USA > Missouri > Chariton County > Historical, pictorial and biographical record, of Chariton County, Missouri > Part 9
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spoken of, as an inducement to those desiring to engage in this impor- tant industry, there is the bottom land lying along the various branch- es, as well as along the main Chariton river. These bottoms furnish an abundance of wild grasses that are a succulent food for stock at all seasons of the year, and with a little care and work could be made the most valuable of pasture lands.
SURPLUS PRODUCTS.
Chariton county has kept pace in the march of prosperity in North Central Missouri. Here is her shipping record of surplus products for 1894 : Cattle, 17,874; Horses and Mules, 1,102; Hogs, 47,440; Sheep, 2,790; Mixed live stock, 26 cars; Wheat, 282,600 bush- els; Corn, 243,750 bushels; Oats, 43,200 bushels; Hay, 6,300 bales; Shipstuff, 150,000 pounds; Mixed grain, 1,800 bushels; Flour, 6,150 barrels; Seed, 1,546 barrels; Tobacco, 1,592,595 pounds; Onions, 55,260 bushels; Potatoes, 19,134 bushels; Apples 42,253 bushels; Dried fruit, 50,720 pounds; Small fruits 65 crates and boxes; Molasses, 1,517 gallons, Game, 10,928 pounds; Butter, 4,537 pounds; Poultry, 333,530 pounds; Hides, 26,218 pounds; Wool, 9,588 pounds; Lumber, 1,583,000 feet; Logs, 36,000 feet; JJunk, 120,000 pounds; Brick, 56 cars; Tile, 11 cars. .
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Chariton county can justly boast of one of the most improved and best school systems to be found in the state. The public schools have been thoroughly organized and under able superintendency they have made a most wonderful and rapid progress. Just as certain as they who would build a great temple, must lay a firm foundation first, so must the county that aspires to become a famous seat of learning, first secure a firm foundation in its system of elementary schools. Chariton county had this ambition; and while her citizens gave freely of their energies and lands and money to build up academies and colleges they have wisely given far more attention to make the public schools of this county the best in the state and keep them so. For evidence that they have succeeded they point not to the words of praise written by travelers; not to the men and women who have come hundreds of miles to make their homes where their children could enjoy the best of edu- cational advantages; not to the ribbons, medals and awards captured in open competition with other districts, but they point to the schools themselves and urge every stranger to go to any one of them he chooses at any time he will and judge for himself.
Nowhere is it so important to blend conservatism with the spirit
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of progress as in the public schools. The "fad" and the "old fogy notions" are equally dangerous to the pupils who can be children but once, and therefore "go through the schools" but one time. That the directors of Chariton county's public schools have succeeded in steering between the two extremes and chosen the wisest median course is acknowledged by all who are familiar with the work. Neither energy nor time is wasted on useless and foolish experiments; nor is there any hesitation to adopt any improved idea or method simply because it is new. The same wise judgment has been exhibited in the selection of teachers. While no needless changes are made, the standard of excel- lence is advancing, and all are required, by hard work and constant study to keep fully abreast of the times. There is no difficulty in securing the best of talent. Hundreds of applications are received each year coming from all portions of the land. As to the courses of study in the public schools of the county, they closely resemble those adopted by the better class of schools in the eastern states.
There is but one serious criticism that can be offered in regard to . Chariton county's corps of teachers. They will persist in marrying. It is hard to blame the young men of Chariton county for wishing to tempt these young, intelligent, refined and often-too often-beauti- ful women to leave their chosen field of educational work and substitute cook books for geographies, and love as a law for "The Law of Love." And yet it is extremely annoying, not to say exasperating, for busy school directors to be called on at the busiest season of the year to select a substitute for some popular teacher who has suddenly tendered her resignation on the ground that she is "otherwise engaged."
CHARITON COUNTY AS A HOME.
While we are considering the many commercial advantages pos- sessed by Chariton county, its magnificent and almost unlimited agri- cultural opportunities, in the development of its vast grain fields and innumerable orchards; the untold millions of wealth to be taken from its rich coal fields and the great possibilities in store as a manufactur- ing center; while we are picturing all these immense resources from which to draw for the building up of a wealthy county, let us not forget there are other points of view from which this county must be considered, other standards by which it must be judged and in all respects we trust Chariton county can be weighed in the balance and found not wanting. Even in this material age, facilities for money getting are not to everyone everything, and while, of course, to most persons the opportunities to be found in any county for gaining wealth
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or a comfortable livelihood are first to be considered, yet to most, if not all, there are other things of almost equal importance, especially to those just starting in life or who have families to bring up. And so some of the first questions asked by people from other parts of the country are : What kind of a place is Chariton county to live in? What social and educational advantages have you? What kind of people do you come in contact with? Are they educated, refined and cultured? Chariton county presents great opportunities for business investments; what is it like as a home?
