On September 9, crews from Reinhold Electric were on First Street setting new light poles, some of them on the south side of the road. The Gasconade County Republican ran a photo of the work. If you've driven downtown lately, you've probably noticed the posts. Most of the project is out of sight, though, and it explains why Owensville took on a $500,000 lighting job in the first place.
The part of the project you won't see
The city went after this project to replace wiring. In a July update to the Board of Aldermen, City Engineer James Kolbe of Archer-Elgin described the plan. It covers new decorative lighting on First Street from Highway 28 to McFadden Avenue, trenching under the pavement, and new electrical service to replace infrastructure with "broken, damaged lines up to 100 years old in some places," as the Republican reported.
Replacing those lines meant boring under concrete, and Kolbe told the board in July that the boring was already complete.
A grant covers the original project. City Administrator Randy Blaske and city staff secured a fully funded Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of Energy. The fixtures it buys are high-efficiency LEDs with a classic look.
Why the lights now reach Marvin Avenue
Once the bids came in, there was grant money left over, and the city used it to extend the lights.
At the July 20 meeting, Kolbe told aldermen that funding left over beyond costs would cover three more lights, extending the lighting from Highway 28 to Marvin Avenue. The change order was worth $59,288 in total. The city's share was $348. The board approved it with everyone in favor and one abstention from the alderman chairing the meeting.
That's a small amount of local money for a longer stretch of lit sidewalk. For comparison, the original bid schedule from February priced removal of 14 existing light structures and 10 new poles and fixtures in the base bid, with alternates for one or three more poles. The July change order added three lights, so the city took the larger of the two options it had priced in the winter.
Acorn tops, granite posts, and a pause for fair week
Blaske described the chosen look as a "decorative rustic acorn top with black granite posts that will add a cozy feel to the downtown area." The September photo caption in the Republican called it "modern technology with a classic, retro-style design."
Construction took most of 2026, with a few planned pauses:
- February 2026. The city engineer recommends a bid for the First Street lighting project.
- July 20. Aldermen approve the extension to Marvin Avenue. Boring is done, and Reinhold Electric holds off on further work until after the Gasconade County Fair. Kolbe expected the work to "move quickly" once it restarted.
- September 9. Poles go up along First Street.
- Mid-September. A natural gas line has to be moved. Blaske said the move would add no expense but would cost "a week or two."
- October target. "We hope to be under new poles by, I'm going to say, October," Blaske said. "This little setback is going to cost us a week or two, but I would say by October we should be completely done."
October ends Saturday, so the city is in the last days of its own target. If the poles you pass are still dark, the gas line move that Blaske mentioned in September is the most recent explanation the city has given.
December is when First Street gets the most use
The October target fits the downtown calendar. The new lights are supposed to be on before the night each year when First Street is busiest.
When the Owensville Chamber of Commerce announced the 2025 Santa's Parade of Lights, almost everything was on or next to First Street. Here's how last year's evening ran, as published:
| 2025 Parade of Lights stop | Where it happened |
|---|---|
| Kickoff at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5 | Downtown |
| Activities and booths | First Street |
| Bonfire | Near the Moose Lodge |
| Visits with Santa | The old Circle D building |
| Choir singing and tree lighting | North First Street and Peters Avenue |
| Parade | Downtown, after the tree lighting |
The next morning in 2025 brought a pancake breakfast with Santa at the Owensville Masonic Lodge from 7 to 10 a.m. and the Winter Craft Market in the Owensville High School gym from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the Republican's holiday roundup.
Last year the Chamber's parade announcement ran in the Republican in mid-November, so that is a good window to watch for 2026 details. One event listing site has the 2026 Owensville Winter Craft Market on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Owensville High School. Until organizers confirm it, treat that date as tentative.
If the parade keeps the same layout, people standing on First Street this December will be under the new lamps, and the booths will be powered by wiring that replaced lines that in places were up to a century old. The tree lighting at North First and Peters will give the new acorn tops their first big crowd.
Where to start an evening downtown
The new lighting also makes First Street an easier place to walk after dark on any evening, not just parade night. Two shops on the lit stretch are listed on the Owensville Chamber's site:
- Rachel's Rustic Room & Boutique, 104 N. First St., listed on the Chamber's antiques page.
- Owensville Mercantile, 121 S. First St., listed on the Chamber's food and wine page.
For dinner, food reviewer Kordel Gibson, known on Facebook as "ksmilesfoodpeople Gibson," made four stops in Owensville this summer. The Gasconade County Republican wrote up his visit in August.
- Rich's Famous Burgers served him a large breakfast. Of the French toast, pancakes and stuffed hash browns, he liked the stuffed hash browns best.
- Bogey's Sports Bar got his strongest praise. He called the Western burger the best burger he'd ever had and told patrons, "I don't know what Paul's doing back there but he's doing it right."
- Rock Island Line Tavern served bourbon wings, chicken and waffles and a catfish sandwich. The catfish won on taste, and the wings won on aroma.
- Dos Primos was his last stop. He tried a mix of street tacos and called the chicken especially juicy and flavorful.
Shopping on First Street and then dinner at one of those four makes an easy November evening. Check each shop's posted hours before you go.
The street will look different at night this winter, but the change underground is the bigger one. The lights on First Street will no longer depend on lines that, in places, were laid about a hundred years ago.
At Erica Smith Real Estate, we follow projects like this because they shape what owning a home near downtown Owensville is like day to day. If you're curious how improvements like the First Street lighting factor into your own home's value, ask us for a free home valuation, and we'll walk you through what we see in the local market.
