The Apple Mural
511 W Washington Street
Cuba, MO
According to his journal, in 1867, L.D. Grover planted an apple orchard in the Cuba area. By the early 1900s, he had a thriving orchard and nursery and an industry was born.
This industry coincided with the extension of the railroad system in Cuba. The first railroad came to Cuba in 1858. The Rock Island Railroad arrived in 1901. Apples were shipped in wooden barrels for table use and were shipped loose in boxcars to be made into vinegar.
Salesmen traveled from Cuba throughout the U.S. to sell Cuba’s apples. By 1900, Cuba was the largest producer, processor, and distributor of apples in the state of Missouri. Other people besides L.D. Grover were also raising and shipping apples.
During the harvest season from September through October, the orchards employed hundreds of people to get the crops to market. Businesses associated with the apple industry were the following: barrel making, cider mills, applesauce making, apple canning, and dried apples.
Around 1920, apple production declined for various reasons. The grape industry and cattle business became more prominent sources of income.
Cuba still has a large barrel making concern, McGinnis Wood Products at the edge of town on Route 66. McGinnis Wood Products commissioned this mural. Artist Shelley Smith Steiger represented members of the McGinnis family in the painting.
Mr. Bob Wilson provided the artist scaffolding for this mural.
The artist of the apple/barrel mural, Shelly Smith Steiger is a 1986 graduate of Crawford County R-II High School. She attended Mineral Area College with an emphasis in commercial art. She also attended the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, where she majored in Art Education. Shelly specialized in residential custom art projects in Arkansas and Missouri. Besides working on Cuba’s murals, she visited Canada for a training session on painting outdoor murals. Shelly has returned to her hometown with her husband and two daughters.
For more information on the apple industry in Cuba, see the following sources: 1957 Cuba Centennial Souvenir Booklet, prepared by A. Manson Munro; the book, Apples and Shoes, published in 1988 by David R. Hentzel; and the book Crawford County and Cuba, Missouri, published by J.I. Breuer in 1972. Also, see the June 7, 2001 article in the Cuba Free Press titled “When Apple Was King.”
