6/8/99
By: Margie Clark
Courier-Post Staff Writer

The popularity of automobiles in Hannibal during the early 1900s presented an urgent need for improved streets and roads.

Hannibal was in a rut. Dust in the summer and mud in the winter, along with constant erosion, made it desirable to pave or oil the main and residential streets of the city.

Today, most of Hannibal's original paved streets have been covered with asphalt over the old materials.

"I would say the majority of the streets have been re-covered. I can't say replaced, because we can go down through many parts of the town, and I can show you the old concrete and brick streets that now have asphalt on top of them," said John Hark, superintendent of the Hannibal Street Department.

Some Hannibal streets are still paved with the concrete that was placed in the 1920s. Hubbard, 20th (formerly Golddust Avenue) and Haydon streets are among these.

"The fact that asphalt was used to cover is that it was the newer thing coming out, and the streets were in bad shape," said Hark. "The concrete was starting to break up, and this was the fastest, quick fix there was as far as making the streets smooth and giving a good ride over them again."

Two types of road surfacing, hassam and tarvia, were used in the early part of the century. The hassam paving required a firm base made of several layers of sand and cement. It was then rolled and broomed. The tarvia method used an economical coal tar preparation, and had a smooth, waterproof and odorless surface.

The tarvia method called for the use of four inches of new crushed stone and two gallons of asphalt binder per square yard.

W.R. Chisham was the first person to drive a vehicle, a wagon, over a new section of Paris Avenue which connected with the West Ely Road (Pleasant Street) in February 1909.

Hannibal's first oiled road was completed Aug. 25, 1909, near the water works adjoining Riverview Park.

Capt. C.J. Lewis, at his own expense, purchased the barrels of road oil, and using red sand from Oakwood, laid the experimental road. Many felt that it would be the forerunner of Hannibal street improvements.

In 1911, the city encouraged home owners to improve the streets in front of their homes. Property owners paid for street improvements.

Plans to pave Broadway to the waterfront was deterred in 1912 by the large watering trough, surmounted by a metal horse, which was in the center of Broadway near Main. Action was taken in June of 1912 at a city council meeting, and the old landmark was discarded.

By 1916, the city paid for the paving of the major streets, a block at a time, and concrete, brick or tarvia was used. That same year, W.B. Pettibone paid the expense of paving the road from Pleasant Street to the entrance of Riverview Park.

During the 1920s, many Hannibal streets were surfaced with concrete, macadam, brick or gravel as money became available. From 1891 through 1925, the city spent $851,227 for paving withing the city limits.

Because of the popularity of Riverview Park, early attention was given to the paving of Mark Twain Avenue and Harrison Hill, it being completed in 1924.

The names of two important streets were changed in 1930; a portion of Mark Twain Avenue became Harrison Hill and a portion of North Hayden was changed to Country Club Drive.

In 1931, $50,000 was transferred from the Board of Public Works, part of which was used to pay for paving of streets from which streetcar tracks were removed.

Hannibal tackled the task of removing the streetcar tracks, which were no longer needed. Gaps between tracks were filled and asphalt was used to smooth the surface, but traces of the tracks could still be found for 15 years.

A steel and concrete bridge was built over Minnow Creek on Market Street in 1932, and the road from the bridge was paved to U.S. 61 in Oakwood.

"Part of the two-fold problem we have in the city is the streets in what we call 'old town'," said Hark. "Some of these have the original concrete that was put down 50-plus years ago. It is starting to break up and needs to be re-done."

According to Hark, some of the newer streets that were put into subdivisions in the past 10 to 15 years are deteriorating rapidly.

"They are in very bad shape, and that's partially because some of them was built with asphalt," he said. "We did not have all the standards and criteria that we have today. They weren't built properly, so there's still going to be a lot of catchup to do in the city."

Hark said the street department is doing a good job of building new streets and starting a maintenance program to repair some of the problem streets.

The city began using asphalt instead of concrete because of the cost factor, said Hark.

"With concrete you can anticipate a longer life, because it is harder and more durable; but an asphalt street that is built properly will stand a tremendous amount of wear and tear," said Hark. "In residential areas a high grade asphalt street is a very good street. We try to give the people the best we can with what we have to work with."

Editor's note: Historical documents for this article were previously published in "The Story of Hannibal" by J. Hurley and Roberta Hagood.