Village Profile Presents

Hello, welcome to "The Magic City!" Whether you are coming to Moberly as a primary tourism destination, a stop along your way, or a place you may want to call home, our community has the resources to make you "feel at home" for a few days or for many years.

The Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary association of businesses, government, and individuals in partnership to build a healthy economy and to improve the quality of life of the entire community. The Chamber serves as the "front door" for the area providing marketing information, public relations, and fostering communications for the area. The Chamber membership totals over 300 members and is the premier business-related organization in the community. Committees and task groups support volunteer efforts in the areas of agri-business, education, tourism, membership services, governmental affairs, holiday activities, as well as many special events.

When you need more information about the area, call us at the Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce. Pamphlets, booklets, and current event news are available to help you enjoy the sights, sounds, and abundant hospitality of Moberly/Randolph County, Missouri.

Visit our website at www.moberlymo.com/chamber, call us at 660-263-6070, or fax us at 660-263-9443.

J.W. Ballinger, III
Executive Vice President

Moberly became known as "The Magic City," springing from the prairie as the railroad moved west. Moberly is located near the center of the state, almost equidistant between St. Louis and Kansas City. From its earliest days as a booming railroad crossroads Moberly has been a pleasant mix of city and country life. Along with the railroads, the Moberly area was rich in coal; this important resource added to the economic growth of the area. Today, Moberly is still a "railroad town" with Norfolk/Southern freights from Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis moving in and out of the Moberly Yards. But, Moberly is so much more than a railroad town with its diversified industrial and retail base. As expansion of U.S. Highway 63 to four lanes south to Columbia and Interstate 70 is completed, and, soon northward to the Iowa line, Moberly is ready to boom again in the new century!

The city serves as a shopping and services hub for the counties surrounding Randolph County reaching out in a 45-mile radius. Growing job opportunities ranging from distribution and light manufacturing to financial marketing and services abound for high school and college graduates alike. Housing is available in new subdivisions or apartments; or, you can find an older home to call your own. With good secondary roads, living in the small-town, rural atmosphere surrounding Moberly is an inexpensive option.

Parks, lakes, streams and wooded areas provide uncounted opportunities to recreate. Whether your favorite leisure-time activity is hunting, fishing, boating, skiing, walking, swimming, playing softball, soccer, tennis or archery, you will be in luck with numerous well-kept facilities. This area has it all from the traditional to the unusual, such as a visit to a nearby Amish area with bakery, lumber mill, woodworking, food and crafts, or see large herds of buffalo in western Randolph County. Want to pick apples in the fall or drink freshly made apple cider? Then Moberly is for you!

Education is a high priority here with outstanding public and private schools offering elementary and secondary education. Public education can take you right into college or two-year community college, or continue college studies with a four-year Bible college or other college programs right here or at a campus only a short drive from Moberly.

Local groups provide important cultural programs using local talent or bringing in nationally known talent. You can get front row seats at any one of the many facilities available for these events, including the Municipal Auditorium, college fine arts auditorium and activities center.

The area boasts a top-notch hospital in Moberly Regional Medical Center, serving Randolph and surrounding counties. Doctors, nurse practitioners, and staff practice in many fields and specialties. Moberly Regional’s Emergency Medicine Program is recognized for its high-level trauma facilities.

Safety is a top concern. Moberly city government gives priority to safety with strong funding of both police and fire departments. Our city has a low fire insurance rating thanks to excellent equipment and training. Police officers receive the best in training and equipment as well.

And when it comes time to give thanks for all that we have in the Moberly area, you will find many worship and fellowship opportunities at area churches for you and your family.

Whether you choose to stay an afternoon or stay for a lifetime, you’ll find the Moberly area friendly, with characteristics and people that will say "Welcome! Come share the magic!"

On September 27, 1866, Moberly was born as a product of a railroad land auction. With the connection of the Chariton and Randolph Railroad at Moberly, the North Missouri Railroad Company began a legacy of railroading in the county which lasts to this day. In 1873 the Wabash engine shops were built and the town sprang from the prairie, as if by magic, earning Moberly the nickname "The Magic City."

A unique geographic feature of the county is the "great divide," a high ridge of land stretching from Boone County north into Iowa. This feature divides water falling along its eastern slopes into the Mississippi River, while water falling on its western slopes flows to the Missouri River. Moberly sits on the high point of this divide and for years was thought to be safe from tornadoes, which would "hop over" this high point. (This folklore was disproved on July 4, 1995, when a tornado ripped through the heart of Moberly. Fortunately, no one was killed or seriously injured by the late afternoon twister.)

