History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 1

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 1

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.

GEN

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01053 3997

GENEALOGY 977.8 D74H, V. 1

R.S. Douglas

HISTORY

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, Its People and its Principal Interests.

Robert Sidney Douglass, A. B., LL. B. Professor of History, State Normal School, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

VOLUME I

ILLUSTRATED

Publishers : THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY . Chicago and New York

1912

1143051 PREFACE

This territory of Southeast Missouri was first visited by De Soto about the year 1540. The next white men who saw it were the adventurous voyagers from Canada who reached the Mississippi from the north and passed down toward its mouth. Marquette and Joliet and La Salle all visited this sec- tion, or at least saw it as their canoes floated down the great stream. No attention how. ever was paid to the district until Renault, the agent of the Company of the West came with his miners and four hundred slaves to - Fort Chartres with instructions to explore the country for the precious metals. This was about 1720. In his search for gold and silver he penetrated to what is now the county of Ste. Genevieve, finding no traces of gold or silver, but finding abundant de- posits of lead ore. These desposits he began to work. Mine a Breton was opened, Old Mine located, La Motte was discovered, and in other places attempts were made to work the rich deposits of lead ore, destined long afterward to be famous as among the great- est and richest deposits of lead in the world. These settlements for the purpose of mining naturally attracted other people, and about the year 1732 there was formed, in the great common field three miles south of the present site of Ste. Genevieve, the first permanent settlement within the limits of the state and one of the half dozen oldest towns in the Mississippi valley. This settlement known as

"le vieux village de Ste. Genevieve," was also called "Misere" because of the troubles its inhabitants experienced with floods of the river.

Ste. Genevieve proved to be only the first of a number of settlements within this ter- ritory of Missouri. The magnificent plans of La Salle, long neglected by the French, at last began to be appreciated. France was arming herself for the great struggle impend- ing with the English and preparing to shut them up in the territory occupied by them along the Atlantic coast. And so not alone along the Ohio and near the Alleghany moun- tains, but also along the course of the great river itself, settlements were planned, forts built, the favor of the Indians courted, in or- der to hold the country, if possible, against the inevitable attempt at expansion on the part of the English. Besides this organized attempt to settle and hold the country for political reasons, the country itself invited settlers. Missouri, at that time as always, was among the most attractive parts of the great continent. Here were all the things to attract settlers, and accordingly, at St. Charles, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid settlements were planted, and the wilderness began to be brought under the dominion of the white man. Forests were cleared away, mines were opened, towns laid out, commerce began to stir, grain was grown, mills built, religion was not forgotten and the cross was

iii

(a vous

PREFACE

lifted from many an humble church spire. The territory of New France was fondly be- lieved to be destined to great things.

In 1762, however, by the secret treaty of Fontainebleau ceded all her territory west of the river to Spain, and the Spanish soon en- tered into possession. The transfer was very distasteful to the French settlers here, but in reality the rule of the Spanish was better than that of the French. The Spanish gov- ernment undoubtedly dreamed of a great Spanish colonial empire west of the river, and gave much consideration to the task of building it up. Her governors here were in- structed to do all in their power to secure settlers, especially those from east of the Mis- sissippi who had had some experience in the life of the pioneer. The Ordinance of 1787 which prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory of the United States, turned a part of the tide of imigration across the river to the Spanish territory where no such restric- tion was in force. Spain sent to this country some of the ablest of her colonial adminis- trators who gave much thought and effort to the task set them of building up her western possessions.

In 1800, the territory passed again into the control of France, and there were again dreamed the dreams of a new and glorious France in the New World. However it was a time of great stress and storm in France. Napoleon was engaged in his herculean strng- gle with the English. He needed all the re- sources of his vast empire to support him in that struggle. The command of the sea was denied to France. Nelson and his fleets cut France off from her oversea dominions. Na- poleon saw the inevitable consequence of try- ing to hold the great territory in America. known as Louisiana. It must fall into the hands of the English. To prevent this, to

help build up a rival for England, and to gain money which he needed, he sold the im- mense territory of Lonisiana to the United States for the sum of $15,000,000. And so on a day in 1804 the flag of France was once more hauled down from her American pos- sessions and the banner of the republic took its place.

