Levasy Missouri!

WILLIAM WALLACE LIVESAY, FOR WHICH THE TOWN WAS NAMED, LIVED SOUTH OF CURRENT U. S. 24, IN THE VICINITY OF BONE HILL. HE OWNED A PORTION OF THE AREA MAKING UP PRESENT DAY LEVASY. LIVESAY WAS A TRAINMASTER FOR 20 YEARS AND LED WAGON TRAINS OVER THE TRAILS WEST FOR MAJORS, RUSSELL AND WADDELL. IN 1835, HE SETTLED IN JACKSON COUNTY ON 247 ACRES OF LAND AND BECAME A FARMER AND STOCK RAISER. IT IS THOUGHT, THAT THE NAME OF THE, TOWN MAY HAVE BEEN CHANGED FROM LIVESAY To LEVASY THROUGH A SPELLING ERROR WHEN THE RAILROAD LINE WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE TOWN.

THE AREA THAT BECAME THE BUSINESS AREA OF TOWN WAS PART OF A LARGE TRACT OF FARM AND TIMBERLAND ACQUIRED BY JOHN BATES FROM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. BATES' LAND WAS SOLD TO VARIOUS PURCHASERS AND DIVIDED INTO LOTS. BATES EXECUTED A WILL in FEBRUARY, 1843. THE WILL WHICH WAS RECORDED AFTER HIS DEATH ON OCTOBER 19,1853, STATED HIS DAUGHTER, MRS. E. BATCHELOR, AS HIS BENEFICIARY. MRS. BATCHELOR EXECUTED A WARRANTY DEED TO JAMES M. BOARD, DATED MARCH 5, 1868. TWELVE YEARS LAM, ON JULY 20, 1880; RECORDS SHOW THE LAND WAS DEEDED BY JAMES M. BOARD TO MAURICE JACOBS. ON JUNE 21, 1881, SOME LOTS WERE DEEDED TO JOHN HIGHTOWER, WHO OPENED A GENERAL STORE AND GROCERY. HE, IN TURN, SOLD SOME OF HIS LOTS TO RACHEL REEVES. HER LOTS WERE SOLD TO JOHN NIEWEG ON AUGUST 7, 1894. NIEWEG; OPERATED A BLACKSMITH SHOP AT THAT LOCATION. THIS SHOP WAS SOLD TO WILLIAM PRIESS ON APRIL 11, 1900. PRIESS OPERATED THE SHOP UNTIL JUNE 11, 1902, SELLING TO CHARLES H. SCHROER. SCHROFR OPERATED THE BUSINESS UNTIL THE GASOLINE ENGINE REPLACED THE HORSE AND THE COMMUNITY NO LONGER NEEDED A BLACKSMITH.

IN ADDITION TO THE AFOREMENTIONED BUSINESSES, OTHERS WERE ESTABLISHED AFTER COMPLETION OF THE RAILROAD THROUGH TOWN. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL HISTORIAN FOR THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE, THEIR OFFICE IN LEVASY WAS OPENED ON JUNE 7, 1877, WITH GEORGE J. WARD AS THE FIRST POSTMASTER. WARD IS CREDITED WITH BUILDING THE FIRST BUSINESS IN TOWN AND BEGAN MERCHANDISING E\1 1876. THE SECOND STORE IN TOWN WAS BUILT BY JAMES WASSON IN 1877.

APPROXIMATELY 1876 AND 1877, THERE WAS A DRUGSTORE IN THE LEVASY AREA OPERATED BY JOHN SUDDETH. VARIOUS PHYSICIANS PRACTICED MEDICINE IN THE TOWN DURING ITS EARLY DAYS. THEY INCLUDE DR. C. A. PAXTON, DR. PETERS, DR. J.W. CARDNFR, DR. HENDERSON AND DR. DILLARD WAM. HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, 1881, Aliases DR. HENDERSON AS ONE OF THE TOWN DOCTORS AND THE, FOLLOWING BUSINESSES AND OPERATORS: GENERAL STORE- J.G. WARD, GROCERY-JOHN HIGHTOWER, DRUGSTORE~JOHN SUDDETH, BLACKSMITH~PETER RIFE, DOCTOR-C.A. PAXTON, DOCTOR-W.J. CARDNER, TEACHER~ C.C. LATRIMER, DEPOT AGENT- J.C. WARD, POST OFFICE-J.G. WARD AND JUSTICE OF THE PEACE- N.N. BURNLEY.

