St. Clair County
Remnants Of The Past

Gerster Stockyard, St. Clair County Library files

George Washington Gerster, son of Johannes and Ann Elizabeth Gerster,  was born 22 February 1863 in Darke County, Ohio. He married Ida B. Lester on 19 June 1892 in St. Clair County, Missouri.
George and Ida had four children. Ida died 28 April 1899 and in 1924, George married Mrs. V.E. Parker.
George owned and operated the stockyards in Gerster. The railroad was built to ship cattle and other livestock to market from the stockyard south of town. He had several mules and used them to drive cattle to the pens.
At one time, there were three trains a day for passengers and two for cargo and livestock. Between teh stockyard and a tomato factory, owned and operated by Claude and Elizabeth (Gerster) Wheeler, the railroad was kept busy.
George gave the alnd for the school, a church in 1904 and the town of Gerster. The town was named for George and his brother S.W. Gerster.