Wyaconda, Missouri was acquired in 1888 from the Santa Fe Town and Land Company on January 9th 1888. It was on February 24, 1888 that William Reynold from Fairmont,
Missouri purchased the very first recorded lots; lot 1 in block 13 and
lot 1 in block 14 of Wyaconda, Missouri for the price of $193.33 each,
which are located on the corner of Jefferson and Main St. on opposite
sides of Main st. There are 10 entries total on this first sales
receipt . The most expensive purchase price being $193.33 and the least
expensive being $16.67 which was purchased by A.H. Dietrich for lot 5
of block 10 which is located on Locust St.
Gerth and Baskett
The William Gerth Family had settled north of Wyaconda, on the old abandoned farm house across from Duane Ebeling’s farm. William Gerth came to Wyaconda in the 1870s from Prussia. He settled at Etna. When he wasn’t farming, he was a soldier for hire in an all-Prussian brigade in the U.S. Army. He and his wife, Anna (Ruth) Gerth had nine children, three of whom died in infancy and are buried at Etna.
His youngest son was John Frederick Gerth, Sr. He founded what has become Gerth Funeral Service and Gerth & Baskett furniture. Most of this information is on his biography page of our website ( www.gerth.com). His brother-in-law was George V. Baskett. He was an educator and superintendent of the Wyaconda School District, and a founder of the Wyaconda Alumni Association as well as a high ranking member of Wyaconda’s Masonic lodge. Fred Gerth and George Baskett were married to sisters, LoDema and Marie Crumley, the daughters of Dr. and Mrs. A.C. Crumley of Wyaconda. Fred and Dema Gerth had two sons, Albert and Frederick Gerth, Jr. George and Marie Baskett had a son and a daughter, G.V. Baskett, Jr. and Anna Mae Baskett Dunton. The Crumley’s came from Pleasant Plain, Iowa. The third Crumley girl, Calla, was married to Wade Williams, who ran a drugstore/market in Gorin for many years.
Fred had worked at the Crandall hardware store after college, before opening his own business in 1904. Fred Gerth sold pianos, furniture, carpet and saddles as well as doing undertaking. He buried Ella Ewing, the Missouri Giantess, from Gorin. George Baskett joined him in 1912 and they formed Gerth & Baskett. The original store was located on what is now an empty lot between Bud Nichols’ Antique Store and Big Bri’s. It was destroyed in a fire in 1919, and we reopened in our current location. Gerth & Baskett had businesses in Wyaconda, Gorin (next to the post office) and Rutledge as well as purchasing a casket store in Bible Grove (building still stands) and the Individual Mausoleum Corporation in Jamesport. Fred Gerth ran the store in Wyaconda, George Baskett ran the Gorin business and Calla Williams ran the Rutledge business.
In addition to running Gerth & Baskett, Fred Gerth was one of the original shareholders in the People’s Bank of Wyaconda and George Baskett a long-time president of the bank.
In 1930, Gerth & Baskett purchased John J. Mulch & Sons in Memphis. The Fred Gerth family moved from Wyaconda to Memphis. The George Baskett family moved into the Gerth home across from the Wyaconda Baptist Church and George ran the Wyaconda store. The Rutledge and Gorin stores were closed as Gerth & Baskett opened furniture stores in Paris and Shelbina, MO, and Quincy, IL. Those stores closed in the late 1970s. Frederick sold the family interest in the Individual Mausoleum Corporation in 1980.
Fred Gerth retired when his sons, Albert and Frederick, were able to take over after returning from duty in World War II. The Gerth brothers bought out George Baskett in the late 1950’s, when George was elected into the Missouri Congress. Mr. Baskett operated the Wyaconda location after his term expired until shortly before his death in 1968. Fred Gerth died in 1965. Albert Gerth died in 1959, and Frederick Gerth purchased complete control of the business in the 1970s from George Frederick Gerth, Albert’s son. Gerth & Baskett merged with D.W. Payne and Sons from 1979-94. PayneGerth operated businesses in Wyaconda, Memphis, and Downing, MO. The furniture store was closed in Wyaconda, and the building renovated into a modern funeral parlor and chapel which is still open.