Pierce Pennant Motor Hotel

Built in 1929 (Colonial Revival architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

From the record

“The Pierce Pennant Motor Hotel, also known as the Candle Light Lodge, is a historic hotel complex that is located on what once was U.S. Route 40, which is now known as Business Loop 70 West in Columbia, Missouri.”
Wikipedia article Pierce Pennant Motor Hotel, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 51 National Register listings published here for Boone County · listed in 1982 · category: Building · built in 1929, Colonial Revival architecture.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Address. 1406 Old US 40W, Columbia, 65202
When was it listed? September 1982
Category. building
Township. Missouri township
When was it built? 1929
Architectural style. Colonial Revival architecture
National Register reference number. 82003125 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Missouri township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Boone County, Missouri. Written and Comp. from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources; Including a History of Its Townships, Towns, and Villages. Together with a Condensed History of Missouri; the City of St. Louis ... Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Prominent Citizens .., published 1882 - Missouri Township

Cholera In Rocheport

In 1849 cholera again visited Rocheport. Several cases occurred. Alexander Graver,^ the driver of the stage from Rocheport to Columbia, came near being buried alive. He was attacked with cholera and to all appearances died. His coffin had been prepared and full prep- aratioiis made for his burial, when a Dr.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

37,381 words

The chapter on Missouri Township in History of Boone County, Missouri. Written and Comp. from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources; Including a History of Its Townships, Towns, and Villages. Together with a Condensed History of Missouri; the City of St. Louis ... Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Prominent Citizens .., published 1882 names Columbia. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

The first post-office in the township (and probably the first in the oounty) was established at Thrall's prairie in 1819,^ and named Lexington. Probably Oliver Parker was the first postmaster, although this distinction is claimed by Mr. Lientz for Dr. Geo. B. Wilcox. Others assert that Parker was the first and Wilcox the second. In 1828 this post-office was removed to the house of Wm. Lientz. The name was changed by Col. Thos. H. Benton from Lexington to Booneton. Mr. Lientz was appointed postmaster. In 1832 the office was removed to Rocheport. When first established the mail was brought to Lexington from St. Charles on horseback. Mr. Lientz lived on the old Columbia and Franklin road.

Passage source: History of Boone County, Missouri. Written and Comp. from the Most Authentic Official and Private Sources; Including a History of Its Townships, Towns, and Villages. Together with a Condensed History of Missouri; the City of St. Louis ... Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Prominent Citizens .., published 1882.

The- first road through the township was the old St. Charles road, running from St. Charles to Old Franklin, in Howard county. It was known for years as the St. Charles and Franklin road. The road was much travelled at an early day, it being the principal thoroughfare leading from St. Louis and St. Charles to the Upper Missouri country. In 1830^ the first public conveyances, a line of stage coaches, were put upon this road, it is said, by George Sexton, Esq. The line ran from St. Louis to Old Franklin. Mr. Sexton also estab- lished the first stage line from Rocheport to Fayette. Prior to theestablishment of Sexton's stao-e line the mails were carried on horseback. In Angust, 1821, the county court established a road " to run from Columbia to intersect the St. Charles road at or near Augustus Thrall's field." John Gray was appointed the commissioner to lay out this road.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Missouri Township - 37,381 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 20 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Pierce Pennant Motor Hotel: 15 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fire Clay (Refractory), Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Columbia Brick & Tile Clay Pit-Plnt	Clay	Producer
Unknown - Clay	Fire Clay (Refractory)	Unknown
Unknown - Clay	Fire Clay (Refractory)	Past Producer
Unknown - Clay	Fire Clay (Refractory)	Past Producer
Unknown - Clay	Fire Clay (Refractory)	Past Producer
Boone Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Boone Quarry - Plant	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
City Quarry and Plant	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Garrett City Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Nichols Bros. Ls. Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Boone County