THE BANK OF LEVASY WAS CHARTERED BY THE STATE OF MISSOURI IN 1907. 1 N JANUARY, 1961, Edwin F. BORGMAN, STOCKHOLDER AND CASHIER SINCE 1910 RETIRED, SELLING TO SAM M. SCHULTZ OF KANSAS CITY. TWO YEARS LATER, AN INVESTMENT GROUP THAT INCLUDED TWO KANSAS CITY MEN AND THE BING CROSBY ENTERPRISES OF LOS ANGELES ACQUIRED CONTROLLING STOCK. ON MAY 27, 1963, THE BANK WAS MOVED TO SUGAR CREEK, MISSOURI. THE BANK IS NOW KNOWN AS STERLING NATIONAL BANK.

ANOTHER ASSET TO THE TOWN, THE LEVASY ELEVATOR, WAS BUILT IN 1903, BY HENRY BICKEL. IT WAS THEN OWNED BY LOUIS WELPMAN WHO SOLD TO JULIUS WELTER AND THEODORE J. STOENNER IN APPROXIMATELY 1913. WELTER AND STOENNER LATER PURCHASED A LUMBER YARD IN LEVASY AND OPERATED THE TWO BUSINESSES FOR OVER 50 YEARS. THE ELEVATOR WAS LATER SOLD To ARNOLD AND TOM DIECKMANN. ARNOLD'S SON, J. T. DIECKMANN AND HIS WIFE, BERTHA NOW OWN THE BUSINIESS.

A NUMBER OF GROCERY AND GENERAL STORES WERE OPENED AND CLOSED OVER THE YEARS. ONE SUCH STORE WAS OWNED BY NICHOLAS BICKEL IN THE EARLY 1900s. HE ALSO OPENED A HARDWARE AND FURNITURE SHOP. BICKEL SOLD THE GENERAL STORE TO HIS BROTHER HERMAN AND FRS SISTER, CHRISTINA. CHRISTINA OPENED A MILLINERY SHOP ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE BUILDING.

A GENERAL STORE OWNED BY EUCENF BIERBAUM, ALVIN BIERBAUM AND WILLIAM STOENNER WAS LOCATED A BLOCK FROM THE BICKEL STORE. THEIR STORE WAS OPENED FOR BUSINESS UNTIL 1957. BUSINESSES OVER THE YEARS ALSO INCLUDE A , STOCKYARDS, BARBER SHOP, TELEPHONE OFFICE, SERVICE STATION AND OF COURSE, THE DEPOT. A CHIROPRACTOR, DR. PAUL GROSS, SERVED THE TOWN FOR MANY YEARS.

LEVASYS EARLY RESIDENTS INCLUDED MANY PEOPLE OF GERMAN DESCENT. THESE PEOPLE WERE CHRISTIANS, AND IN 1892 THE EBENEZER EVANGELICAL CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED. FOR MANY YEARS THE SERVICES WERE SPOKEN IN GERMAN. THROUGH FIRE AND FLOOD THE CHURCH HAS REMAINED A VITAL PART OF THE LEVASY COMMUNITY.

THE TOWN'S CEMETERY IS LOCATED SOUTH OF LEVASY ON BONE HILL ROAD. ACCORDING TO VITAL HISTORICAL RECORDS OF JACKSON COUNTY MISSOURI, THE OLDEST BURIAL IN BONE HILL CEMETERY, NOW KNOWN As EBENEZER CHURCH CEMETERY, WAS THAT OF CHARLES W. STOCK WHO DIED ON JANUARY 9, 1899.

A $23,000 STATE-OF-THE-ART SCHOOL WAS BUILT IN 1923 TO ACCOMMODATE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. IN 1926, THE LEVASY SCHOOL BOARD CONSISTED OF THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS: ED BORCMAN, PRESIDENT,. H.C. CANSMAN, TREASURER; TWY. DIECKMANN, JULIUS WELTER, WILLIAM BORGMAN, R.B. COOK AND H.A. MEINERSHACEN. THE OLD SCHOOL BUILDING NOW SERVES AS THE LEVASY COMMUNITY CENTER.

THOUGH LEVASY IS NOT BUSTLING TOWN IT ONCE WAS, IT CONTINUES TO BE A STRONG RESIDENTIAL AND FARMING COMMUNITY. THE VIEW OF THE LEVASY COUNTRYSIDE FROM BONE HILL IS AS BEAUTIFUL NOW AS IT WAS WHEN TRAINS USED TO STOP IN THE LITTLE TOWN.