History of Village of McCoolA brief history of McCool . . . .
We recently got together with Norm Samuelson and Don
Crizer to get their
rememberings of living in the
Just south of the railroads (B. & O. and E. J. & E.) on the west of the road in the 1920’s was Culbertson’s Grocery and post office.
Behind the store was a grain elevator. In 1900,
there was a terra cotta building on the east side of the road where the post
office was and Joe Robbins was the postmaster. There was a
robbery by men on horseback there in the early 1900’s.
The house at 2528 McCool Road, where Madelyn and Chuck Lorenz now live, was
where Norm and his siblings grew up. Madelyn Samuelson
Lorenz, Evelyn Samuelson Hamstrom and Richard
Samuelson were all born in that house.
Norm’s mother and father built the house across the street when they were
first married. It was built with money Mrs. Samuelson
received when she quit her job at Montgomery Wards. They
rented it out.
The house just south of Norm’s family home, now occupied by Dick and Sharon
Samuelson, was originally built for Norm’s mother in the 1950’s.
The house just north of 2528 McCool Road was the
Wyant house and is now occupied by Ken Lorenz.
North of the railroad, next door to the present Jones elementary school was the
McCool grade school and is now a private residence. Next to
the old grade school is a red brick house built by Don
Crizer in 1947. The next house south was the
Crizer family home where Imogene
Crizer and her husband, Willard
Newcom, resided until their deaths.
Many residents of McCool Road worked on the railroad. Norm
Samuelson’s father William and Don Crizer’s father,
Daucy Crizer Sr. both
worked for the railroad. Mr. Litchfield who owned Litchfield
grocery also worked for the railroad. The Litchfield Grocery
was on the east side of McCool between the two railroads from early 1920’s to
the 1940’s.
Compiled by Lois Mollick, August 2006