A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume I, Part 45

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 731

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DALTON

Dalton was laid out in 1863 by William Dalton and is located on the Wabash Railroad, seven miles east of Brunswick. There are several stores, one hotel, a grain elevator and a bank. The Bank of Dalton has a capital stock of $10,000. The officers are: President, Henry Gall; vice-president, William Bucksath; cashier, T. R. Hamilton.

SUMNER

The town of Sumner is in Cunningham township and was laid out in June, 1882. It is located at the junction of the Omaha branch of the Wabash Railroad with the Chicago, Burlington and Kansas City Rail- road. It has a good school building, several churches, a number of stores and one bank. The town is situated in the midst of a fine farming

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and stock-raising country and the citizens are live, wide-awake and greatly interested in the improvement of the public highways. Dr. John W. Hardy and Dr. Andrew Lewis are the physicians and Attorney W. S. House is the only lawyer in the town. The Sumner Exchange Bank, with a capital stock of $10,000, has the following officers: President, G. S. Taylor; vice-president, Dr. J. W. Hardy; cashier, J. T. McCormick. The Masons, I. O. O. F. and Eastern Star have lodges in Sumner.

ROTHVILLE

The town of Rothville is in Bee Branch township and was laid out by John Roth in 1883. It is in the midst of a fine stock-raising and farm- ing country and the large crops of corn and wheat raised every year prove the wonderful fertility of the soil. They have fine roads in every direction out of the town. The town has several stores and one bank. The Bank of Rothville, with a capital stock of $10,000, has the following officers: President, John P. Riddell; vice-president, S. A. Richards; cashier, H. H. Miller.

SHANNONDALE

The town of Shannondale is on the Salisbury and Glasgow branch of the Wabash Railroad and was laid out by Charles Shannon in 1874. It has several stores and a good school building. It is quite a shipping point for both grain and stock.

FOREST GREEN

The town of Forest Green is in the southeastern part of the county and was laid out by John G. Forest in 1873. It has several stores and a large tobacco factory. The town is located in the midst of the finest tobacco-growing section of the county and is on the Salisbury and Glas- gow branch of the Wabash Railroad. For many years it has been one of the principal points for prizing and shipping tobacco.

WIEN

The village of Wien is located in the northeastern part of the county and is twenty miles northeast of Keytesville. On twelve acres of ground, donated to the Catholic church, is located the Franciscan Monastery and Mount St. Marie's church. The monastery and church were built in 1877 and the membership embraces nearly one hundred families. Wien is a quiet and rapidly growing village and its location is remark- able for healthfulness, being high, rolling prairie almost exempt from malarial and typhoid fevers. The people of the village take great interest in education and maintain an excellent school for ten months of each year.

RAILROADS

Chariton county is well supplied with railroads, as the main line of the Wabash from Moberly to Kansas City passes through the towns of Salisbury, Keytesville, Dalton and Brunswick. The Omaha branch of the Wabash forms a junction with the main line at Brunswick and

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runs through the western part of the county, passing through the towns of Triplett, Whittam and Sumner. The Salisbury and Glasgow branch of the Wabash Railroad passes through the towns of Shannondale and Forest Green. The Santa Fe Railroad, running from Kansas City to Chicago, goes through the northern part of Chariton county and passes through the towns of Dean Lake, Whittam and Mendon. The Chicago, Burlington and Kansas City Railroad passes through the northwestern part of the county and crosses the Wabash Railroad at Sumner.

CHAPTER XIV CLARK COUNTY By S. S. Ball,* Kahoka

TOPOGRAPHY

Clark is the extreme northeastern Missouri county. It is bounded on the north by the state of Iowa, and on the east by the state of Illinois. The Des Moines river forms the boundary line of a portion of the north- east of the county, and below its confluence with the Mississippi, the latter stream forms the boundary line between Missouri and Illinois.

Clark county contains about five hundred square miles. It is watered by the Mississippi, Des Moines, the two Fox rivers, two Wyacondas, the North Fabius, Sugar creek, Honey creek and lesser streams. The Des Moines flows in a southeasterly direction through a picturesque valley ornamented by many high bluffs and empties into the Mississippi a short distance above the town of Alexandria, Missouri, and almost at the suburbs of the city of Keokuk, Iowa, now world-famous as the "water power" city, between which municipality and the lesser city of Hamil- ton, Illinois, the great $200,000 horse-power dam is being constructed. This vast project will be completed July 4, 1913. The several streams mentioned flow in a southeasterly direction and all empty into the Missis- sippi river. As will be gathered from the course of the several streams, the general trend or slope of the country is south and east. In the county there are numerous living springs and many "deep" wells. Shallower wells supply water from "veins" and sheetwater. In the more level prairie regions sheet water of excellent quality may be ob- tained, wherever desired, and at an easy depth.

