Editing Sumner, Missouri (section)

==History==
The area along the [[Grand River (Missouri)|Grand River]] in the northwest corner of present-day Chariton County was first explored by two sons of [[Daniel Boone]] and Thomas Stanley prior to Missouri statehood in 1821. Stanley established a trading post some time later near what would eventually become Sumner.<ref name=Swan>{{cite web|url=http://www.stateparks.com/swan_lake_national_wildlife_refuge_in_missouri.html|title=Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge history|publisher=Missouri State Parks|year=2014|accessdate=18 May 2014}}</ref> Other than the trading post not much existed in the area for several years, partly due to marshlands and flooding on the Grand River. The area around Sumner was originally known as Crossland, and about one mile away was the much larger village of Cunningham.<ref name=Directory>{{cite web|url=http://thelibrary.org/lochist/moser/charitonpl.html|title=A Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets of Chariton County, Missouri|publisher=Springfield-Greene County Library|year=2014|accessdate=18 May 2014}}</ref> However the coming of the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]] to the community combined with the Wabash railroad's decision to move their depot from Cunningham to Sumner gave the latter the upper hand in growth.<ref name="Historical">''Historical, Pictorial, & Biographical Record of Chariton County, Missouri'', Pictorial and Biographical Publishing Co., Salisbury Missouri, 1896</ref> Sumner was laid out by Joel H. Wilkerson in June, 1882.<ref name=Historical/> That fall the first home was constructed in the new village by J.M. Vanes, soon followed by the Commercial Hotel. A newspaper, the ''Sumner Star'', was established in 1890 and operated for several years.<ref name=Historical/> Once teeming with wildlife such as prairie chicken, turkey, duck, and deer in the 1800s, the population of such was drastically reduced by over hunting and draining of the native wetlands, notably Hog Lake in 1911.<ref name=Swan/> In 1937 concerned over wetland preservation in the wake of the [[Dust Bowl]], the U.S. Congress established the Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge just to the south of Sumner.<ref name=Swan/> Roads, buildings and man-made wetlands were soon created by the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] and by 1941 eight hundred geese wintered in the area.<ref name=Swan/>

[[File:Maxie the goose 2.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Another view of "Maxie" the Canada goose.]]
Located on a migratory [[flyway]], Swan Lake and the Sumner area began to attract ever larger numbers of geese in the mid and late 20th century, reaching 100,000 or more by the 1980s and 1990s.<ref name=Swan/> This also led to a yearly influx of hunters, benefiting the few Sumner businesses and Chariton County as a whole. With these numbers in mind Sumner was proclaimed the "Wild Goose Capital of the World".<ref name=Roadside>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/7248|title=World's Largest Goose|publisher=Roadside America.com|year=2014|accessdate=18 May 2014}}</ref> Sumner also began to hold a yearly Goose Festival in 1955 and it continues each October, with a variety of activities held including live music, a queen contest, food and a parade.<ref name=Goosed>{{cite web|url=http://www.goosefestival.com/about.html|title=Sumner Wild Goose Festival|publisher=Sumner Wild Goose Festival Committee|year=2013|accessdate=18 May 2014}}</ref> Sumner residents commissioned a [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] sculptor in 1976 to create a large statue to honor the community's status and reputation for waterfowl hunting.<ref name=Roadside/> What resulted was the "Worlds Largest Goose". Named "Maxie", the fiberglass and metal structure stands over forty feet tall with a wingspan of sixty-five feet and a total weight of over 5,000 pounds.<ref name=Roadside/>