Smith’s Landing, on the Missouri River, and Saint Aubert are previous names for communities replaced by Mokane. How was the name Mokane given to the small town on the Missouri River?
Location
Mokane is located in the southern part of Callaway County in Twn 44N, Rng 9W, Sec 18. The USGS coordinates are Latitude 38°40’30”N Longitude 91°52’28”W. It is one of the earliest settlements in the county dating back to 1818. The original settlement was adjacent to the Missouri River in the floodplain. Consequently, the settlement moved a half-mile north to its present site.
Mokane is bordered on the south by rich agricultural farmland. From early spring until the fall harvest, one can drive down Highway 94 in either direction and see wide expanses of corn and soybeans stretching all the way to the river levees. The town of Steedman is about 3 miles to the east, and Tebbetts is 6 miles west. The terrain rises gradually north through Mokane on Route C toward the County Seat of Fulton, which is 14 miles away.
Settlement
Before the town was named Mokane, it was known as Smith’s Landing and later as St. Aubert. It was named Smith's Landing from 1818 until about 1849 when the site was washed away. After that, it was moved away from the river, and its name was changed to St. Aubert. At that time, there were about 150 people in the village, and a post office was established. The population remained stable until the coming of the railroad in 1893. In July of that year, residents decided to change the name of the town again. A contest was held to get some ideas. A local woman suggested that they use the initials of the railroad line. The Missouri (MO)-Kansas (KAN)-& Eastern (E) railroad thus gave its name to the town, and it has remained so ever since.
Infrastructure
The railroad had a lasting impact on the settlement, providing stability and promoting growth that lasted for decades. The town grew steadily during the early part of the 20th century, eventually reaching a population of about 750 people. During its heyday, Mokane boasted a large hotel, a movie theater, barber shop, telephone office, doctor’s offices, restaurants and bars, a full-service gas station, and even a weekly newspaper called the Mokane Missourian.
However, this prosperity did not last. In the early 1930s, the railroad division headquarters, roundhouse and all, were moved about 60 miles west to the town of New Franklin. This ushered in a period of gradual but steady decline in Mokane's population. U.S. Census data shows that by 1950, the population had shrunk to 477 people. It has continued to decline, and the latest census in 2010 was 185.
Governance
Mokane is run by a city council consisting of a mayor and four aldermen. In recent years, the council has been working on grants to raise money to improve the town's aging sewer system. It has also focused on trying to keep the city's streets maintained and the water system working properly.
Education
The South Callaway R-II School District opened in the Fall of 1959 when several of the surrounding one-room schools were consolidated with the old Mokane High School. The new building was built about a mile north of town on Route C. Since then, the district has continued to grow. In 1986, a new high school building was added to the site, and an early childhood center was built a few years later. Today, the campus is one of the main hubs of the community that serves about 750 students in grades K-12.
The school has a solid tax base anchored by the Ameren Missouri Power Plant just a few miles away. The school facilities are the envy of surrounding school districts, with a high-tech digital footprint featuring iPads for all students from grades 3-12 and smartboards in the classrooms.
The football and baseball fields have weather-proof synthetic surfaces that allow fewer game delays and cancellations in fall and spring.
Religion
Mokane is home to three long-time churches and another that was established more recently. The newest congregation is the Community Church, which as of 2020 meets at the Lions Club Hall. There is also the Christian Church in town, located next to one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. Local parishioners can also attend the United Methodist Church, which has had continuous services since 1914. Catholics in town and the surrounding community worship in their church, which is up the hill from the other churches. The Methodist church added a spacious fellowship hall in 1997. In 2012, the Catholic church followed suit and built a beautiful facility next to its sanctuary, as well. Both of these fellowship halls serve the citizens with fish fries, potluck dinners, music concerts, family reunions and other community functions.
Society
The Mokane Lions Club was founded on May 11, 1950, with 28 members that included several business owners and civic-minded individuals. The first president was John F. Uhlig, and other officers included C. W. Hafner as secretary and J. L. Pierce as treasurer. One of the first projects they sponsored was the Fall Festival, which featured barbecued mutton and a carnival that came to town during Labor Day Weekend. In its early years, the event was held in the middle of the street in downtown Mokane, and Route C was blocked off to normal traffic.
Eventually, the event was moved to Lions Club Park on River Street, where it remains today. It has evolved into a Community-wide event. Lions Club members recruit church organizations, the local Amvets Post, outside food vendors, and entertainment guests locally and from outside the area. Over the years, the festival has come to be known as the “Mokane World’s Fair,” a name given in jest by local KFAL radio personality Ron Lutz sometime in the mid-60s. Although undocumented, it may be that Lutz got his idea from a house on Fulton Avenue which was built in St. Louis during the 1904 World’s Fair and was moved to Mokane about 20 years later. This house is still occupied, and it has a sister house on Jefferson Street in Fulton which is a mirror image in its architecture and construction.
Today
Today, the southern part of Mokane is still vulnerable to flooding. The historic floods of 1951 and 1993 are still fresh in the memories of old-timers around the community.
The railroad ceased operations on October 4, 1986, and abandoned the Missouri-Kansas-Eastern line in 1987. In 1988, the route was railbanked and the entire length of the right of way from Sedalia to Machens was donated to the State of Missouri. Sometime around the year 2000, the 240-mile corridor from Machens (St. Charles) to Sedalia was converted to a hiking and biking trail that became known as the Katy Trail. Mokane sits at mile marker 125 on the trail and witnesses hundreds of bicyclists each year.
Despite its small size, Mokane is well-known throughout the county and beyond. Its fame includes local churches, the South Callaway R-II School District, and the Mokane Lions Club.
Along with a nuclear plant and the school district, the local economy is tied to agriculture along with a few small businesses. The Mokane Bar & Grill has operated out of a building in the middle of main street for many years. The Amvets Post 153 opened a facility across the street that caters to those who served their country in the Armed Forces. It proudly displays a "Memorial Wall" near the building, which includes flags and plaques recognizing local veterans both past and present. Next door is a self-service gas station owned by an out-of-town enterprise. Up the hill, the Riverview Nursing Home has served residents since opening in the early 1960s. Just up the street is Looney Toones II Day Care, and not far from there is the former Steedman Bank, which is now a branch facility of the Callaway Bank of Fulton. Finally, the most recent addition to the town is the Dollar General just north of the city limits.
Though the business and population of Mokane has decreased, the residents are still proud of their town and their homes and show an interest in making it a nice place to live.
Compiled January 2021
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Mokane, Missouri
IMAGES OF Mokane, MISSOURI
