generation of life there long ago. But the picturesque countryside north of Highway 47 still is known as the Bohemian settlement; some descendants of the early residents still live there and the Old World quaintness has not been totally lost.
"Details of the original Bohemian migration of Lincoln County are sparse, but among the first families were those of Joseph Shelker, John Sedlack and William Norton. Most of the early settlers came by way of St.Louis or Chicago. There followed in 1850 the Frank Martinek family and then many others, among them the Ignatious Knizels with 12 children in 1867. One listing of early Mashek residents included William Martinek, John Mashek, Joseph Shilharvey, Frank Tumpoch, Frank Havlik, John Stanek, John Kallash, William Wing, Albert Shramek, Peter Kuda, Frank Jisha, Frank Baker, William Kowazek and Frank Shelker. Many descendants of these men still live in the Hawk Point vicinity.
"The land they settled was not rich and there was not an abundance of tillable soil, but it was well wooded and watered and was efficient for the needs of the new Americans. And maybe it reminded them of home.
"Almost without exception the Bohemians were and are devout Roman Catholics and the history of the group in Lincoln County is virtually inseparable from that of St. Mary's Parish in Hawk Point and its forerunner church in Mashek.
"The building served the people for many years, until it was replaced by a new church in 1886. The old church was dismantled, moved and reassembled as a community hall which became the entertainment center of the village. No one ever has accused the Bohemians of being backward about having a good time, so the community hall was well used for parties and dances.
"Besides the church and the recreation hall, the village of Maskek consisted of Joe Kallash's blacksmith shop, John Mashek's store and the post office in the store. Also, there was a distillery nearby at Cottonwood spring that supposedly produced excellent whiskey from the spring water.
"When it came time to name the town, there was some little disagreement among the two reputed leaders, John Mashek and John Norton. Each wanted the village to bear his last name. But Mr. Mashek won out because the post office was located in his store."
~ History of Hawk Point
The arrival of the railroad in Hawk Point was a magnate to many to move to this transportation center for the development of their business and survival. Burlington Northern came in 1904, St. Mary;s Catholic Church moved there in 1909....and gradually Mashek became the woodland it was when the Bohemians came.