Approximately two-thirds of the county is made up of upland and bottom prairie; the balance was timber and hazel land. About twelve thousand acres of land in the extreme northeast of the county, and lying between the Des Moines and Fox rivers, is protected by a levee. A part of this levee was originally built by the Egyptian Levee Company, which company was succeeded by the Des Moines and Mississippi Drain- age District No. 1. This latter company is now completing an extensive levee and drainage system, designed to reclaim much low-lying land. extending from the Des Moines, south to Fox river. A minor part of this district was, at an early day, covered with a magnificent growth of timber, of the several valuable varieties common to this region.

The general surface of the county varies from the gently undulating prairie to the. gracefully rounded hills. In portions of the county the hills are quite steep and in places along some of the streams there are precipitous clay bluffs and high cliffs of lime-rock. For the most part, the soil along the bottom lands is alluvial and sandy; but there are stretches of fertile, stubborn "gumbo." The soil of the uplands is of

* The writer acknowledges valuable aid in the preparation of this sketch from Judge David N. Lapsley, Judge Otho S. Callihan and Jasper Blines, historian and "Sage of the Seven Pines."

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a dark to clay loam, with a joint clay undersoil. This latter is remark- able for its fertility and for its peculiar property of conserving fertilizer placed upon the top soil.

Wyaconda Drainage District No. 1 is the style of the organization formed for the purpose of making a drainage ditch for the reclamation of 6,140 acres of the exceptionally fertile lands of the Wyaconda river, beginning at a point below the confluence of the two Wyacondas. This ditch will begin at the south of the Santa Fe Railroad and extend down the stream, departing largely from the old channel of the river and following in the main, the lower regions of the expansive bottom. The ditch will be twelve and one-half miles long and drain about ten square miles of territory. The mammoth dredge boat is now at work on this ditch. Presumably another district will be formed immediately below this and if so the two, or rather the continuation of the first, will afford a stream nearly straight, carrying the waters to the rock-walled por- tions of the water-course, lying below the Lewis county line.

A MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEAMBOAT

Another district has been formed embracing lands in southwest Clark, Lewis, Knox and Scotland counties. Clark has two thousand acres in this district and will carry a ditch four miles in length. This last is known as the Fabius River Drainage District No. 3.

EARLY EXPLORATIONS

It was on the 17th day of May, 1673, when Father Marquette and Sieur Joliet, French missionaries, with five other men, departed from the mission of St. Ignatius, on the Straits of Mackinaw, Michigan, bent upon the discovery of the "Great Father of Rivers." In their historic journey they passed by the territory now known as Clark county, and circumstances which cannot be here recorded, furnish pretty conclusive proof that the Frenchmen landed near the mouth of Fox river. Here were found some metal instruments of French making and bearing the date 1670.

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Pike, in his admirable history, gives what is accepted as the most authentic account of explorations touching this county.

WHEN THE WHITE MAN CAME TO REMAIN

Explorers, surveyors, hunters and possibly adventurers, visited Clark county long before the white man arrived to make this territory his permanent home. It was in September, 1829, when Jacob Weaver, his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children came from Kentucky. They settled upon the banks of the Des Moines, near the site of the present town of St. Francisville. It is not disputed that "General" Harrison, trapper, trader and interpreter, had invaded this territory prior to the coming of the Weavers; but they were first to locate. Only a little later the "General" did locate at Marysville, further northwest, on the Des Moines. Following soon after Weaver came John Sackett, then Jere- miah Wayland, George Haywood and Samuel Bartlett, all from the same neighborhood in Kentucky. All located at or near St. Francisville and the descendants of each are now honored citizens among us. The families of these sturdy men did not follow them until the following spring. The cabin built by Jeremiah Wayland on the first bottom, near the river, was swept away by the flood of 1832. He builded again, and better, within the limits of what is now St. Francisville. In 1830 Peter Gillis, Giles Sullivan and William Clark joined the little colony. The wedding of the last named to Elizabeth Payne, at the home of Jeremiah Wayland, was the first occurring in the county. Romance was added to this in the knowledge that the minister performing the ceremony was an impostor. Esquire Robert Sinclair later legally tied the knot and an- other dinner was in order.

