Chariton County

The area along the Grand River in the northwest corner of Chariton County was first explored by two sons of Daniel Boone and Thomas Stanley prior to Missouri statehood in 1821. Stanley established a trading post some time later near what would eventually become Sumner. Other than the trading post not much existed in the area for several years, partly due to marshlands and flooding on the Grand River. The coming of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to the community combined with the Wabash railroad‘s decision to move their depot to Sumner led to growth.  Sumner was laid out by Joel H. Wilkerson in June, 1882, and that fall the first home was constructed in the new village by J.M. Vanes, soon followed by the Commercial Hotel. A newspaper, the Sumner Star, was established in 1890 and operated for several years.

Once teeming with wildlife such as prairie chicken, turkey, duck, and deer, the population of such was drastically reduced by over hunting and draining of the native wetlands. In 1937, concerned over wetland preservation in the wake of the Dust Bust, the U.S. Congress established the Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge just to the south of Sumner. Roads, buildings and man-made wetlands were soon created and by 1941 eight hundred geese wintered in the area.

Located on a migratory flyway, Swan Lake and the Sumner area began to attract ever larger numbers of geese in the mid and late 20th century, reaching 100,000 or more by the 1980s and 1990s. This also led to a yearly influx of hunters, benefiting Sumner businesses and Chariton County as a whole.

With these numbers in mind Sumner was proclaimed the “Wild Goose Capital of the World”. Sumner also began to hold a yearly Goose Festival in 1955, and it continues each October with a variety of activities, including live music, a queen contest, food and a parade.

Sumner residents commissioned a Kansas City sculptor in 1976 to create a large statue to honor the community’s status and reputation for waterfowl hunting. What resulted was the “World’s Largest Goose.” Named “Maxie,” the fiberglass and metal structure stands over 40 feet tall with a wingspan of 65 feet and a total weight of over 5,000 pounds.