Liberty, MO, Missouri Street

An old post card pictures Missouri Street, two blocks east of the city square in Liberty, and horses being shown for sale. This two-block area came to be known as Jockey Row. On the first Monday of every month horse sales were held there. Sales by barter, not auctions. Collier Boggess, a veteran hardware merchant of Liberty, says he remembers the sales being held as early as 1894, but believes they were held even before that. Horses of all kinds and ages were brought to town by their owners. Prices ranged from $10 to $200. There were horses for farm work as well as those for driving and riding and a few thoroughbreds. Clay County with its silt loam soil, native blue grass and good rainfall became known for its pasture land. Livestock thrived and at one time the county was second in the United States in beef cattle production. In the World War I era, sales also were held at the big horse barn of John Sparks, east of town on Leonard Street. As many as 500 head changed hands daily. Many of the animals were purchased for use overseas by government buyers from the U.S. and French armies.The old post card, printed in color, was mailed Jan. 10, 1913, to Earl McCoy, Missouri City, Mo. Kansas City Times, January 29, 1982.