Keep Owensville history alive.

That is the goal of a group of horseshoe pitchers with the forming of the Luster-Owens Owensville Horseshoe Pitching Club.

“One of our main goals is to keep the rich history of Owensville alive,” club Co-Chairman DJ Shockley said. “We have a nice place to pitch horseshoes and we’d like to see it get more use by more people of all ages and skill levels in the community.

Officers leading the club will include President Ron Nicks, Vice President Jason Gleeson, Secretary Amanda Joers, Co-Treasurers Steve Adams and Danny Bossaller along with Adams and Shockley acting as Co-Chairmen.

Back in 1847, two of the first known businessmen in Owensville were Frank Owens as a merchant and Edward Luster as a blacksmith.

There were two stories as to the final outcome of a horseshoe pitching match deciding the name of the settlement.

A family story had Luster winning the match and deciding Owensville sounded better than Lusterville.

Printed in the 1905 Argus, that version had Owens winning the match.

Either way, it is the only known town named from the outcome of a horseshoe pitching match.

Rules of horseshoes can vary depending upon if you’re playing at a picnic or in your backyard versus in a sanctioned tournament.

When playing at a picnic or fair, matches are played to 30 points with points counted for shoes that come within a shoe length of the peg, lean on the peg or ring around the peg.

Contestants earn one point for getting within a shoe length of the peg while two points are earned for a leaner.

Garnering the most points is a ringer worth three points.

If you’re playing under the rules of the Missouri Horseshoe Pitchers Association (MOHPA) or the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA), scoring is different along with what distance pitchers throw their shoes towards the peg.

At sanctioned tournaments, each contestant get 40 throws. If one were to hit all ringers, they would score 120 points.

In cases of a tie, tournaments frequently use the ringer percentage of the tied contestants to decide a winner.

While leaners may count for two points at a backyard picnic or non-sanctioned tournament, they only count for one point in sanctioned tournaments or among Luster-Owens Owensville Horseshoe Club participants.

Women, boys ages 15 and under along with anyone 65 years of age or older throw their shoes at the peg from 30 feet away while men ages 16-64 throw their shoes at the peg from 40 feet away.

Pitchers are divided into A, B, C and D classes based upon their ringer percentage.

“We encourage everyone that has an interest in pitching horseshoes to join our club, “Adams said. “There’s a place for everyone of all ages and skill levels.”

Shirts were designed and printed for the club by 1633 Designs in downtown Owensville.

Club members along with the aforementioned officers include Mike Manning, Linda Pierce, Jason Vandegriffe, Tony Glandon, Eric Crider, Joe Sgroi, Austin Glandon, Terry Crider, Rick Hoffmann, Jr. Farris, John Nicks, Danny Hendrickson, Stanley Rasmussen, Rick Joers and Jerry Weller.

Anyone interested in becoming a club member can contact Secretary Amanda Joers at 573-680-2676.