In 1853, George William Tetherow built the first log building in what was to become Stewartsville. It served his family as a home, store, and inn, and stands today on the corner of 2nd & Castle, covered with siding. Tetherow then had the area on both sides of the proposed railroad surveyed and platted. The name "Tetherow Town" was soon replaced by "Stewartsville" on honor of Robert M. Stewart, the state Senator most responsible for routing the new railroad, The Hannibal & St. Joseph R.R., across northern Missouri. By the time the railroad was completed in 1859, Stewartsville had a mill, a hotel, a stockyard, a newspaper, two doctors and several places of business along both sides of the tracks.
Growth was slowed during the Civil War, as friendships, families, lodges and churches split and both the public school, then at the south edge of town, and the private academy on Washington Street were closed for two years. In 1863, Rev. W.O.H. Perry reopened the academy to women students, and later enlarged the building and curriculum to meet state approval as a co-ed college. The main building burned in 1886, but the president's home still stands southwest of the school baseball diamond.
Between 1880 and 1910 the business district was almost completely destroyed by several fires, but was rebuilt along Main Street. As railroad business increased, the town merchants prospered. Except for the Depression Years of the 1930's, this economic relationship continued through World War II, then gradually ebbed. By 1963 there was no longer passenger service, the mail was hauled by trucks, and in a few years the Burlington R.R. abandoned the line and later removed the tracks. This hurt the business district, but about 1960 new houses began to be built, new businesses were added near the highway, and people found that they could commute to their jobs and still enjoy the relative peace and quiet of life in a small town named Stewartsville.
More history can be accessed in the county seat, Maysville, where the Historical Society maintains records.