Meet Majestic Maryville, Missouri!

By Nina Gomez

Beyond its vast prairies, rivers and rolling hills, Nodaway County was once home to the Iowa, Sac, and Fox tribes. Maryville was incorporated in 1845 after the area’s soil, wood and access to waterways like the One Hundred and Two River, attracted many settlers, including Amos Graham and his wife, Mary, whom the town was named after.

Maryville, the seat of Nodaway County, has been the heart and eyes of America, witnessing the rapid changing nation in most of its history and complexities. The railroad expansion during the 19th-20th century was a great factor in the town’s economic, agricultural and business growth, positioning Maryville at the center of vital rail lines between major cities like Kansas City, St. Louis and Omaha. During the women’s suffrage movement, rural women came to Maryville to listen to leading figures like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. “Her [Stanton’s] lecture was one of the best we have ever heard in Maryville,” read a quote in the local paper, The Nodaway Democrat, “she is without question one of the ablest advocates of women's rights in the land."

Along with its rich history, Nodaway County  is also home to some of the richest fertile soil in the state of Missouri. Maryville has a vast background in agriculture and farming that dates back to before its beginnings. The town has rich equestrian roots and its county fairs date back to 1871. 

Since 1905, Maryville has been the home of Northwest Missouri State University, which has top-ranked programs in education, business, agriculture, and more, according to Visit Maryville. The university has roughly 8,000 students and is a NCAA Division II school (go Bearcats).

Maryville is now home to about 10,000 people with a median household income of $53,352. Maryville’s school district has five schools — three elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools — and there is one hospital in town, The Mosaic Medical Center.

The Missouri Photo Workshop has been to Maryville once before, in 1989. Below are three pictures taken from that workshop, which are also on this year’s shirts. MPW.78 is excited and looking forward to meeting Maryville!

Love Workshop 

Forty hot new bombshells have entered the villa (Maryville headquarters). 

The Doc Crew welcomed our photographers to Love Workshop on Sunday before they went out to shoot on their test cards. Tomorrow, they will go out into the community and ask locals “Can I pull you for a chat?” as they try to find their subjects and stories.