The first white children born within the territory of the present county were John Weaver, Elizabeth Bartlett and Martha Haywood. The first death was that of the wife of Giles Sullivan, 1831; the second that of Mrs. Joseph Wayland.

In 1831 Dr. J. E. Trabue settled on what in late years is known as the J. W. Jenkins farm, in Clay township. Here he built a horse mill and executed grinding for the community, thus obviating the necessity of going to Palmyra, a distance of forty miles, with the grists. Follow- ing soon after those mentioned were Asa Wormington, Henry Floyd. the latter going further west and settling about two miles north of the present site of Waterloo; Col. Thomas C. Rutherford, with his family and several slaves from Tennessee, settled at the present homestead. in Madison township; John Condiff and Jeremiah Riley; William Hen- shaw, wife and children. But few additions were made to the settlement of the year 1832, due to the great flood and trouble with the Indians. Among those who ventured was George K. Biggs. who settled on the old homestead in Clay township. Others residing in the county in 1832 were: Uriah S. Gregory, on the farm later owned by Judge John Boul- ware, who came shortly after; Harvey and John Thompson, then on the farm now owned by Ed Connable; Asa Wormington, on the old Dr. Chapman place; W. W. Clifton, near Fox River church; John Mont- gomery, who lived east of the present church site; Peter Hay, to the north ; Judge John Taylor, and Fielding Wayland. Daniel Mullen had established an Indian trading post and store in what is now Sweet Home township. In this year there was only a log cabin at the site of Alex- andria. During this year Alexander Waggener, William Phelps and John Billings located near "Sweet Home." It will be observed from the foregoing that the major portion of the early settlement of the county was along the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers bluffs. Many of the

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pioneer homesteads are yet held by the descendants of the sturdy men who first came to blaze the way for those to follow.

THE BLACK HAWK WAR

The Black Hawk war caused no open hostilities in the territory now named Clark county. But in May, 1832, a company from Pike county marched to and erected a fort at St. Francisville, which was named Fort Pike, in honor of the county from which the men came. Following the cessation of hostilities "Uncle" Jeremiah Wayland and Colonel Ruther- ford spread a notable banquet to the Indian chiefs and a few of their "braves," done in celebration of the declaration of peace.

PUBLIC LANDS

The first survey of lands, including Clark county, was made by Thomas Rector, in the year 1820. The first entries were made by Jacob Weaver. George Haywood, Samuel Bartlett, the Waylands and others. The title to this land was then vested in the United States government. Subsequently the public lands were classified and designated as congress lands, swamp lands, and school lands. The swamp lands were donated to the state; this by act of congress, in 1850. Under this act, in 1858, 2,722.56 acres of land were conveyed to the state of Missouri. Again in 1860 the government patented to the state 825.23 acres of swamp lands. The sixteenth section of each congressional township was donated by the government to the states to be sold and the proceeds used to create a perpetual school fund; the principal to be loaned and the interest to be used for current school purposes. These lands sold at from $1.25 to $4.00 per acre. By this method and other increments, Clark county's permanent public school fund has accumulated to more than $50,000. A total of $24,296.20 was originally derived from the sale of these lands.

CEREALS AND GRASSES

In those early days the prairies were covered with tall grass, desig- nated as "blue stem" which grew to a height so great that a man on horseback could not be seen at a distance. This, in the main, has long since disappeared. Blue grass and white clover, now natural products of the soil, were not here when the early settlers came. With the intro- duction of blue grass, came timothy and in later years, clover, and now alfalfa is being successfully introduced. The early comers be- lieved tame grasses would never thrive in this region.

All of the grains peculiar to this region are successfully grown in the county, the second bottom lands being best adapted to the propaga- tion of corn and wheat. The county is splendidly adapted to growing of live stock.

AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION

In November, 1881, the county court authorized the incorporation of the Clark County Agricultural and Mechanical Association. Of the original petitioners those now living are: Dr. W. H. Martin, William Pollock. H. L. Hardy, M. E. Bishop, A. J. Oilar, G. W. Kearns, James McNally, E. B. Christy, Joseph W. Meyer, W. L. Berkheimer, B. F. Snyder. T. L. Montgomery, O. J. Snyder, W. H. Robinson, I. E. Sher- merhorn, F. Karle, J. L. Greenlee, William Ackland, C. Todd, Wm Neil, John M. Wood, William Snyder, R. L. McKee, S. F. Sackett. N. T. Cherry, D. N. Lapsley, James R. Hume, and possibly other's. The act Vol. 1-22

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of the court authorized the purchase of land not to exceed one hundred acres, at a cost of not more than $50,000. Later the society purchased the present site of thirty acres, lying to the east of Kahoka, at a cost of $1,800. This organization followed that which for years maintained a county fair, at a site on the Fox river bottom, just to the south and west of Waterloo, then the county seat.

