File submitted for USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Missouri History Page by Phyllis Lake, 9 November 1998.  Link change or update: 4 Dec 1999

From The History of Lincoln County, Missouri, (Chicago : Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1888) p. 413.

FOLEY.

Foley is situated on the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad, fifty-one miles from St. Louis, and on part of Section 1, Township 49 north, Range 2 east, and on parts of Surveys, 425 and 741. A short time before the railroad was completed to this point B. F. ROBERTSON bought six acres of land and gave the company $500 in consideration of their locating the depot on his land, where it now stands. About this time Mr. ROBERTSON bought 144 acres more adjoining the town, and associated himself in partnership with John C. DOWNING, with whom he laid out the town in October, 1879. Then William MCQUIRE, administrator of the FOLEY estate, laid out an addition to the town, and gave other lots to the railroad company on condition that they would locate the depot where it is, and name the town FOLEY, in honor of Miss Addie FOLEY (since Mrs. Dr. D. H. YOUNG, of Fulton, Mo.). The donations were accepted and the town named accordingly. D. N. TRESCOTT erected the first storehouse in Foley, the same year that the depot was built. Afterward B. F. ROBERTSON put up his fine two-story house, and then came the building boom. The large flouring mill in the south end of the town was the original Burr Oak Valley Mills, brought to Foley in 1880, by Messrs. MILDENSTEIN & ANDERSON, who operated it until 1884, when the former sold his interest to BROYLES and the latter to TRESCOTT. It is now owned by Columbus BROYLES, who uses it as a grain elevator, but not for grinding.

The following is a directory of the business of Foley in 1885: Flouring mill, BROYLES & TRESCOTT; general stores, ROBERTSON & MARKS, and Lee FRANK; FOLEY House, Matthew CROUCH; grocery and boarding house, Mrs. Lucinda J. PFORDT; boot and shoe shop, Bernard WAGNER; blacksmith shop, John BRICKER; drugs, J. M. TIPTON.

The following is a directory of the business of Foley at the present writing, July, 1888: General merchandise, ROBERTSON & MARKS, Lee FRANK and WAGNER Bros.; drugs, THIRSTIN & TIPTON; grain dealer, Columbus BROYLES; FOLEY House, Mrs. DODGE; blacksmith shop, John BRICKER; wagonmaker, O. MCNUTT; shoemaker and harness-maker, B. WAGNER, Sr.

Foley is a great depot for the shipment of railroad ties. In March, 1888, there were 26,000 ties in the yard at this place. 'The school building and Odd Fellows' Hall is a large, two-story frame structure, and was erected and is owned in partnership by the Odd Fellows and the school district. The school occupies the first story.

Burr Oak Lodge No. 378, I. 0. 0. F., was chartered and located at Burr Oak in 1877. It was moved to Foley in the fall of 1882. Its present membership is about thirty-five. It owns the hall in which it meets, is out of debt, and has money in its treasury. There is no church building in Foley, but the Baptists, Methodists and Christians hold services occasionally at the school house. The people of Foley and. vicinity erected the iron bridge, fifty feet in length, over Sandy Creek, just west of the town.

File submitted for USGenWeb/MOGenWeb Lincoln County Missouri History Page by Phyllis Lake, 9 November 1998.  Link change or update: 4 Dec 1999

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