Jamestown in ideal place for commute to Columbia or Jefferson City

JAMESTOWN, Mo. - Norma Roesch could tell a tale or two about her hometown, all good ones of course.

On Saturday, she turned 80 years old and she's lived in Jamestown her entire life. Having spent about 34 years as an elementary school teacher in the Jamestown School District, Roesch said there once was a time when she knew nearly every family in town.

“There are people here and I have no idea where they came from. I guess you can consider it a bedroom town now. People move in and people move out,” she said. “I don't know everyone anymore.”

Even though the community has grown and neighbors don't socialize like they did many years ago, Roesch said she still considers Jamestown a close-knit community.

“People are very supportive of each other, at least the old families,” she said. “When (Leon) Deraps was killed in Iraq in May, Jamestown went all out for that family.”

Positioned in the northern section of Moniteau County, Jamestown is an almost perfect location for people who work in either Columbia or Jefferson City but want to live in a rural area.

“I used to joke and say that Columbia, Jefferson City and California are all suburbs of Jamestown,” Roesch said. “It seems to be the nucleus of everything - at least in my opinion.”

Now about 169 years old, Jamestown was once a self-contained little town. It still offers residents a quiet and peaceful atmosphere without the hustle and bustle traffic, stoplights and loud neighborhoods.

“Sometimes the loudest thing you hear around here is thunder,” Roesch said. “It's a quiet little town for the most part. I can't imagine living anywhere else. Jamestown is my home, always has been.”

Roesch said she can think of many changes in town over the last 50 or so years, but perhaps one of the biggest is the loss of businesses.

“We used to have two car agencies here in Jamestown. We could go uptown and buy a car,” Roesch recalled. “In 1961, we bought a Chevy Impala; we paid $2,280 for it.”

The history of Jamestown dates back several years prior to the Civil War when settlers came sometime in the 1830s.

The name was derived from the James brothers who built the first Mercantile Store. Although they weren't the famous outlaw brothers, they were still an important part of Jamestown's history.

“I think Jamestown was pretty well settled around 1831 or 32 from what I have read,” Roesch said. “The early settlers I would say were probably English.

“In the 1850s, there was quite an influx of Swiss and Germans. They were advertising in the papers to settle the area and a lot of the Swiss came from those ads that were in the papers. Most of them were from Ohio.”

On Aug. 17, 1830, a post office was established and operated under the name Moniteau. On July 27, 1850, the name was changed to Jamestown.

As the population continued to grow and the town began to prosper, more and more businesses were popping up. By 1877, there were two dry goods stores, two drug stores, two doctors, a hardware store, a furniture store, a saddler shop, three blacksmiths, a sawmill, a wool carding mill, a hotel, a school, three churches, a flouring mill and a wagonmaker shop.

Just after the turn of the century, circa 1903, several men from the town gathered and dug the “town well” in the center of town. A triangular frame was built near the well in an effort to keep the horses away.

In March of 1987, several members of the community traveled to St. Louis County to meet a man by the name of Gene McNary. Although a large group traveled for the meeting, it wasn't intended to be a social visit.

According to an article dated March 28, 1987, in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, McNary had proposed to name a section of St. Louis County Jamestown after the nearby Jamestown Mall.

Several residents of the Moniteau County community took offense to this after learning only one community could carry the name.

The article reads: “To make matters right, the town council met and passed a resolution. And just before dawn Friday, a delegation of seven of Jamestown's most distinguished citizens hopped into a van, drove more than 150 miles to St. Louis and marched into McNary's office, resolution in hand.”

Once the group finished with its plea, the meeting took a turn for the better when McNary agreed to withdraw his suggestion. He offered to visit the community during its sesquicentennial celebration scheduled a few months later.

In 1987, in celebration of the sesquicentennial, a committee was formed to put together a history book for the town. Roesch said the group worked a lot of hours and within three months, the book was complete.

It is filled with 150 years of history about the area, including writings from families who are direct descendants of the James brothers.

Today, the community resembles the area from way back when. The well still is in place, although it is more of a flower bed.

Fast Facts about Jamestown

* In 1837, the Hightower Brothers established a tobacco factory in Jamestown.

* In 1892, the first telephone line was established in Jamestown.

* In 1858, the James Brothers establish the Mercantile Store. The town was later named for the brothers.

The downtown area of Jamestown today is very similar to how it looked many years ago. Several of the old buildings have been remodeled and are being used to house a variety of businesses. (Ra'Vae Edwards/News Tribune photo)