THE CREATION OF CLARK COUNTY

Prior to the organization of Clark county, the territory was a part of Lewis county. In the present confines of this county were originally the civil townships of Jefferson, Des Moines and Jackson. Jefferson township comprised the territory lying north of the lines dividing town- ships 65 and 66. Des Moines contained all of township 65 and that por- tion of township 64 lying north of Sugar creek. The residue of the territory was Jackson township. The county was organized in 1836, under and by virtue of an act of the legislature, duly approved on the 16th day of December. The county was named in honor of Gov. William Clark. In accordance with the act, above referred to, the governor appointed John Taylor, Thaddeus Williams and Robert McKee to act as county court justices, and Uriah S. Gregory to act as sheriff. These men met at the house of John Hill, three miles south of St. Francisville, on the 10th day of April, 1837, and organized the first county court. John Taylor was created president, and Willis Curd, clerk. Their first act was that of granting to William Bedell a license to keep a grocery on his farm in Sweet Home township, upon payment of the sum of $5 to the state and an equal sum to the county. At the second meeting of the county court, Joseph McCoy was appointed county treasurer, and required to give bond in the sum of $500.

The first election was ordered to be held in the several townships of the county on the 6th day of May, 1837. Two justices of the peace for each township were to be chosen.

THE COUNTY CAPITAL

The commissioners appointed under the act creating the county recommended that the county seat be located in section 15, township 65 north, range 8 west. That is to say, just in front of what is now known as the Oscar Ensign house, west and a little north of Kahoka. This report was held to be erroneous, hence its rejection. Afterwards, but at the same term of the county court, April, 1837, the court ap- pointed Stephen Cleaver, of Ralls county, Obediah Dickerson, of Shelby county, and Micajah J. Noyes, of Pike county, as commissioners to locate the county seat of Clark county. These officials recommended that the county's capital be located at the village of Waterloo. Title for the site was procured from John H. Alexander and Sarah, his wife, for a con- sideration of $1.00. The deed for the same was dated the 17th day of June, 1837, and called for four acres and seventeen vacant lots. Begin- ning with August, 1837, courts were held at Waterloo. Samuel D. South was appointed commissioner for the county seat and Joseph McCoy was appointed superintendent of the building of the county's first court. house, which was completed in the summer of 1840. In 1829 the county was further sub-divided and additional townships created. In 1837, by an act of the legislature, a portion of the territory of Scotland county was attached to Clark county.

In July, 1847, the county court was petitioned for the removal of . the county seat from Waterloo to the town of Alexandria. A remon-

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strance was also filed. At the special election held on the 13th and 14th days of December, 1847, it was determined that a majority of the tax- payers and householders favored removal. The court so ordered and the seat of justice was removed to Alexandria. The people of that town donated the ground and built the house, which was a plain, two-story brick building providing for the county officers on the first floor and the courtroom on the second, or just the reverse of the arrangement at Waterloo.

But the permanent seat of county government was only temporarily located. On the 9th of November, 1853, a petition was filed, praying that the county seat be sent back to Waterloo. The election was held on the second Monday in June, 1854, and the voice of the people ordered that the county officers be re-located at "the city by the classic Fox." Accordingly the old courthouse was repaired and the first session of court held on the fifth of November, 1855. Ten years later and by an act of the state legislature, approved February 20, 1866, the county seat was again made the subject of petition. It was in this instance deter- mined by the court that a majority of the legal petitioners desired removal to Kahoka, and the court so ordered. On the 8th day of June, 1865, petitions were presented to the county court praying for the re- removal of the seat of justice from Kahoka to Clark City and again the court appointed commissioners to locate a site.