That transaction marks an epoch not alone in the history of the western territory, but also in the history of the United States. The territory thus acquired from France, con- tains some of the best and fairest parts of the vast domains of our country. Of course the transfer meant much to Louisiana. The re- strictions on trade, on religious freedom, on local self government which France and Spain had imposed on settlers within the ter- ritory, were at once removed and there poured into the new possessions a constantly increasing stream of immigration from the older sections of the union. State after state was carved from the new territory. Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1820, taking her place at once among the great states.

The subsequent history of the state is a story of marvellous growth. Its vast re- sources have been developed, roads and rail- roads built, cities and towns have everywhere sprung up, the population has multiplied un- til now there are more than 3,000,000 people within the borders of Missouri alone. He who can elose his eye to the present, sweep away all that civilization has brought, and with the imagination call again into existence the country as it appeared to De Soto or La Salle, awake from the grave the savage In- dians who were once its sole population. then reclothe the land with its boundless forests and repeople them with the wild animals that once swarmed in countless numbers through- out all this region, fill the air again with the

PREFACE

countless wild fowl that amazed the trav- eler, and then having restored the past as it was, can trace again the steps by which civi- lization came, sees before him one of the most stirring pages of history. It is the ever in- teresting story of man's conflict with the sav- age forces of nature, with savage man him- self, of his conquest of mighty forests, his mastery of the streams, of the expansion of little settlements and frontier towns to great cities, the change of the rude and hard con- ditions of frontier life for the comforts and luxuries of civilization, the building of gov- ernments of systems of education, the spread of religion-in a word, he lives again the ex- perience of the race in its struggle up from the savage conditions of the wilderness to the height of civilization.

To recount this wonderful story in part is the purpose of this work. No one can appre- ciate more than the author how imperfectly the task has been performed. The field is vast, the difficulty of sorting and selecting historical material great, and the time which might be devoted to the task, limited. He is conscious of many faults of omission, and doubts not that many of commission are present.

The sources of material are varied. For the early period the monumental work of

Houck, The History of Missouri, must for many years be indispensable to the historian of Missouri. It is a rich mine of information. Goodspeed's History of Southeast Missouri is also valuable. The period of the Civil war is adequately covered as vet only by the of- ficial reports in War of the Rebellion Records published by the government. Conard's En- cyclopaedia of the History of Missouri has been freely used. Where possible actual re- search work has been relied upon.

The author's thanks are due and are hereby tendered to Hon. Louis Houck of Cape Gir- ardean, for encouragement and assistance; to Rev. J. C. Maple, D. D., whose long acquaint- ance with Southeast Missouri and scholarly attainments render him peculiarly fitted for assistance in preparing its history; to Rev. Geo. W. Harlan of Farmington, for permis- sion to use his unpublished History of the Presbytery of Potosi; to Dr. J. S. Dalton of New Madrid; to H. W. Watson of Memphis, for permission to print the account prepared by his grandfather, Judge Goah Watson.

It remains to be said that none of these, here named, are in anyway responsible for the errors in the work. For them the author is solely responsible and toward them he begs the kindly indulgence of the reader.

INTRODUCTION

The term, Southeast Missouri, like most terms made up from geographical expres- sions, is of indefinite application, being used in quite different ways by different people and at different times. In its widest signifi- cance it designates the east half of that part of the state south of the Missouri river, which contains somewhat more than a quarter of the entire area of the state. Sometimes its use is restricted to the counties lying in the alluvial plains of the Mississippi river, frequently called the swamps. Other mean- ings are given to the term also, but all of them have a vagueness of application which can be avoided only by arbitrary definition. As here used the term includes the counties of Jefferson, Washington, Iron, St. Francois. Madison, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Reynolds, Wayne. Bollinger, Stoddard, Scott, Cape Girardean, Carter, Ripley, Butler, Missis- sippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Dunklin. These counties have an area of twelve thou- sand square miles and in 1910 their popula- tion was 362,453.

