Saint Joseph to Mayview OLD SAINT JOSEPH
That old Kelly Tavern
Which I saw years ago
As I rode along with mother
On our way to "new" St. Joe.
The roof was sagging badly
And boards were weather-beaten
Abe Lincoln often stayed at night
And many meals had eaten.
I'm glad I remember it
As part of the "old" town
It should have been restored
Instead 'twas taken down.
-Anna Brash
I was walking down the old double rail road track bed from my house to Mayview. One set of tracks was an inter-urban line the other was a regular set of tracks. The tracks were removed about 20 years ago. The picture on the left is a picture of the old track bed. Looking south in the right picture the tree line on the horizon is a curvy paved road that goes back to the prairie and buffalo days. There is still a buffalo wallow near the Salt Fork near Homer.
Where this road crossed the Salt Fork there was a tavern on the original site of Saint Joseph. As circuit judge Abe Lincoln would take this old road and, as the poem above states, Abe would often stay the night there.
There is a town about every 10 miles around here. That was a reasonable distance to travel in one day. Every 5 mile there was a smaller town. Picture a square 10 miles on a side. NW corner: Saint Joseph, SE corner: Sidney, SW corner: Philo, NW corner: Urbana.
Most of the 5 mile towns are gone, but Mayview is still there. The middle picture is of the Mayview church where I used to vote. It is now a residence. The grain elevator was torn down when Dad lived here. I have a nice print by david Monk of the grain elevation and dad made a frame from the wood of the grain elevator. The General store is now a gun and bicycle repair shop. There is an auto repair shop (to which I was walking when I took the above pictures) a crane business and several houses.
That old Kelly Tavern
Which I saw years ago
As I rode along with mother
On our way to "new" St. Joe.
The roof was sagging badly
And boards were weather-beaten
Abe Lincoln often stayed at night
And many meals had eaten.
I'm glad I remember it
As part of the "old" town
It should have been restored
Instead 'twas taken down.
-Anna Brash
I was walking down the old double rail road track bed from my house to Mayview. One set of tracks was an inter-urban line the other was a regular set of tracks. The tracks were removed about 20 years ago. The picture on the left is a picture of the old track bed. Looking south in the right picture the tree line on the horizon is a curvy paved road that goes back to the prairie and buffalo days. There is still a buffalo wallow near the Salt Fork near Homer.
Where this road crossed the Salt Fork there was a tavern on the original site of Saint Joseph. As circuit judge Abe Lincoln would take this old road and, as the poem above states, Abe would often stay the night there.
There is a town about every 10 miles around here. That was a reasonable distance to travel in one day. Every 5 mile there was a smaller town. Picture a square 10 miles on a side. NW corner: Saint Joseph, SE corner: Sidney, SW corner: Philo, NW corner: Urbana.
Most of the 5 mile towns are gone, but Mayview is still there. The middle picture is of the Mayview church where I used to vote. It is now a residence. The grain elevator was torn down when Dad lived here. I have a nice print by david Monk of the grain elevation and dad made a frame from the wood of the grain elevator. The General store is now a gun and bicycle repair shop. There is an auto repair shop (to which I was walking when I took the above pictures) a crane business and several houses.