BUSINESSES IN PAPINVILLE FROM 1900 TO PRESENT
From 1900 to the present the businesses grew fewer and fewer. In last weeks story you read where the railroads were the new way of traveling and shipping. Papinville was starting to get smaller and people were moving to the newer towns to start a new business.
In the early 1900’-s Jake Schmidt had a store that handled drugs, medicines, and chemicals. George Raps store was located on the north side of Main Street and was general merchandise, barber shop, and blacksmith shop. The post office was also in this store until January 31, 1906 when it was transferred to Rockville, Missouri. The store closed in the 1930s and had served the people of Papinville very well.
There was a town hall where they presented plays and had entertainment. Elsie Strickland was the one that mostly directed the entertainment. You will learn more about the entertainment in the weeks to come.
The Griffin Store was another general merchandise store located on the south side of Main Street. When cars and tractors came on the scene a gasoline pump was put in at the front of the store. This was the hangout for the men to come to socialize and tell all kinds of stories. The store had a front porch and they all set around on benches and got the latest stories and did some whittling. The Griffins lived in the second story of the build. Mr. Griffin tried to keep up with the times,but his efforts failed and the store closed in the 1940’s. This was the last store in Papinville.
The Bennett house that set to the east of the river on Water Street, could really be called a business. Lottie was a weaver of both hair and carpets. She had attended Cottey College in Nevada and studied music and taught all the young ladies music on a pump organ. The organ is in the Papinville Museum. Ladies would bring their hair to Lottie and she would make hair pieces for the ladies to wear in their hair.
With more and more tractors, cars, and mechanical machines coming into use Papinville needed a machanic. Bud Coonce opened up a Repair Shop in the 1960s which was located across the street from his house on the corner of Market Street and Center Street. This was the last business in Papinville. The latest business is not really in the town of Papinville, but to the south side of the town is Riverside Pecans that is open during the Pecan season owned by John and Phyllis Stewart.
This is the last story on the businesses of Papinville. The story next week will be on the different kinds of entertainment, church activities and memory stories from people that lived in Papinville. We hope you have marked your calendars for September 24th. When you take the tour you will receive a map of Papinville showing the places of the businesses to help you visualize the locations. Until next week for the rest of the story.
