County of marker: Howard County
Location of marker: Plaza in center of E. Broadway, New Franklin
Built: 1990
Erected by: South Howard County Historical Society
Text:
(Left Side):
"Missouri Waltz"
Lee Edger "Jelly" Settle
Lee Edger Settle was born in New Franklin, MO, on July 20, 1882, the son of J.M. and Laura (Van Arsdale) Settle at 114 N. Howard Street. Edger Settle was a natural piano player and began playing at the age of five or six showing exceptional talent.
At the age of 17, he left home and traveled with musical shows throughout the country. He played many events in New Franklin and was a master at playing ragtime, the popular music of the early 1900's. He was given the name "Jelly" by his friends, presumably after the popular ragtime piano player of the day, "Jellyroll" Martin.
During his life, he made several attempts at publishing original music, but was never successful. His greatest success, which was laden with controversy, was his composition of "The Missouri Waltz." He performed his original melody, which he called "Graveyard Waltz," at many public functions around the state but never wrote the music down.
John Valentine Eppel, a musician and orchestra leader, heard "Jelly" play his song during intermission at a dance engagement and liked the tune so much, he copied down the melody.
Frederick Knight Logan, a composer and arranger, procured the rights to the tune from Eppel and paid for the printing and publishing of the first 1,000 copies of sheet music. By 1940, about six million copies of the sheet music had been sold and became the second most popular sheet music seller for many years. Settle was never given official credit for composing the tune.
On June 30, 1949, the Missouri State Legislature declared "the Missouri Waltz" as the official state song. Lee Edger "Jelly" Settle died on February 4, 1949, and is buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery at New Franklin, never knowing his original tune became the state song of Missouri. The South Howard County Historical Society erected a stone monument at his unmarked grave site in 1992.
Text :
(Right Side):
New Franklin Viaduct
The viaduct on State Route 5, at the south entrance to New Franklin, was built in 1940 to aid in the safe crossing of the MKT railroad track by vehicles and pedestrians. This separation spanned eight tracks of the MKT railway. It embodied some of the newest architectural treatment seen at the time by the Missouri State Highway System. The large plain surfaces and abrupt angles so often seen on bridges have been avoided. Even the concrete rail has received special attention and has a more pleasing appearance than the costumery concrete rail.
The New Franklin overhead structure is composed entirely of reinforced concrete, providing a 24-foot roadway and has an overall length 1,461 feet, 3 inches including abutments.
A sidewalk, reached by stairway at each end, is provided on the west side of the roadway for the portion directly over the tracks.
More than 4,320 cubic yards of concrete and 610,000 pounds of reinforced steel were required to construct this bridge. The reinforced steel, if placed end to end , would reach a distance of more than 82 miles.
The bridge structure itself cost $168,000, while the roadway consisting of the approach grades and abutments cost $30,000 more. The viaduct was constructed entirely with federal grade separation funds, administered by the State Highway Department. The project was awarded September 22, 1939, to Carrothers & Couch of Kansas City and was completed and dedicated on October 30, 1949.
An all-day dedication ceremony was held with the crowning of a viaduct queen, a parade, speakers, festive decorations, food and entertainment. An evening dance culminated the ceremony.