History Blog 

Susan York shared this photo of a bottle opener from her parents’ possessions. While hard to read, it represents the Foley Tavern, which was located at 922 Mark Twain Avenue in the 1950s. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY A bottle opener, embossed with the now nearly illegible moniker of a Mark Twain Avenue tavern, has survived years of use and today serves as a lasting memento of an era long past. This remnant of a popular tavern on Mark Twain Avenue serves as a keepsake from a business e

This map segment shows a few of the key business locations in Hannibal’s Main Street vicinity, in 1854. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery, based upon the 1854 Hart and Mapother Map. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY The Hannibal Weekly Messenger, Feb. 9, 1854, carried William Shoot’s (born 1810) announcement of a planned ball at the Melpontian Hall, located on the northeast corner of Third and Center streets. The event was to be held on Feb. 22, with advance tickets available for sale at

Dana Riney accompanied law enforcement and medical personnel to his hunting land on CR410 Thursday, Oct. 29, where officials located a man who had been missing for three days. The man was in need of medical assistance, but basically safe. Photo by Dana Riney. A 50-year-old Hannibal man who walked away from the Beloved Health & Rehabilitation Center, 328 Munger Lane, on Monday, Oct. 26, was found about four miles away, in need of medical attention, but basically safe on Thursd

Thomas and Lee Etta Moyer purchased this frame home on Georgia Street in Hannibal soon after its completion in 1906. It was one of a dozen or more houses commissioned in the neighborhood by S.F. Roderick, in order to help resolve a housing shortage in Hannibal. The Moyers raised five children to adulthood in their the two-bedroom, one-bath house that they purchased, where they continued to live until Mr. Moyer’s death in 1946. According to a newspaper account, they paid $1,00

Property long identified as the Jacques place, on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, south of Hannibal. Photo shared by Archie Hayden. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY Archie Hayden of Hannibal has in his possession - a copy of which he is sharing today - a vintage photo of an old house located atop a bluff to the south of Hannibal’s Riverside Cemetery. Inscribed upon the back of the photo: “Built by Israel family. Old Jacques place atop a hill south of Riverside Cemetery later o

Hannibal Folklife festival, 1984. By Robert Spaun. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY Before Beta Max and VHS, there was Cartrivision, which was an analog videocassette format introduced in 1972. Robert Spaun was looking at a catalog that came in the mail from Olson Electronics. They were selling the Cartrivision Video Tape Recorders. The company started in 1970, and by 1973 they were bankrupt and gone. They made thousands of Cartrivision units during that time.“They had a large bankruptcy

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY A mortar and pestle is historically used to grind and mix active drug ingredients. Library of Congress prints and photographs online catalog. On Oct. 11, 1881, Hiram Westfall and his extended family were living high atop a river bluff about a mile and a half south of Hannibal. On this particular morning, they were settled around the table for an early morning meal of oatmeal mush. Soon after the communal breakfast began, diners, each in turn, exhibited sev

Archie Hayden poses in a makeshift railroad station, on exhibit at the Hannibal Arts Council during the month of October. A rail buff and retiree, Hayden based this vignette upon a picture he found in the Library of Congress digital photo collection. Photo contributed by Michael Gaines, HAC executive director. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY A number of years ago, while perusing the Library of Congress’ digital photographic collection, Archie Hayden’s attention was drawn to one particula

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY At 10:30 a.m. on May 24, 1875, nearly 300 students, their six teachers and the principal, Mr. John W. Ayres, left Hannibal’s South School (at Fifth and Union) on foot, marching military-style in two rows, en route to an outing at Hiram Westfall’s fruit grove, located to the south of Riverside Cemetery. Mr. Westfall, former Hannibal businessman who previously served three terms on the town’s city council, was by now, reaching his golden years. He contentedl

The building that stood at 309 N. Main St., into the mid 1950s, was once home to Hannibal Horse Collar Manufactory. The business was owned by M.F. Cavanagh. The business was on the first floor, and family members lived upstairs. The building was next door, to the north, of the building which - in 2026 - houses Clemens General Store. Otis Howell photo; Steve Chou collection. MARY LOU MONTGOMERY One hundred and fifty years ago - in 1876 - Michael F. Cavanagh moved with his fami