Monett's History
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The Monett Town Company, founded in 1887, had five founding members. Springfield banker B.F. Hobart held almost all of the original stock. Company owners apparently knew of Frisco Railroad plans to move the railroads' division point from Pierce City, noting the railroad in 1886 had purchased 200 acres of land near what was then known as Plymouth, the future site of Monett. The company seems to have started as an independent real estate venture. Hobart had served as a financial officer for a company that built the first rail line in 1882 into what would become Tulsa, Okla.
By March 1888, six months after the railroad roundhouse opened in Monett and one month before the first city government was elected, the town had 1,400 inhabitants. By 1889, the Missouri Gazetteer reported Monett had 2,500 residents and 103 different establishments. By 1898 the city had 3,000 residents and more than 185 different businesses. (the above is an excerpt from an article published in the Monett Times on November 18, 2014) Thus started the city of Monett. One of our most prized possessions is the original plat for the City of Monett, which has a history all its own, since it was discovered in a barn back East. The finder graciously donated the plat to the Museum in 2017. It is very fragile and therefore kept in our climate control room for safekeeping. |
Here is a quick look at some of the pictures in the Sinclair and Jane Rogers Video - we hope to have the full video available at the museum soon.
Some of our highschool students were very excited about creating a video highlighting our Museum, here is one example.
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