Another election followed on November 6, 1866. Again a majority favored removal. At the December term following, the court was asked to set aside the previous order; which motion was overruled. Meantime, the county's capital remained at Waterloo and in December, 1869, the court was again asked to create a commission to locate the county's "Hub." The court refused to create this commission. The state supreme court was appealed to by the petitioners and that tri- bunal issued a writ of mandamus, the legal effect of which was to cause the county court to provide the commission, as prayed. This body was composed of Thomas Woods and John Pugh, of Lewis county ; J. W. Allen, of Knox, and Sterling McDonald and William Purdy, of Scotland. These men recommended that the courthouse be located at the site of the present building. The contract price for this structure was $18,595.00. The work was completed during the year 1871 and the first term of the county court was held therein on the 15th day of January, 1872.

BONDED INDEBTEDNESS

In 1864 the county court subscribed $200,000 to the capital stock of the Alexandria and Bloomfield Railroad Company. In 1865 Justices Harvey Seymore, B. P. Hannan and Edward Anderson were upon the county bench. This court caused an order to be entered upon the rec- ords recognizing the liability of the county to prosecution by reason of the bond issue above mentioned. The clerk was ordered to issue $50,000 of seven per cent bonds, payable twenty years from date, stipulating that the issue was to be received by the railroad company in full satis- faction for the larger issue of $200,000. The $50,000 bonds were issued, delivered to and accepted by the company. Later the bonds were re- pudiated by the people upon the ground that the court had authorized the issue without submitting the matter to the voters, at an election. The supreme court held with the holders of the bonds. In 1884 the court ordered an election upon the proposition of refunding the bonds and in conformity with the decision of the voters, and at the Novem- ber, 1884, term of the court, bonds of the denomination of $500 to the amount of $50,000 were issued, to bear date January 1, 1885, to run

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thirty years, payable after twenty years, interest six per cent. Later these bonds were again refunded and the interest rate lowered.

In July, 1868, the county court ordered an election upon the propo- sition to issue bonds in the sum of $75,000 in aid of the Alexandria and Nebraska City Railroad Company. The proposition was accepted by the voters and on the 7th day of August of the same year, bonds to the sum mentioned were duly executed. They were dated August 10, 1869, interest seven per cent, twenty years. These were refunded at a lower rate of interest in 1888.

At the same election at which the Alexandria and Nebraska City Railroad bonds were voted there was a vote ordered upon the proposi- tion to issue $75,000 of bonds in aid of the Missouri and Mississippi Railroad Company. The result was favorable also to the latter com- pany. The records of the court fail to disclose the issuance or accept- ance of these bonds. But afterwards and in January, 1870, the same company moved the court to subscribe an additional $125,000 to the capital stock of the M. and M. This the court refused to do; but an election was ordered for July to determine the proposition of issuing to the sum and for the purpose, as above, and to ascertain further. the public will with reference to the issuance of the sum of $75,000 in aid of the Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad Company. Both propositions were overwhelmingly defeated.

In May, 1871. the M. & M. R. R. Co., again asked the court for money -$200,000-the line to extend from within one mile of Fairmont thence in a northeasterly direction to the town of St. Francisville. The mo- tion of the railroad company was sustained by a majority of the court composed of S. W. Moorehouse, Peter S. Washburn and Thomas H. Roseberry. The former dissented from the decision of the majority : but the court. without submitting the question to the voters, subscribed $200,000 to the capital stock of the company; the issue to include the $75,000 previously subscribed and covered the $125,000 asked for and refused, as just previously related. A petition, numerously signed. prayed the court to set aside its order of a $200,000 subscription, but the court refused. The protesting citizens authorized a committee to wait upon the officers of the railroad, at Macon, Missouri. This com- mittee was composed of George Rensley, E. R. McKee, A. C. Walsworth and David Mckee, and was not successful in procuring concessions from the company, and in June, 1871, the bonds were issued. In May, 1872. the court held that the contract between the county and the rail- road company had been violated by the latter, hence entered an order demanding that the financial agent of the company deliver possession of the bonds. This was not done. In 1872 the county court was suc- ceeded by a board of supervisors, under township organization, and Judge John N. Boulware was authorized to employ N. F. Given to institute proceedings against the road to the end that the bonds might be recovered. The effort was unsuccessful. In November, 1880, a prop- osition to compromise this debt, at thirty cents on the dollar, was de- feated. Later, and in March, 1881, by a vote of 964 to 665 a com- promise of thirty cents on the dollar was accepted. In November following, $112,000 of bonds were issued to cover the sum of the com- promise and accrued interest. These were signed by Judge W. M. Boulward and bore date April 1. 1881. Against this sum there was a sinking fund of $5,000 in the treasury and this reduced the sum total to $107,000. Later these were refunded at a lower rate of interest.

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A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume I, Part 45

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 731

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 731