Joy: Did anyone send you the article in the Osage County, Missouri newsletter about Summerfield, MO. If no, get back to me and I will send it. Jo'an Oh What the heck! Summerfield Summerfield is in the northeastern corner of Maries County, hard by the Osage County line. It too, was a child of the Rock Island Line. The summer of 1901 had brought a severe drought, and many of the local farmers and tie-hackers found welcome employment with the railroad construction crews. The first business was established by Ed Baumgartner, who built a general store across the tracks from the new depot. Later, George C. Gieck erected a commercial building known s the Summerfield Store. Many other businesses followed, along with a school and a church. The two-story depot was the largest and busiest along the line at that time (article shows a picture of the building). The catalyst for all this prosperity was a man named Fritz Schweer. He fed cattle and hogs to be shipped to St. Louis. He also bought cattle from surrounding neighborhoods and brought them to the pens at the railroad station. Sometimes the train arrived with its cars completely empty in order to load all of Mr. Schweer's livestock. After his death, and with the avent of the trucking industry, the town began to decline. By the mid-1930's most businesses had closed, and the depot was razed. Today Summerfield is a peaceful little hamlet with a handful of people living there. They like it that way, and don't wish to return tothe hustle and bustle of the railroad heydays. Joy: If you would like a hardcopy of the above send snail mail address. Again....Jo'an ----- Original Message ----- From: <Jyjb@aol.com> To: <MOMARIES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, October 26, 2001 8:58 PM Subject: Re: [MOMARIES] Summerfield > Thank you Al! > > Joy Jones Brandon > > > ==== MOMARIES Mailing List ==== > > > > ============================== > Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp >