Chaffee Missouri is a piece of digital artwork by Larry Braun which was uploaded on March 18th, 2018.
Chaffee Missouri
The town of Chaffee, in Scott county, was laid off in August, 1905. The land on which the town is situated was purchased by officials of the Frisco... more
by Larry Braun
Title
Chaffee Missouri
Artist
Larry Braun
Medium
Digital Art - Photography
Description
The town of Chaffee, in Scott county, was laid off in August, 1905. The land on which the town is situated was purchased by officials of the Frisco Railroad and laid off into town lots. Shortly after its establishment the town was made the division point of the Frisco railroad and the repair shops removed to this point from Cape Girardeau. The first mayor of the town was R. J. Wright and its first merchants were Wright Mercantile Company and H. A. Osman.
There are two conflicting stories about how the town got its name. One group believes that the town was named after a St. Louis real estate developer. Another believes it was named after a war hero, Edna R. Chaffee, who served in the Spanish-American War. No one knows for certain.
For many years, the town's economy was centered on textile manufacturing. Because large amounts of cotton are produced by southeast Missouri farmers, and owing to the town's location near the Mississippi River, it made sense to process the cotton locally. However, in the late 90s and early 2000s, the town's economy was devastated by factory closings. The Columbia Sportswear factory and the Florsheim Shoe Company announced that they were idling their plants and laying off workers. Nearly 450 jobs were lost in a period of six months. This was compounded by the closure of previous factories such as the Thorngate Clothing Company, which idled its plant in 1996. Out of a population of just 3000 people, this amounted to losing over 60% of the town's employment base.
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March 18th, 2018
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