Looking Back: To "E" or Not to "E", That is the Question

by Marcia Napier Grain Valley Historical Society

In 1878 Joseph Peters employed James Lucas to survey the 10 acres that made up the town of Grain Valley. Only two blocks long, Capelle Street stretched from Yennie on the north to Front Street on the south .

In the first part of the twentieth century only two houses faced Capelle, but several important structures lined the street. These buildings included the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, the first Grain Valley School, the telephone office, and the Hard Shell Baptist Church at the top of the hill on Yennie.

According to the 1920 History of Jackson County compiled and written by W. Z. Hickman, Britton M. Capell (no “e”) was born October 2, 1815 in North Carolina, but his family soon moved to Simpson County, Kentucky. There he was educated and apprenticed as a cabinetmaker for two years and worked the trade for five years. December 16, 1834, he married Sarah A Clayton, a native of Logan County Kentucky.

The Capell family immigrated to Jackson County in 1839 settling on a 460-acre farm on land that would become the northwest edge of Grain Valley. The 1840 and 1850 US Census shows his residence as Sni-A-Bar Township. The 1860 US Census shows his residence as Stony Point.

Britton Capell was one of the finest farmers in the county. He and his family were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in the early days prior to the Church at Pink Hill, their home answered the purpose of a church. He and his wife donated land for the Capelle School, built near the present day East Kansas City Airport.

In later years a portion of the farm was sold to E. E. Kirby. According to Capell’s great-great granddaughter Barbara Overall, Mrs. John R. Washburn, most of the land was to the north, so it was intersected by US Highway 40 and later by Interstate 70.

Britton and Sarah had eight children, seven living to adulthood: Bernetta A (Mrs. Dyer), Susan Rose (Mrs. Wm. Kirby), Mary M., David C., Martha J. (Mrs. J. T. Wright) John O., and Trusten P. Sarah died in 1871, and Britton died in 1889. They are buried in Lobb Cemetery.

In another section of the book, Trusten Capelle (with an “e”) is mentioned.

Capelle Street was named for Britton Capell, a farmer who settled with his family in Jackson County in 1839. He and his wife donated land for the Capelle School, built near the present day East Kansas City airport.

Photo credit: Marcia Napier

The next meeting of the Grain Valley Historical Society will be held January 24th beginning at 6:00pm with a potluck dinner.

The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum, located at 510 Main Street, is open Wednesdays from 10am—3pm and by appointment. Visit the Historical Society’s website, www.grainvalleyhistory.com, and follow the Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@grainvalleyhistory).