As the term is here used it is of course an arbitrary one, but definiteness in its use may not be secured without arbitrary limits being set. There are, however, certain con- siderations which led to the restriction of the term in the manner here proposed. In the first place the area chosen is practically that . included within the three districts of Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and New Ma-

drid as laid out by the French and Spanish ; with but few exceptions all the counties men- tioned were settled before the transfer of the territory to the United States; and the larger number of the early settlements within the state are contained within Southeast Mis- souri as the term is here defined.

Another consideration which led to the se- leetion of these limits is the fact that not- withstanding many striking differences in topography the section of the state here chosen for discussion has had a fairly uni- form development. The canses which led to the settlements in one part of the section are substantially the same which led to set- tlements in other parts, and the general char- acter of the settlements and the life of the people do not exhibit any great diversities.

Southeast Missouri, as here defined, con- sists of two sections differing widely in phy- sical features. The line dividing the two sec- tions runs from the Mississippi river at Cape Girardeau, southwest through Cape Girar- dean, Stoddard, Butler, and Ripley counties dividing the latter two into almost equal parts; and reaches the state line about half way between the east and west lines of Rip- ley county. This line is marked throughout most of its course by bluffs averaging from seventy to one hundred feet in height and known as the Mississippi escarpment. East and south of this line of bluffs are the allu- vial bottoms of the Mississippi, the St. Fran-

vii

viii

INTRODUCTION

cois, and Little rivers; west and north of the line is the Ozark plateau. In the alluvial bottoms are the counties of Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Dunklin to- gether with parts of Cape Girardeau, Stod- dard, Butler, and Ripley. In the Ozark up- lift are Washington, Jefferson, Iron, Madi- son, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Carter, Wayne, Bollinger. Reynolds and St. Francois coun- ties and the remaining parts of Cape Girar- deau, Stoddard, Butler, and Ripley. The

a part of the plateau in southern Missouri and Arkansas and to apply different names to other parts. In this discussion the term Ozark plateau is most frequently used as being the most appropriate name by which to designate such an elevated region as that we are here considering.

This plateau extends from the Mississippi river at St. Louis to the southwest and reaches into Arkansas, its eastern and south- ern boundary in Missouri is marked by a dis-

CAPAHA BLUFFS, ROCK LEVEE DRIVE, CAPE GIRARDEAU

former section includes about 3,800 square miles, the latter about 8,200 square miles.

The latter of these two sections, which has more than twice the area of the former, is a high land region being a part of an elevated plateau extending through Missouri and Ar- kansas and sending off ridges into other states. This plateau has been variously des- ignated as the Ozark mountains, the Ozark upland, the Ozark uplift, and the Ozark pla- teau. Of late years there has been a tend- ency to restrict the term Ozark mountains to

tinet escarpment or line of elevated. often precipitous bluffs. From St. Louis to Cape Girardeau, this escarpment is found on or near the bank of the Mississippi river, but south of Cape Girardeau the escarpment turns to the southwest and leaves the river. This elevated plateau or plain resembles in its gen- eral outline, an elevated dome; by some it has been compared to an upturned canoe, its central axis stretching from the northeast to the southwest. The plain is about five hun- dred miles in length and two hundred miles in

INTRODUCTION

width, and has a total area of about seventy- five thousand square miles.

