I usually plan my trips in great detail; this one was no exception. However, I can be flexible; I completely replanned the day early Tuesday night – and redid the second half on the fly. Here’s how things went:
I left Keokuk at 0702, heading to Missouri on US-61/136; and was welcomed to Missouri by a Flock camera at the Welcome sign. Alexandria, MO, serves as an object lesson of how tax policy affects businesses and a community. It once had a thriving business selling gas to drivers from Iowa & Illinois, thanks to Missouri’s lower gas tax. As the 12.5 cents/gal tax increase gradually took effect, prices in Alexandria were forced higher than those in Keokuk. Missouri stations closed or survived without pumps by selling cigarettes, where Missouri taxes are still lower.
En route to Kahoka on US-136 I pass a sign “Trump Trucks. Turn Left.” Draw your own conclusions. I turn off on Route A. It’s twisty and hilly to Wyaconda, a small town that still has both railroad and an elevator. As A emerges onto prairie land, I enter Amish country. There’s a farmer plowing behind a 7- Belgian hitch!
I’m on this road because I wanted a look at Fairmont, where my 2G grandfather lived in 1870. It’s a sad little town. Here’s the sign and a shot of part of the town.
Just a bit south of Fairmont is the Liberty Baptist Church. I do not know if R.D. Truman served this church, but I do now that his name is not listed among the pastors of Providence Baptist Church, located west of Williamstown. It certainly existed during his active years.
Williamstown was only a couple of miles down the road. R.D. Truman lived/owned property here based on the 1880 census. While he died in 1891, his widow still lived here in 1900. I know this is the property he owned, at least from the road to near the large house in the picture. This property is still a single property per the Lewis County Assessor’s office.
I hurried down to Canton to meet Duane Harsell at the Lewis County Historical Society, arriving at 0841. He and another member there had done quite a bit of research trying to find specific records of R.D. Truman, without avail. I did look through what applicable records they had and did find his sister listed in a binder of Fretwell genealogies. We talked to some extent comparing how our local historical societies operated.
After a refreshment break, I left at 1041 heading west on MO-16 to Monticello, the county seat. At 102 people, it’s likely the smallest one in the state. The folks at the courthouse were very helpful in my quest for information. I’m really wondering what this local business does: Patriot Potholing.
I headed west on MO-16 to Lewistown. A business at the main corner in town has some whimsical folk art – three miniature horses with riders, all made from barrels or other metal parts – sorry, no pictures. J hwy took me to MO-156. I stop in Newark (pronounced ‘New Ark’), site of the post office frequented by my Trumans as well as a Civil War skirmish; in 2011 I visited a cemetery with a marker in remembrance Confederates killed here).
A saddle club has a nice facility at the junction of Missouri routes 15, 151 & 156. Further on, I pass through Novelty, wondering what might be novel about it. There’s a sign for Sue City – if a Lakota woman lived there, might she be known as Sue City Sioux?
At La Plata, I turn south on US-85, a nice 4-lane divided hiway. After 15 miles, I heard west on road AX west across the red-colored water of Long Branch Lake, then south on O to Bevier past as display that laid out like 3 crosses, except the crosses were green with crooked arms – faux saguaro cacti? I was looking for cheap gas (i.e., under $4/gal) at Bevier. It was there, but inconvenient, so on south on C to College Mound.
From there, it’s west on T across Thomas Hill Reservoir. This lake, created to provide water for a closed coal-fired electricity generation plant, is also discolored and high. South on MO-3, then a cut-off through a flat area past aptly-named Prairie Hill to MO-129 and Salisbury. A short 3-mile backtrack of Day 1 on US-24 takes me to MO-5. An elevated deer stand is permanently placed in the middle of a large plowed field awaiting its soybean seeds. There’s a small marsh; next to it is a “Wetland Restoration” sign. 5 Hwy takes me into & through Glasgow, a historic river town where I’ve done three CW reeenactments. I looked for the drug store where we stopped and shared a 2-straw cherry Coke on a long-past gallivant; I think it’s now a cafe.
MO-87 looks to be a shorter route than MO-5 to Boonville since it avoids towns. It makes up for that by being one of the hilliest & curviest roads I’ve traveled in Missouri. Boonville promised a lower price on gas, but the Pilot stop had lower energy E-15 masquerading as regular. Thanks a lot, DJT!
Since I’m already on MO-5 and don’t want to backtrack to my usual route, I continue south past Ravenswood Plantation and the attractive Hannah Cole Memorial roadside park, head west on C to pick up MO-135, then HH hwy. As I near Sedalia, I pass a much-expanded specialty egg pant and a new industrial facility going up. The new US-65/HH hwy interchange is unusual for the area, but doesn’t eliminate the stop light at the steel mill entrance.
After a quick meal at my Sedalia favorite, El Tapatio, I get home at 1636, unload, take care of cats Cisco & Timmy, and crash early.
For the day: 297.3 miles, for the trip: 809 miles.
Next trip? Louisiana.
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