Sidebar: The Many Occupants of the Harness Building

The three-story brick building at 121 North Second Street, Clinton, Missouri, had many occupants before it became the heart of Brown Manufacturing. Some rented it for a day, while others rented or owned it for a few years. Here is a partial list.

• 1893 and 1894. Smith & Harness Business College, operated by Ellis Smith and Henry Harness, held business classes upstairs at the Henry County Bank building, which is now called the Delozier Building.

• 1895. Before their new building at 121 North Second Street was completed, the partners parted ways, so the building and the business became known as Harness Business College.

• 1885. The school had not yet completed its first year when it incorporated and became the Clinton Normal Business College. However, the newly formed non-profit educational institution continued to operate under the name Harness Business College. Becoming a Normal school enabled Harness to offer teacher training in Missouri.

• 1889. Less than four years after opening, the Harness Business College, also known as the Clinton Normal Business School, closed.

• 1896. The Senior Endeavor Society of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church hosted a social event on the evening of October 1, 1896. Admission was free, but refreshments cost 10 cents. Everyone was invited to join the Bean Bag Rally!

• 1898. Artesian Camp No. 2264, the local chapter of the Modern Woodmen of America, had the largest membership of any secret society in Clinton that year. They hosted 300 members and their families at the organization’s annual banquet. The evening featured a full agenda, including an opening prayer, an opening address, a clarinet duet, three recitations (which combined entertainment with oratorical skill), a vocal duet, the main address, and a closing solo song. Three long tables were decorated with ferns and palms. Dinner consisted of stewed oysters, sandwiches, celery, pickles, assorted cakes, and coffee.

• 1900. The Teacher’s Institute held a teachers' meeting, which included topics such as Nature Study Work, a nationwide effort to promote observation-based teaching of natural science; training on James Newton Patrick’s 'Lessons in Grammar for Schools and Teachers’ Institutes;' School libraries, which at that time were not like modern libraries. They typically had between 25 and 100 books, stored on a shelf or in a cabinet. The meeting likely discussed how to select and care for books and how to incorporate them into daily lessons; Another topic was Common Sense in the Schoolroom, covering methods for teaching multiple grade levels in a one-room school, making do with limited resources, and applying lessons to real life. The session concluded with a question-and-answer period. Teachers from all over Henry County attended.

• 1901. Odd Fellows or Henry Lodge No. 545, held its annual banquet in the Harness building. Tables were arranged in the large room on the first floor, where attendees “partook of most sumptuous repast consisting of all of the best that could be provided for the inner man.” Several speeches followed that were “heartily applauded.” One such speech explained the workings of Odd Fellowship and demonstrated that the Order was “one of the most practical secret organizations in this or any country.” A mandolin club provided music.

• 1910-11. Clinton High School was housed in the Harness Business College building while a new school was being constructed. It was hard to fit all classes into the building. The Manual Training Department, for example, was located elsewhere due to limited space. Manual Training would later be called shop class or a technical school. All classrooms were crowded, “but the present arrangement is the best that can be made.”

• 1911. The Catholic Church bought the Harness building and planned to let Clinton High School finish its school year. However, the Clinton School Board decided to vacate the building immediately after the Church informed them that the monthly rent would rise from $75 to $100.

• 1911. The building served as the Clinton Holy Rosary Non-Sectarian Art School, also known as Holy Rosary Academy. It was a school designed for “young ladies of Clinton and vicinity to acquire here at home under the direction of their parents and at little expense an education that will fit them for higher studies in universities and colleges.” It was meant to supplement public schools, not replace them. It aimed to provide a solid “classical and scientific” education. They operated there for several years.

• 1925. For a short time, a gentleman named J. H. Hallahan placed ads in the newspapers offering “sleeping rooms for rent by the night or week. Clean modern building, furnace heat, hot and cold water.” Nothing more is known.

• 1938. Lawrence Brown purchased the Harness Business College building after it had been vacant for many years.

• 1940. All of the first floor and half of the second floor were leased to the post office while a new building was under construction. Herb Brown and his brother-in-law, Dan Geraghty, were awarded the contract to provide temporary quarters for the post office.

• 1941. Brown Manufacturing moved its operations into the building.