The central part of this plain does not re- semble a mountainous country, most of it be- ing free from any great differences of ele vation. It is simply an elevated plateau. At its edges, however, the plain bears consider- able resemblance to mountains, due to the ac- tion of the streams which have worn down their valleys at the edge of the plateau. leaving the land between the valleys to stand up as elevated and distinct hills or moun- tains. Through the central part of the plateau the fall of the streams is not very great, and consequently their action of wear- ing down their valleys has been slow. At the edge of the plateau, however, the slope is great, the average descent from the plateau to the Mississippi plain being about one hun- dred feet at the present time. Formerly it was more than this, and the streams of the plateau have earved their valleys rapidly thus making great differences of level between their beds and the untouched soil between them.

The average elevation of the Ozark plateau is about one thousand feet though there are places where the elevation is greater than this. From this central elevated part the slope extends to the northeast to the south- east and to the west.

Breaking away from this elevated dome- like region are a number of ridges extending in several directions. One of these ridges ex- tends across the Mississippi river at Grand Tower and another at Thebes. Some other of the ridges extend to the south and cross into Arkansas, while others strike off to the southi- west into Kansas and Oklahoma.

The ridge which is broken by the river at Grand Tower is called the Shawnee hills. It extends through Illinois and crosses the Ohio

river into Kentucky where it gradually fades away into the other physical features of the state. It received the name Shawnee hills from the early explorers in Missouri and Illi- mois, who found the Shawnee Indians living along the hills. The Indians at that time were called Oshawando and this name was given at first to the hills. The point where the Mississippi river breaks through this ridge, now known as Grand Tower, is one of the most interesting places within the Mis- sissippi valley. Even a casual examination of the spot discloses the fact that within eom- paratively recent times the Mississippi river flowed considerably east of its present chan- nel. On the Illinois side above the town of Grand Tower is a great isolated roeky hill known as Fountain Bluff, which rises to a height of 635 feet above the ordinary level of the river. The channel of the river was evidently at one time to the north and east of this great bluff. One of the remarkable things connected with the formation at this place is the fact that the strata in Fountain Bluff dip are in an opposite direction from those found in the rock known as Grand Tower and the other roeks on the west side of the river. The strata are the same in general character indieating, that the formation was once continuous from Fountain Bluff to the hills on the west side, but the fact of the changed direction of the dip of the strata to- gether with the narrowness of the channel and its precipitous sides, indicate that the break in the hills was formed by some violent up- heaval.

Another of these ridges extends across the Mississippi river at Commerce, evidently having been broken here within eompara- tively recent times as the bed of the river is still formed of rocks and boulders, not hav- ing heen worn away by the action of the

INTRODUCTION

stream nor covered with sediment as would have been the case if this part of the stream bed were as old as most of it. A part of this ridge extends into the alluvial section and is known as the Scott county hills. Other ridges make off from the central dome of the upland to the southwest extending into Ar- kansas and Oklahoma.

Within recent years the name St. Fran- cois mountains has been applied to the hills in St. Francois, Iron, Wayne. and Washing-

was huilt, have been thrust up in the forma- tion of these mountains until they are now at the surface: Iron Mountain, Shepherd Mountain, Pilot Knob, and others in their vicinity are some of the best known of these St. Francois mountains. The hill just west of Knob Liek in St. Francois county in the vicin- ity of the granite quarries known as Syenite, is a good example of these mountains formed by uplift. The name St. Francois mountains is peculiarly appropriate to them since most of

ELEPHANT ROCKS, GRANITEVILLE

ton counties. These hills are not only among the highest in the Ozark region of Missouri, but they are perhaps the only true moun- tains found within the state. They seem to have been formed not by the wearing down of the plain as is the case with most of the Ozark hills, but to have been thrust up from beneath by forces within the earth and thus are true mountains in their origin. In these mountains are exposed the only Azoie rocks in Missouri. The granites which form the primordial base on which this Ozark region

them are found in St. Francois county and since also they form the source of the St. Fran- cois river. The name because it is appropriate and describes a distinet formation will prob- ably come into general acceptation and use. The upthrust which created these mountains brought the hard granite and basalt to the surface or near it in many places, and in places dikes of these rocks were formed cross- wise of the ridges previously existing. The streams of the section occur for the most part in the folds in the ridges formed within the

