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On January 31, 2014, Jill Elsey-Stoner was presented with House Resolution No. 180 by Rep. Lincoln Hough to recognize Jill's 20 years of community service and the 125th year of Turners Station.
Come visit historic turners station.
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In 1857, John and Edy (Wester) Turner arrived from Tennessee and purchased the property now known as Turners Station. Today, seven generations later, the Turner descendants are still here.
One of John and Edy's sons, Daniel, was the first Merchant/Postmaster. His two-room business was located a quarter mile east of the current site and called Turnersville. After the Civil War, Susie Turner Reed was appointed Postmaster. The town was called Daisy after the local mining company. The location of the Post Office at this time was the hall of the mansion built by John Turner. In 1882, Clem and Albert Turner donated land for a station and the Kansas City/Springfield/Memphis Railroad (Frisco) came through town. In later years, this stop would be one of the most popular on the Frisco line. In 1889, a two-story house built by Howard Turner and John Guffey served as the Mercantile and Post Office. Howard was the first Merchant and Postmaster of the town now named Turners. In 1918, another Turner descendent, Joe Gault and wife Olive (Pursley) bought the property at Turners. Joe was Postmaster in 1918 when he was called to service during WWI. Olive became Postmaster at this time, serving until her retirement in 1944 when Joe was elected to Greene County Treasurer. In 1918, Joe and Olive's business was conducted in the two-story wooden house. A fire in 1923 destroyed everything. The neighbors asked the Gaults to stay and rebuild. All of the field rocks used for the building came from the neighboring farms. Tom Studley built the building that is still used today. In 1925, Olive's brother, Arthur Pursley and his wife Grace, were asked to return from Kansas to help run the store. The Pursleys were made partners and the business became Gault & Pursley Merchandise. Joe's brother, George and his wife Thelma, helped on route days. There were other buildings around Turners that no longer exist. The Depot, water tower, and section houses were all torn down. The Youth Center still exists, but as a home. The Gaults turned it into their home in the 1940's. The Barbershop that sat in the front yard is also part of that home. Olive's brother, Arthur Pursley, and Roy Smith were barbers in the two-chair building. Joe and Olive's granddaughter, Jill, now lives in that home. Just down the road to the southeast were Crescent School and Crescent Chapel. They no longer exist. Up on the hill, west of the store, Turner Cemetery stands as a daily reminder of our ancestors. In 1944, when the Gaults sold the business, they retained ownership of the property. Through the years, different families have rented the building to run the Store and Post Office. The Gault's daughter, Josephine, was in the Store and Post Office in the 1950's. Joe passed away in 1967, leaving the property to his wife Olive. In 1969, Olive's niece, Venda (Pursley), and husband Gene Lee purchased the business from the Murrells. Venda was the Postmaster 1969-1999. Gene Lee ran the store from 1969-1994 when the Gault's granddaughter, Jill Elsey-Stoner, became the proprietor. (Jan 16,1994 - present) At Olive's death in 1989, the property passed to her two daughters, Josephine and Emilie, both retired Springfield schoolteachers. Today, Josephine owns the property and helps her daughter Jill with store business. Jill's daughter, Candace Stoner, is the seventh generation of the Turner family. She is a budding entrepreneur that started her own candy counter business inside her mom's store when she was seven years old. Turners Station is a designated Greene County historical site and believed to be the oldest continually operated store in the county. |