Storms near this property

60 of 209 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Columbia, the town this property stands in, in 209 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 125 hail, 64 thunderstorm wind, 9 lightning, 7 flash flood. The reports record 19 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
November 1998	Tornado (F3)	Columbia	16 hurt, $6,000,000	no account filed
July 2011	Lightning	Columbia	1 hurt	Lightning struck a cell phone that a 39 year old woman was using at Cosmo Park on the northside of Columbia. She was taken to a local hospital to be checked out. She only had some initial numbness in her arm. She was treated and released the next morning.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	1 hurt	Boone County Emergency Management reported that thunderstorm wind gusts caused damage on the north side of Columbia at a RV park and at the County Fairgrounds. A large county-owned airplane hanger that had been converted to storage space and another storage building were destroyed. Two campers at the Cottonwood RV Park were blow over by the wind. One woman received a minor cut on her foot.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	1 hurt	no account filed
July 2007	Lightning	Columbia	$150,000	A lighting strike around 3:00 pm CDT caused a fire at the Creative Photo Photography Studio at 2201 Old Highway 63. Five employees and a dog were able to escape unharmed. The fire is believed to have started in the attic. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
May 2008	Lightning	Columbia	$100,000	Lighting struck a house on May 30. This strike apparently caused a smoldering fire that erupted the next day. The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.
July 1998	Lightning	Columbia	$80,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$50,000	no account filed
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$50,000	no account filed
May 2007	Flash Flood	Columbia	$45,000	Heavy rain from several strong to severe thunderstorms caused flash flooding in the Columbia area. Akeman Bridge and Brown School Road were reported flooded. Several roads in a subdivision off of Oakland Road were flooded with up to 2 feet of water. Several cars in Columbia were stranded in flooded roads. Firefighters was called to rescue stranded motorists on East Texas Avenue and Blackfoot Road.
June 2005	Lightning	Columbia	$30,000	An early morning lighting strike started a fire at a home on Glenn Wesley Court resulting in at least $30,000 in damage.
August 2006	Lightning	Columbia	$25,000	Five radio stations were knocked off the air when lighting struck a Cumulus Broadcasting transmitter tower. Control boards in the studios, computers, and magnetic door locks in the building were also damaged by the strike.
August 2004	Lightning	Columbia	$15,000	Lightning struck a home on Richland Road and caused a fire in the second floor. Damage was estimated from 10 to 15 thousand dollars.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree which pulled live power lines on a home in Columbia.
June 1994	Hail	Columbia	$5,000	County officials reported large hail with one report of golf ball size hail from a police officer. The hail lasted for 10 minutes.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$5,000	Strong winds shattered several windows at Boone Hospital Center.
June 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$5,000	The NWS office at the Columbia Regional Airport recorded a wind gust of 78 mph. Large trees were blown down damaging two houses. Trees were also blown down across Backbone Road and Eagle Ridge Road.
April 1994	Hail	Columbia	$5,000	no account filed
April 1995	Hail	Columbia	$2,000	Hail started out around dime-size but increased to one-inch diameter at 2049 CST and then reached golf ball-size damaging numerous cars. Hail was reported until 2100 CST decreasing to one-inch in diameter east of Columbia.
March 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$2,000	no account filed
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$1,500	Wind gusts reached 60 mph and broke several power poles near and north of Interstate 70. More than 5,000 people were without power for nearly six hours. Large trees were also toppled.
July 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$1,400	Siding was blown off a home in Columbia with numerous large trees down across west and southern sections of the city. In the Ashland area, a roof of a small shed was blown off and several large trees were blown down.
May 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	$600	A barn was demolished in the Rocheport area with debris spread out 200 yards wide. Several large trees, approaching three feet in diameter, were also snapped off from near Rocheport to west of Columbia. Reported by the Columbia Emergency Operations Center.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage of varying degrees from downed limbs to uprooted trees.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds caused roof damage to the Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	A member of the public reported wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph.