INTRODUCTION

material lying above the Azoie formation ; the action of these streams has worn down their bed until in some cases they have come to the dikes of hard rock lying transversely across the stream bed. The hardness of the granite has prevented its wearing away as rapidly as the other portions of the valley and this fact has given rise to rather pecu- liar formations. The stream has ordinarily earved this wall of rock thrust aeross its course, but carved it much more slowly than

Southeast Missouri are Shepherd Mountain having an elevation of twelve hundred feet, Pilot Knob with an elevation of 1.118 feet covering an area of three hundred and sixty aeres and Iron Mountain which rises 228 feet above the plain and covering an average of five hundred acres.

This Ozark region contains one of the greatest mineral regions in all the world. Judged by the variety of minerals as well as by the immense quantities of some of them.

SCENE AT THE SHUT-IN NEAR ARCADIA

the remaining parts of its stream bed so that it is hemmed into close quarters at these places. They are locally called "shut-ins." One of them is to be seen on Stout's ereek in the vicinity of Areadia and there are many others in the same region.

The Ozark region of Missouri has its high- est elevation along the line extending from Jefferson county to the southwest through Iron and into Barry and White counties; east and west of this line the elevation grad- ually becomes less. The highest points in

the area deserves to take first place among mineral sections. The precious metals are not found in paying quantities, but a large number of other minerals are so found. The mineral which exists in this region in great- est abundance is lead which has attracted the attention of miners from the very earliest times; perhaps the greatest deposits of lead ore to be found in the entire world are in this section. Lead, however, is not the only mineral which is produced in paying quanti- ties, iron is found in a number of these coun-

INTRODUCTION

Within recent years the name St. Fran- cois mountains has been applied to the hills in St. Francois, Irou, Wayne, and Washing-

was built, have been thrust up in the forma- tion of these mountains until they are now at the surface: Iron Mountain, Shepherd Mountain, Pilot Knob, and others in their vicinity are some of the best known of these St. Francois mountains. The hill just west of Knob Lick in St. Francois county in the vicin- ity of the granite quarries known as Syenite, is a good example of these mountains formed by uplift. The name St. Francois mountains is peculiarly appropriate to them since most of

ELEPHANT ROCKS, GRANITEVILLE

ton counties. These hills are not only among the highest in the Ozark region of Missouri, but they are perhaps the only true moun- tains found within the state. They seem to have been formed not by the wearing down of the plain as is the case with most of the Ozark hills, but to have been thrust up from beneath by forces within the earth and thus are true mountains in their origin. In these mountains are exposed the only Azoic rocks in Missouri. The granites which form the primordial base on which this Ozark region

them are found in St. Francois county and since also they form the source of the St. Fran- cois river. The name because it is appropriate and describes a distinct formation will prob- ably come into general acceptation and use. The upthrust which created these mountains brought the hard granite and basalt to the surface or near it in many places, and in places dikes of these rocks were formed cross- wise of the ridges previously existing. The streams of the section occur for the most part in the folds in the ridges formed within the

INTRODUCTION

material lying above the Azoie formation : the action of these streams has worn down their bed until in some cases they have come to the dikes of hard rock lying transversely across the stream bed. The hardness of the granite has prevented its wearing away as rapidly as the other portions of the valley and this faet has given rise to rather pecu- liar formations. The stream has ordinarily carved this wall of roek thrust across its course, but carved it much more slowly than

Southeast Missouri are Shepherd Mountain having an elevation of twelve hundred feet. Pilot Knob with an elevation of 1,118 feet covering an area of three hundred and sixty acres and Iron Mountain which rises 228 feet above the plain and covering an average of five hundred acres.

This Ozark region contains one of the greatest mineral regions in all the world. Judged by the variety of minerals as well as by the immense quantities of some of them.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 1

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844