Shive

Shive took its name from a store counter. When the post office opened in 1884, it sat in the store run by the brothers Robert and James W. Shive, and Robert was appointed postmaster, so the community was named for him. The Handbook credits Lewis Paullin and others with the 1870s settlement and says a school called Union Hill existed by 1883. German settlers arrived in 1885, and by 1908 the town had four stores. The post office closed in 1936.

What the plaque says

Shive In area settled in 1870s. Some of the earliest settlers were Connels, McKinleys, Nettletons, and Roddys. First school, Union Hill, opened in 1883; A. S. Andrews, J. H. Clark, L. C. Sloneker, trustees. Post office, established Jan. 18, 1884, was in first store, owned by J. W. and R. L. Shive (with R. L. as postmaster). In 1885 came the first German settlers: Louis Bethke, August Kelm, Albert Kunkel, Paul Neese, Joe Schwartz. Others followed, giving town new traits of culture and economy. By 1908, Shive had 4 churches, a school, 4 stores, 2 blacksmiths, a hotel, a gin, a barber, and 2 doctors. (1970)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hamilton County Courthouse — 9.0 mi
  A limestone courthouse of 1886-87 on the Hamilton square, built after the county's 1878 courthouse burned, enlarged in the early 1930s and rededicated in 2012 after restoration.

More markers nearby

• Capt. John Stephen Potts — 7.1 mi
• Col. George R. Freeman — 9.0 mi
• Elise Waerenskjold — 9.0 mi
• Elise Waerenskjold — 9.1 mi