William Lee Crotty (1896-1991) Papers (KC293)

William Crotty was born in Rosedale, Kansas, and was raised and lived most of his life in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1915, Mr. Crotty moved to the Watts Mill area, then known as Dallas, Missouri. He lived in the same house until he passed away. Elsie, his wife of 67 years, died in 1983. After a brief time with the Missouri Pacific Railroad, his professional life was spent as a master welder. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge in Grandview, Missouri, and was installed as Master of the Lodge in 1950 by President Harry S. Truman. In 1990, he was made Honorary Mayor of the Watts Mill area. Mr. Crotty was known for his wit and knowledge of the history of the area. His main interest was the Watts Mill area and he wrote many stories about the original operators of the Mill. He also wrote about the Red Bridge area, Martin City, State Line, Jackson County, Missouri, and also Peculiar, Missouri. Much of this work was published locally.

Most of the items included in the papers are stories by Mr. Crotty, both published and unpublished. There are also newspaper articles about him and his historic home, and articles about the subjects with which he was so familiar, such as Watts Mill and Red Bridge. ca. 1959-1991

12 folders

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updated: Tuesday, November 01, 2005
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