Page Contents for Chaffee, Missouri

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

Government

Community news

Organizations, Churches, and Sports.

Libraries.

Schools.

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Statistics & Facts

The Missouri state capital is Jefferson City.
The population of Chaffee is approximately 2955 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 1,363 (1990), 1204 (2010).
The amount of land area in Chaffee is 4.598 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.122 sq kilometers.
The distance from Chaffee to Washington DC is 727 miles.
The distance to the Missouri state capital is 172 miles. (as the crow flies)
Chaffee is positioned 37.18 degrees north of the equator and 89.66 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Location

in the northern portion of Scott County in the southeastern part of Missouri.
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History & History Related Items

Chaffee was founded in 1905. It is a strategic point between St. Louis and Memphis and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, the Frisco, realized it. It became the spot where train crews would switch between the two cities, and thus a railroad town. The name Chaffee comes from the Chaffee Real Estate Company in St. Louis that was involved in a land purchase. One of the cities main streets, Yoakum, is named after a high ranking officer with the Frisco Railroad. The railroad still employs a large number of people today, not like the old days when tracks covered the east side of town, there was a switching yard, round house, full engine servicing, a passenger depot and much more.
Over the years other big business in town included Florsheim Shoe, and Thorngates, part of the Hart, Shaffner & Marx suit fame. The old school building on Yoakum and 5th was built in 1922 and was recently razed for progress, to build new buildings. Chaffee had an old icehouse on Main Street. The town newspaper for years was The Signal, published and edited by Karl von Kessel. Chaffee had a theatre for years on Yoakum Street downtown, known as the Horstman, showing movies into the early seventies. There was a bowling alley that burned down a lot, and a confectionary named Slaughter's which reached back to the innocent times as the soda shop. Chaffee's Dairy Queen was unique because it was walk up only and only open April thru September. Head of city maintenance was always Stubby Stacy and Bull Griffin.
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The founding of Chaffee

1905

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Chaffee City Government

Chaffee City Hall
222 W Yoakum Ave
Chaffee, MO 63740-1139
Phone: 573-887-3558

Chaffee Community News

Chaffee High School Sports
Chaffee High School has had a glorious history of sports. From the great football teams from the fall of 1976, 1978, 1979 or 1983, to the basketball teams of 1979 and 1980, outstanding baseball teams with State Championships, unmatched Track success in the area, with state champions such as Tony Dalton in the shot put three times, Eric Glastetter in the shot, Freddie Harrell in the mile run twice, and Doug Sanders in the high jump twice. Sanders chronicles the cities sports legends on the site: http://www.dhc.net/~sanders/chaffee.htm
See the Recent football results or even a breakdown of Sanders' own legacy, the 1981 CHS Red Devils 0-9 season. Visit soon and often and send in your Chaffee Sports stories.

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Trying to locate Gravesite - 11 March 1999
My name is Alan Shelton, and I reside in Louisiana now, I am a native of Chaffee and would like to know if anyone can help me find some information. I recently visited Chaffee after an absence of 34 years. I went to Union Park cemetery to visit my father's grave and was shocked to learn that the grave has been lost. There was never a permanent monument erected and the marker that was furnished by the cemetery is gone. I know the basic area but can't remember after all these years the exact location.. I contacted Stubbs funeral home and they couldn't help. I would like to know if anyone can be of assistance with this. I plan to erect a permanent marker if I can locate the grave. Just in case anyone believes they can help, I am enclosing some information about my dad.
His name was Joseph T. Shelton
Born May 1, 1903
Died March 14, 1962
Funeral held at Stubbs funeral home
Rev. Ernest Lee of Allenville Baptist Church
I would like to thank who may be able to help and will be very grateful for any information or for directing me to anyone you might think of that might be able to help me locate my dad's gravesite.
Alan Shelton
Email: jollene@bellsouth.net

Chaffee Libraries

Chaffee Public Library
202 Wright Ave
Chaffee, MO 63740-1129
Phone: 573-887-3298

Chaffee Schools

Scott County II School District
517 W Yoakum Ave
Chaffee, MO 63740-1825
Phone: 573-887-3532