(Allison Pettit, a student at Aurora High School, and Theresa Pettit submitted information and photographs for this article. Both are direct decendent of the Mais family. The younger Pettit researched the family history at the Lawrence County Courthouse in order for the University of Missouri Extension and the College of Agriculture to have information about the Mais Century Farm.)
During the 1800s in Germany, wood was the main fuel source. When the supply dropped and demand continued to rise, many Germans were left without fuel. Large amounts of Germans began to immigrate to the United States. Among these men and women was Johann Joseph Mais.
In the year 1889, Johann Mais purchased an 80-acre farm that was located between Verona and Aurora on Farm Road 2220. The acreage was covered with timber and open fields.
In the course of time, he married Ann Griesemer, who lived in Billings and was also a German immigrant. They had seven children: Henry, Joseph, Leo, Lucy (Parr), Mary (Freiburger), Fred and Alexander John.
The original two-room homestead was located beside a hand dug well on the east end of the property. In 1912, the couple built a barn with a concrete floor. This building was followed by a much larger home built in 1913. That same year, they purchased an additional 80 acres directly east of the original homestead.
The farm was used for many things ranging from animal production to crop growth. A few of the animals once raised on the farm were hogs, dairy cattle and beef cattle.
Among the small grain crops grown were wheat, oats, barley, corn and sorghum. The farm was also home to an orchard of peaches, apples, plums and pears.
The Mais family was able to produce wine from their grape vineyard. Johann Mais was able to store the wine in barrels which he made from his trade. At one point, 50 gallon barrels were in the basement of the Mais home.
The farm remained in the family with Alexander John as the next owner. When he married Anna Schatz, another German immigrant from Billings, they built a two room house on 80 acres purchased directly south of the original homestead.
They had nine children including: John Bernard, Mary (Crafton), Elizabeth (Hierholzer), James, Raymond, Carol (White), Joseph Eugene, Virginia and Charles.
The Mais farm was the first farm in the area to have a tractor, which was a 1925 Fordson. A new well, which was located on the south 80 acres, supplied water to the concrete stock tank by the barn several hundred yards away. The pump to the well was powered by a gas engine.
