A small rural town, Calwood has found its niche as a center for agriculture.
Location
Calwood is an unincorporated community in Callaway County, Missouri. It is located at the intersection of State Highways Z and JJ. The USGS coordinates are Latitude 38°55’13”N Longitude 91°51’10”W. The Atlas shows it in Twn 48N, Rng 8W.
Settlement
The Jones Tanyard post office was established March 27, 1828, replacing the Harrison post office which closed on March 26, 1828. Jones Tanyard, a leather tannery, was located on the Auxvasse Creek along the southern route of the Boones Lick Road. Jones Tanyard was a stop on the St. Louis to Jefferson City mail stage route. The Jones Tanyard stage stand and post office ceased operations on March 19, 1874, and the post office was replaced by the Calwood post office which was established in 1874 about a mile west of Jones Tanyard.
The 1876 Callaway Atlas shows Calwood having a mill, a school, a church, and some 15 store buildings and residences within a quarter-mile of the junction of present-day State Highways Z and JJ. The town’s name was created by combining the names of Cal James and Edward Wood.
Economy
As is the case in many of the small communities in Callaway County, the heart of the Calwood community has always been centered around its general stores. Wright Brothers is the present store and has been a Wright family business since 1946. The present owners are the third and fourth generation of Wrights, a father and son team that includes Terry and Tony Wright. Previously, the store was operated by brothers, Terry and Dudley Wright, and prior to them, Wright brothers Madison and Earnest (Ted) Wright operated the store from 1946 until 1974. Earlier owners were John Zumwalt, J. M. Wright, Lawrence English and V. B. Simcoe. Today, the store carries a variety of general groceries, offering a short-order food menu including pizza, sandwiches and hamburgers. The store also offers gasoline and has a storage rental facility on its property.
The Wright brothers sold their feed business to Kenneth Twillman. On April 1, 1979, the feed store opened as Twillman Feed Service and is owned and operated by Kenneth (Kenny) Twillman. Today, it is a full-service elevator, ADM Alliance Nutrition Dealer, providing custom grind and mix feed services for many animal species. Twillman Feed Service also has a small retail store, warehouse, and trucking business.
Other businesses that have served Calwood include J. T. Ellsworth and Sons (Clyde and Cleo), who operated a garage, filling station, and lunch counter. They also had a small trucking business. General stores have also been operated by Mr. Dort, E. M. Shelton, Ellsworth Draper, W. M. Breckenridge, and Mr. Foster, who also had a lunch counter and gas pumps in the early 1920s. In the early part of the 19th century, blacksmith shops were operated first by Mr. Knox and later by Carson Potts. Most recent blacksmiths were Walter Craighead, Ruben Lawrence, and James Trisler. When automobiles became mainstream, garages were operated by Mr. Snodgrass and Clarence East. During the early 1900s, Calwood had a post office housed in Mr. Breckenridge’s store but it closed in 1922.
In 1981, Missouri Girls Town relocated from Mountain Grove to its current site on the South Outer Road at the I-70/Calwood exit. Girls Town is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provides individualized care to abused and neglected young women. Today the campus includes four residential cottages, two administrative buildings, a recreation center, dining hall, and school. Girls Town also has an independent living contract to assist up to six girls’ transition into adulthood.
In December 1993, the Callaway Livestock Center opened under the operation of J.P. Harrison, Jack Harrison, David Means and David Bell. It is still in operation today hosting regular sales on Mondays, with a special cow sale the first Thursday of each month.
New Hope Baptist Church, located south of Calwood, was organized in the spring of 1885 and is still an active part of the community. The newest church in the community is Crossroads Cowboy Church located at the Calwood exit off Interstate 70.
Education
Until 1967, Calwood had its own elementary school. At that time, Calwood became a part of the reorganized school district, North Callaway, for the north part of the county. Area elementary students now attend Hatton McCredie Elementary School or Williamsburg Elementary then North Callaway Middle School in Auxvasse and North Callaway High School in Kingdom City.
The old schoolhouse became the Edith Benskin Community Center in 1980 in honor of Edith Benskin, the last teacher at the school. It is currently rented as a venue for many small events and has hosted the Fall Festival, known for its mutton, the first weekend in October since 1980.
Today
In recent years, the area surrounding Calwood has been farmed by Jerry Austin; Joe Spatafora; Bill Books; David Hosenfelt; Bob, Jason and Jonathon Books; and Paul Primus.
Calwood is also home to several livestock farmers, including John P. Harrison, Jack Harrison, John Craighead, John Fischer and Bill Books.
Several equestrian facilities claim a home in Calwood, offering a wide variety of equestrian services including lessons and boarding. These facilities include Moore Stables, operated by T. David Moore; Arrowhead Horse Stable, operated by Tara Rattray; and Forever T Ranch, operated by Nikki Tiesing.
Calwood also boasts memorial markers of the Civil War. The Battle of Moore’s Mill, fought on July 28, 1862, occurred mostly on property owned by Bryant Liddle south of Calwood on State Route JJ. Records and accounts of the battle indicate that many casualties were buried at the site on Gus Guthrie’s property on State Road Z. A ground penetrating radar system was used to determine an area that is believed to be the mass gravesite. A marker indicates the names of the soldiers, both union and confederate, supposed to be buried there.
Compiled January 2021
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Calwood, Missouri
IMAGES OF Calwood, MISSOURI
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