You may or may not have noticed some metal markers that have gone up around town indicating historical sites in Roy. We have listed each marker here and encourage you to go and see them if you haven’t already and read the information on each sign. We have a rich history in Roy!
FIRST SETTLERS
William and Celestia Baker had dreams of a better place and saw it in the unkempt land we now call Roy. No neighbors, no water, no homes in which to move. William and Celestia believed that this was a good place to build a home for their family and they were right. When looking at this marker and where it is located, try to imagine what it might have looked like without the houses and train tracks. They worked so hard digging wells to find water, working the land to grow crops to eat and sell, building their home with their children and so on. Soon other families followed.
COUSINS ROW
When new settlers came, of course they would want to be as close to other families as you could. 80 acres isn’t a close neighbor but close enough for farmers. They called this Cousin’s row because everyone was family.
William E. & Celestia Baker–came in 1773
Henry & Sarah Field–came to Hooper Flats just before the winter of 1872. He came shortly after the Bakers. Sarah was the sister of William Baker
Henry & Hannah Field (Brother-in-law of William Baker).
Justin T. & Sarah R. Cole Grover (Brother-in-law of William Baker).
Richard & Elizabeth B. Jones–Their daughter Margaret married Orson Field (son of Henry and also first postmaster).
FIRST STORE
Henry C. White saw a need for a local store and started it in his two-room home. One room was his living quarters and the other was his store. He sold candies, bonbons, sweet rolls, and elaborate wedding cakes. What a treat to have a sweet shop in the neighborhood. Everything was cooked from scratch those days so to be able to drop in and pick up a treat you didn’t have to make yourself must have been nice.
FIRST POST OFFICE
Can you imagine starting the first post office and running it from your kitchen? Well, this is what Orson Field did in Roy. He even had to come up with a name for it. Central City, Lake View, Sand Ridge and Roy were the options. The name of Roy came from Orson’s 2 year old son that passed away. The Federal Post Office Department preferred the shortness of the name “Roy” and thought it was a great way to memorialize Orson’s son.
FIRST SCHOOL IN ROY
School was something most kids looked forward to. It meant they didn’t have to be out in the fields working or home doing chores. With families settling here in Roy, a school was needed.
In 1874, Justin T. Grover built a one-room school called the “Little Blue School House”. Mr. Grover became the first teacher. In 1912, an additional six-room school house was built in front of Little Blue School House and adjoined it.
