'Just a place by the side of the road'

A drive through Neelys Landing in northeast Cape Girardeau County today resembles nothing of its bustling past.

Neelys Landing began as a riverfront warehouse as early as 1836 and lasted as a point of distribution for local commerce until the 1950s. In the early days, Neelys had a warehouse store to send out farmer commodities and to bring in goods essential to life in the interior — saws, harnesses, textiles and, yes, alcohol.

In later years, the landing had three general stores, a small hotel, a train depot, stockyard, rock quarry and local mail service that included nearly 500 patrons.

Residents who lived in the unincorporated “Village of Neelys” said in interviews that their childhoods were some of the best times of their lives, but for the adults of those years, the times were some of the worst.

During the 1940s, a levee system began on the Illinois side of the river to help preserve that state’s lowland fields during floods, so by the 1950s, the river began flooding Neelys Landing more frequently and with greater severity, as the river had nowhere to go against a craggy rock bluff. Floods were a major contributor to the town’s demise.

By the mid-1950s, few residents lived at the landing, and in 1957, the last general store in town decided to close. Owners Norman and Mattie Hockeberry published a handbill of their closeout sale:

“Since we cannot compete with changing times, chain stores and good roads, and because we realize the rural grocery stores will soon be just a memory along with the horse and buggy, the hoop skirt and the rural post office, we have decided to sell our stock ... Neelys Landing is just a place by the side of the road, just a memory of the good old days.”

The Mississippi River reclaimed what was its all along: the river bank. If a person were to drive through Neelys today without knowing its history, it would appear as just a place by the side of the road. The cottonwood and willow trees thick along the river attest to the loss of a once busy community.

Email Steven at sbender1878@gmail.com.