Hartsburg History

In the 1870's Luther D. Hart and Aurelias B. Hart bought several hundred acres of land in the area and started farming. Soon they sold a right-of-way to the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, known as the MKT, or Katy.

A railroad station named Hart City was established in 1893 and the town was officially incorporated as Hartsburg in 1901. It was a farming community of hard-working and religious immigrants. Electricity came to town in 1919, earlier than most Missouri communities. An electric cooperative was established in 1929. Fundraising was handled by the Progressive Committee, which is still in existence today. Twice a year, fall and spring fund raisers help purchase street lights, pave the roads, install Christmas decorations, upgrade the park or whatever else the little town needs.

Today the population hovers around 108. The town is home to two churches, a tavern, a winery, bike shop, cafe, an antique restoration business and, in the summer and fall, fresh produce stands. Often you'll see a coffee can sitting on a picnic table and customers pay on the honor system.

In recent years, Hartsburg's claim to fame is its annual Pumpkin Festival. With more than 200 craft booths, food stands, and musical entertainment, last year's Festival brought more than 45,000 people into town over two days. The outlying fields are stripped of their pumpkin crops and parked with cars. Many families make the Pumpkin Festival an annual outing, as kids sort through thousands of pumpkins to find just the right one to take home. By Monday morning following the festival, not a scrap of paper remains to testify to the immense crowds. The tidy town is quietly returned to its 108 citizens.

Hartsburg Inn History

The same year the railroad station known as Hart City was established in 1893, the building which houses the Hartsburg Inn was erected as a private home. Later, it would become a hotel, then again a private home. Alas, every railroad town has a "right" and "wrong" side of the tracks and regrettably, while trains still ran, the current Hartsburg Inn site was located on the "wrong" side of the tracks.

The building has been through the great floods of 1903, 1951 and most recently, 1993. After that flood, the property was purchased by JR and Jean Tyler and re-built to withstand future high water. The ground floor is cement, with a two-foot cement barrier around it. Electrical outlets are high off the floor. All heating and air conditioning units are on the second floor. The Tylers scavenged doors and trim, banisters and windows from many of the homes that were not re-built after the flood. The house is full of history and one of a kind.

Since the flood of 1993, the levees have been re-built to be stronger and higher and they successfully held back the flood waters of 1995. Check out the levee in the back yard and wander over to the bridge spanning Hart Creek. You'll see the high-water mark of the '93 flood about 5 feet above the floor of the bridge.

The current owner bought the building from the Tylers in 2005. On a whim, she opened the Hartsburg Inn with one room. That first summer of 2005 was a success, so she expanded. While it is still small, the Inn now has two rooms and is able to accept larger parties comfortably. Future plans include a camp site between the levee and Hart Creek.