Famous Randolph County residents include General Omar Bradley, five-star general from World War II. A statue in his honor stands in Moberly’s Rothwell Park. Moberly has produced authors Elizabeth Seifert Gasparotti, a prolific romance novelist; and Jack Conroy, renowned for his work, The Disinherited, a tale of the Great Depression. A collection of Conroy’s writings can be found in the library at Moberly Area Community College.

While visiting Moberly, you will want to take a driving tour of statuary, including the Bradley statue and other memorials in Rothwell Park, as well as the unique statue of Abraham Lincoln, Confederate Memorial, and Federal Soldiers Memorial from the Civil War era located in historic Oakland Cemetery.

The Burkholder-O’Keefe house, built in 1872, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historical homes are located throughout the city, handsome examples of architecture of a bygone era, still serving as private residences.

Historical societies are operated in Huntsville and in Moberly. The Huntsville Historical Society exhibits the original cabin built and lived in by the Mayos, who were the first

settlers in Randolph County. The cabin has been relocated to the Courthouse lawn in Huntsville. The Randolph County Historical Society operates two museums in Moberly, the Historical and Genealogical Center at the corner of Clark and Coates Streets and the Railroad Historical Museum on Sturgeon Street. In addition, the Randolph County Historical Society is the owner of the old 4th Street Theater, a building designed by local architect, Ludwig Abt, as a movie house in 1914. Students of history may continue their local studies with genealogy information found at the historic Little Dixie Regional Library.

Souvenirs and books are available at the historical societies and the Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce office.

Moberly is a regional hub serving as a crossroads for east/west freight on the railroad and a crossroads for highway travel as well. Its location on the main north/south corridor of Missouri, U.S. Highway 63, provides Moberly with excellent connections on the south to Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 36 to the north. U.S. Highway 24 offers a

convenient connection to Hannibal, Quincy, and Chicago on the east and Kansas City on the west. Moberly is 35 miles from Columbia; 140 miles from Kansas City; and a 155-mile drive from St. Louis.

Construction on Highway 63 is progressing at great speed and will soon offer safe and efficient four lanes directly to Columbia and the I-70 corridor. Four lanes are also planned to the north, connecting with Macon, Kirksville, and the Iowa border.

Corporate jets and propeller-driven aircraft use Moberly’s Omar Bradley Airport, located at the northern edge of the city. It has two lighted, paved runways of 3,730 and 4,680 feet.

Shipping needs for the city’s business and industry are met by Norfolk/Southern Railway and by some 24 motor freight carriers and package delivery services.

Taxi service is available in Moberly and OATS buses provide door-to-door transportation for the elderly.

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Affordable housing abounds in the Moberly area, featuring magnificent older, stately homes, beautiful new homes, small bungalows, and everything in-between. Trees line most of the well-maintained streets; the beauty of rural settings leaves you breathless.

Numerous subdivisions are located throughout the Moberly area with both city and rural settings. Economic growth has necessitated the creation of five new subdivisions, two rural, and three in southeast Moberly. Cedar Lake boasts lovely new homes on large lots situated perfectly around a newly created lake. Quail Haven features 58 large lots and diversified construction of mid- to upper-priced homes centrally located across from the junior high school. McKinsey Place offers 21 lots located on a cul-de-sac. These areas complement already established subdivisions such as Meadowbrook, with mid-priced homes in the $70,000-90,000 range. Parkwood, featuring beautiful homes on large lots at the edge of town, and Homestead, a subdivision literally nestled in the woods with elegant homes on two or more acre lots, with prices from $125,000.

Twin Meadows and Hunters Ridge are the two newest rural subdivisions located east of Moberly, offering lot sizes of an acre-and-a-half or more. You’ll watch the deer and other wildlife from your own back yard while living only a few short miles from the city limits.

Randolph County also features several other rural subdivisions: Countryside Estates, Lake Wood Acres and Cottage Grove, just to name a few. There is a wide range of prices from the low $60s to $100,000+.

Throughout the area, homes range anywhere from around $20,000 for a small bungalow or fixer-upper to magnificent executive homes starting at $125,000. Housing options include several apartment complexes, duplexes and rental homes with varying prices, but still only a little over half the cost of comparable rentals in the big cities. Moberly also has senior citizen complexes and retirement homes.

The surrounding communities of Huntsville, Cairo, Jacksonville, Higbee, and Renick provide additional affordable housing coupled with the smaller town atmosphere.

What’s so great about the Moberly area? It’s a growing community on the move whose number-one attraction is its warm, friendly, and caring people.