1875 school outing takes place on Westfall’s farm

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 contentedly earned his living as a horticulturalist and fruit grower on his river bluff farm.

Showing a fondness for the children of South Hannibal, he invited the students for a full-day, end-of-the-school-year outing. This included crisp cool well water to drink upon their arrival, activities to partake in, and lunch served under the boughs of some of the farm’s stately shade trees.

It took the students considerably less than an hour to march to the rural setting that Westfall had called home since he first built a house upon this river bluff in 1853.

Once their thirsts were quenched upon arrival, the students prepared for lunch.

An observer accompanied the students and teachers on this rural adventure, and penned a first-person account, which was published in the May 25, 1875 edition of the Hannibal Daily Clipper. (newspapers.com)

“Mr. Ayres distributed the baskets of provisions, and they were not few in numbers, being three wagon loads. (The students) divided into small parties, spread their cloths in the shade of the largest trees and had a grand dinner in true picnic style.”

Next upon the agenda was a ceremony to crown the May Queen. The boys cast ballots, and chose Adelia Smith, an honor student at the school, for this recognition.

Mr. Westfall himself gathered the choicest flowers from his garden “with which to crown and decorate the Queen.”

The maids were Lida Ide* and Mary McDonald**.

"Following the May Queen, came songs and recitations from the children until about four o’clock, when they formed a line and commended a march of descent, all happy and pleased with the day of recreation.

• Lida Blanch Ide died of typhoid on June 8, 1880, at the age of 13. She was laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery. She may have been the daughter of William H. Ide, general freight office, Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, who lived in South Hannibal.

** Mary McDonald may be the daughter of J. McDonald, a stone mason, and his wife, Jonna McDonald.

Two marriages

Hiram Westfall married twice:

Ruby Havens, who died in 1872; and

Miss Nellie O’Connell, daughter of John and Mary O’Connell, of St. Louis, whom he was married to on Dec. 14, 1875, in St. Louis.

Early settler

In the mid 1800s, Hiram Westfall was among Hannibal’s leading businessmen.

Partnered with Levi Westfall in 1850, together they operated a general store selling butter, eggs, bacon, flour, corn and oats from a storefront located at the intersection of Main and Bird, referred to as “Wildcat Corner.” The two men - possibly brothers - dabbled in not only groceries, but also meat packing and lumber processing during their early residency in Hannibal. When Levi Westfall died in 1854, Hiram Westfall served as estate executor.

By 1853, Hiram Westfall had closed his retail business and turned his attention instead to agriculture in general, and more particularly, fruit.

Hiram and his wife, Ruby, purchased land situated about a mile and a half south of Hannibal, on what was referred to, by the Whig Messenger in its Nov. 19, 1853 edition, as “Lovers Leap Hill.* ” This was during the same era as construction was forging ahead for the railroad across Missouri, and as steamboats plied north and south upon the nearby Mississippi River, carrying produce, livestock and passengers. A newspaper of the day made mention of the vast river view afforded from Westfall’s property.

In early August, 1856, Westfall delivered the first watermelon of the season to the Hannibal Messenger newspaper, which in turn reported: “He informs us that he has fine prospects for a large yield.”

In October 1858, Westfall’s Marion County property consisted of 64 acres located in Township 57, Range 4, NW 1/4 of Section 34. Directly to the west of his property was Township 57, Range 4, NE 1/4 of Section 33, which was later, in part, subdivided into Tingle Addition.

The following year, in 1859, the Hannibal Daily Messenger noted that Westfall had experimented raising strawberry plants, and found them to be more profitable than raising wheat, corn, tobacco or hemp. That same year, his grape crop was devastated by rot.

Hiram his wife, and Ruby Havens Westfall, who had moved to Hannibal in 1847, had nine children, five of whom were living in 1884, when ”History of Marion County” was published.

Pre-Mo. 79

By careful calculation, in the 1800s the Lovers Leap hill would have (likely) referred to one rolling river bluff from Lovers Leap, at the north end overlooking Hannibal, south to the valley where the Cameron Dairy farm once stood, at the east of the entrance to what became known as the Mark Twain Cave. The area where construction for Missouri 79 carved a valley for passage in the 1960s, remained up until this time primarily part of this large hilltop, adjoining streets such as Oak and Spring and Edwards in South Hannibal, each located to the west of the new highway, to the land to the east, overlooking the river.

A possible route the children and teachers may have walked to arrive at the Westfall farm, based upon a 1935 map of Hannibal, Mo., is along Riverside street. This road begins at Fulton Avenue, and continued up the hill and to the south, where it connected with the entrance (still in place) to Riverside Cemetery. From there, Riverside skirted the western border of the cemetery, until it met with the west-east corridors of Spring, Oak and Edwards streets, which in turn connected with Glen Street, which roughly ran north/south parallel to the river.

Next week: Westfall murder mystery.