March 2023	Hail	Columbia	-	Two severe storms moved through the Columbia metro area dropping large hail up to two inches in diameter over a 25 minute period. Numerous vehicles sustained dents as well as broken windows. Also, numerous homes and businesses had minor to moderate siding damage.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous power lines, tree limbs and trees through out town. A large tree was blown down at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Dysart Street. On the northeast side of town a tree was blown down onto a mobile home causing considerable damage. No injuries were reported.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a 6 inch diameter tree on the south side of Columbia onto a nearby roadway.
March 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew off portions of a roof on a strip mall at the intersection of Providence Road and Vandiver Drive.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree in Columbia.
August 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree onto a house on the southeast side of town. It caused moderate roof damage.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines throughout town.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds broke a couple of skylights on a business on the south side of Columbia. The store had water problems due to the broken skylights.
July 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	A line of severe thunderstorms moved through Columbia and tracked southeast through rest of county. A 67 mph wind gust was measured at University of Missouri Jefferson Farm and Gardens just southeast of town on East New Haven Road. Also, the ASOS at Columbia Regional Airport measured a 58 mph wind gust. Numerous trees, power lines and tree limbs were blown down, especially on the southern sections of Columbia. A couple of the fallen trees blocked roads in the area.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees and numerous tree limbs around Columbia. Also, two miles south of Ashland part of the roof of a barn was blown off.
March 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees around town.
April 2013	Hail	Columbia	-	Large hail fell across Columbia with the largest stones as big as baseballs.
May 2013	Hail	Columbia	-	Large hail fell in a swath from the northeast side of Columbia to Murry. Some of the large hail caused minor damage to a few vehicles.
March 2012	Hail	Columbia	-	There were several reports of one inch hail on the north side of Columbia.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds caused isolated damage on the west side of Columbia. A large tree fell onto a house causing roof damage. Also, a retractable awning on a nearby house was snapped in half.
September 2012	Hail	Columbia	-	A swath of large hail fell across the northern portions of Columbia, along Interstate 70. The biggest hailstones were baseball size.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees on the west side of town.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm wind blew down two trees onto a house, causing moderate damage.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down several trees on the southwest side of town. Some fell onto power lines knocking them down.
May 2010	Hail	Columbia	-	A swath of large hail fell across Columbia ranging in size from an inch to one and three quarters of an inch in diameter.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down some power lines on the north side of town and an agricultural weather station southeast of town measured a 58 MPH wind gust.
January 2008	Hail	Columbia	-	Nickel to quarter size hail reported over several locations in town...including at the intersection of College Avenue and Business Loop 70 and on the University of Missouri campus.
May 2008	Hail	Columbia	-	Storm spotters reported nickel size hail just south of Columbia.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	A large tree was reported down on Morning Glory Drive.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down throughout town. One car sustained major damage when the thunderstorm winds split a y-shaped tree and it fell onto a telephone line. This pulled down the telephone pole and it landed on the vehicle.
June 2006	Hail	Columbia	-	One inch hail was reported at Smiley Road just north of I-70.
June 2006	Hail	Columbia	-	Large hail fell for 15 minutes in and around the city of Columbia.
April 2005	Hail	Columbia	-	The Columbia EOC reported 3/4 inch hail in Columbia.
April 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Columbia	-	Boone County EMA reported 2-5 inch tree limbs and power lines down near the University of Missouri campus.
May 2005	Flash Flood	Columbia	-	Heavy rain from several severe thunderstorms caused flash flooding in Columbia. I-70 had to be closed on the west side of town due to a foot of water over the road. Several streets in town became impassable due to high water. A section of Brown School Road was washed out by flood water.
May 2005	Hail	Columbia	-	Storm spotters reported golfball size hail south of Columbia.
May 2005	Hail	Columbia	-	Local law enforcement reported 1 inch hail.
May 2005	Hail	Columbia	-	A storm spotter reported 3/4 inch hail.
May 2005	Hail	Columbia	-	Emergency management officials reported 3/4 inch hail.

Every storm recorded in Boone County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
West Broadway Historic District	1.0 miles	2010
John N. and Elizabeth Taylor House	1.2 miles	2001
Fred Douglass School	1.6 miles	1980
Columbia Cemetery	1.6 miles	2007
Second Christian Church	1.7 miles	1980
St. Paul A.M.E. Church	1.7 miles	1980

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 82003125 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Boone County	All 51 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.