History
Taken in part from “Peculiar Heritage” by Grace Elizabeth Taylor
A community that is peculiar in name only. A name which has overshadowed our rich history. Yet, this peculiar name has somehow set apart persons associated with it, creating a chemistry, within them, which makes them very important to each other.
July 29, 1868, Robert Cass County surveyor, surveyed the town of Peculiar into lots, blocks and streets. This certified plat was filed as ‘The Town Of Peculiar’.
Early settlers came to western Missouri by riverboat, rail and overland. Many were migrating for the second and third time from communities in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The ‘Town Of Peculiar’ also received families from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The genesis of ‘Peculiar’ is well documented. In 1887 the railroad bought several pieces of property from a Kentuckian, George Moore. Mr. Moore had a daughter named Carry who married a Holton drunkard named Charles Glody, divorced him, and married a Warrensburg journalist named David Nation…the rest of that story is history.} But the City Fathers realized that with the new railroad the center of trade would move to the south.
The City Of Peculiar, established in 1868, and reestablished in 1889 is located in Cass County, Missouri. The city encompasses approximately 4 square miles and a current estimated population of 2,600 and an outreach population of approximately 7,500.
The city was incorporated in 1953 and is a Fourth Class City and a political subdivision of the State Of Missouri. The city is governed by a Mayor / Board Of Aldermen form of government and exercises powers of municipal government specifically granted by the State Of Missouri. The Mayor is elected at large for a two-year term, without restrictions as to reelection. The Board Of Aldermen is composed of six members, two being elected from each of the three wards of the city. Each year an alderman is elected from each ward for a term of two years. The Board Of Aldermen establishes utility and tax rates, as well as authorizes all municipal indebtedness. The City Of Peculiar is growing and incorporating new land, business and residents continuously. However, it remains a wonderful, warm community, with a ‘small town’ feel, in which to raise a family. Activities and opportunities are abundant.
Settlers came to build a new community in which their growing families could find opportunity, and in which they could take pride. Fortunately this holds true for present day City Of Peculiar.
We’re glad for those who chose the community of Peculiar. Welcome Home.
How Peculiar Got Its Name-Taken in part from “Welcome to Peculiar, Missouri” by Tori Wiseman
In pre-Civil War times the pioneer settlers decided their drowsy, maple-shaded hamlet ought to have a name. After several sessions in the general store they narrowed the choice to three names, but couldn’t settle on any one.
All three names were sent to the post office for consideration. All three were in use elsewhere. They decided to appeal directly to the postmaster general, agreeing to let him make the final decision. ‘We don’t care what name you give us,’ they said, ‘so long as it is sort of peculiar.’
Probably with tongue in cheek the postmaster general wrote a long and courteous reply. He said he had given their predicament grave consideration. ‘My conclusion.’ he wrote, ‘is that in all the land it would be difficult to imagine a more distinctive, a more peculiar name than Peculiar.’ and Peculiar it has remained ever since. {Found in a clipping courtesy of Gladys Stanka.}
The post office was thus established June 22, 1868. It was located in a trading center that served the new community. Mail would arrive every few days by a carrier on horseback, to be dumped on a table for residents to retrieve. The Pleasant Hill postmaster, Henry Younger, father of the noted Younger Brothers, blessed the establishment of the Peculiar Post Office.
In later years Judge Edelen recalls when he was 18 or 19 years old, and carried the mail that stopped at the post office in Peculiar. The trail went from the home of O.E. Reid, across the creek east of the Peculiar Cemetery to the west edge of Young’s place, west of the new bridge. The trail was 50 years old at the time, however, it really stood out on the Wills place.
The old post office was located on property formally called ‘Yankee Hill’. When the Fisks, Hawkins, Craigs and other New England families settled closely together it brought an apt response from those families already established. Consequently, since 1883, no further mention has been found of ‘Yankee Hill’.
Since the post office received the name Peculiar, Peculiar has been a small community 25 miles south of Kansas City. A pleasant town with a strange name, and therefore stories have appeared in Sunday newspaper supplements for years. But, not until Charles O. Finley, in the mid-1960′s, threatened, while squabbling with Kansas City officials, to move his A’s to a cow pasture in Peculiar, did Peculiar have even a close brush with fame.
For years Peculiar has just been Peculiar, with a few old time residents hating the name, but most being fiercely proud of its peculiarity. At one time it was suggested that more tourists should be attracted and items such as post cards, with a Peculiar postmark, could be mailed to their folks back home. Also talked about were coffee cups, T-shirts and caps with sayings such as ‘I’ve been to Peculiar’. Some items are around today promoting Peculiar, but the old items are true treasures.
Peculiar is different from a hundred other small towns. With roadways being changed to accommodate increased traffic and railroads no longer needed as in the past, small towns were being left behind. We are evolving once again, and with overcrowded cities; the suburbs, with more land, trees, better school systems, recreational facilities and close knit atmosphere; small towns are becoming more appealing and are growing at an alarming rate.
Information on Peculiar Missouri History, Geography, and Demographics on Wikipedia.