One of the essential requisites to a pleasant home in any country is a healthy climate. Certainly no one could complain with that of Chariton county. An early spring followed by a long bright summer when, to be sure we have hot weather, but it lacks the sultriness which in many countries renders a temperature many degrees lower, oppressive; a pleasant autumn which often lasts until Christmas before winter sets in and then a remarkable mild winter considering the lati- tude. The homes of Chariton county are many and of great variety, from the beautiful residence furnished with every luxury that wealth and taste could command, to the humble two or three room cottage to which the honest laborer goes at the end of a day of toil. Rents are reasonable, and property is cheaper now than it ever will be again. Much more attention is now given than in earlier years to beauti- fying the home surroundings; houses are built with more thought of permanency, and while equipped with every convenience the external appearance is not neglected. In Chariton county the stranger will observe tasteful houses surrounded by velvetly lawns, made bright by flowers of every hue, and cannot but feel that these must be the homes of a people of taste and refinement.
The value placed upon education by the people of Chariton comes up to a very high standard, for few counties, if any, can boast better eductional facilities. In addition to our magnificent system of public schools, of which we have already spoken, Chariton county has a number of other institutions of learning, colleges, academies, conser- vatories of music, with a long list of teachers in music, language, elo- cution and oratory, art and many other special branches.
Whether one has a personal interest in religion or not, no one denies the influence of the churches upon the moral tone of a commu- nity. The old Puritan settlers of New England built churches and school houses side by side, and their descendants who settled in Missou- ri exerted the same influence here. Churches of almost every denom-
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ination are represented in Chariton county, many of them by quite a. number of organizations and under the charge of pastors far above the average in talents and abilities.
Chariton is pre-eminently a county of fraternal organizations. That is the one great fad of her people and they have it worse than they ever had the whooping cough or the Trilby mania. The Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, A.O.U. W. and a long list of other or- ders, more or less prominent, are all represented by flourishing lodges, new ones in every order being continually formed until it would seem as if every man must belong to at least two or three. There is however an excellent reason for this state of affairs. Anyone who has ever watched twigs and leaves and bits of bark floating on the sur- face of a river will have noticed how the whirling fragments, drawn together by some unknown influence gather here and there in little groups or bunches. So here people of all nationalities, representing all quarters of the globe are thrown together, cut loose from old ties and associations, floating upon the stream of life, gather together in groups, drawn by some invisible bond of sympathy. Then there are the social and literary organizations, almost innumerable, and formed for every purpose imaginable, from the study of ethical culture to the newest steps in dancing. Whatever one's taste, whether literary, artistic, scientific or musical; whether one seek recreation in athletics, as a sportsman; at whist or dancing, there is some organization to make him welcome.
In some respects there is a different social atmosphere here from that of older counties of eastern states. Old traditions have been thrown aside, former predjudices uprooted and new standards adopted by which men are judged. There is more of a disposition to judge people by their own merits and value them accordingly. A family name which gives the owner a certain local prestige in a far eastern county is of no particular value one thousand miles away, where one's associates, not having had the honor of his grandfather's acquaintance, estimate one according to his own value and not for what that respect- ed ancestor may have done. Warmhearted, generous, hospitable are the dwellers in Chariton county; pursuing pleasure with the same keen avidity with which they grasp business opportunities, active and ambitious and thoroughly in earnest in whatever they undertake. Chariton county is the ideal home for young people, who though they may have little capital, but brains and ambition, and a determination to win success if perseverance and application will do it, will always
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find a warm welcome from the many who have traveled the same road that is before them.
In Chariton county the stranger will find the same social and moral standards found in other localities, only in some respects ideas have been broadened with wider opportunities. There is the same subtle influence in the atmosphere, that keeps the nervous en- ergy to a little higher tension and sharpens the mental faculties so that the people think they are a little keener in the conduct of busi- ness, appreciate the good things of life more thoroughly and take the cares more lightly than they formerly did. In Chariton county the stranger will fine people from bleak New England, from the Sunny South, and from the Queen's Dominion, who have come with diverse manners and customs and varying traditions, different in aims and pur- poses; engaged in building up a county, second to none in the union in all that makes a community strong wealthy and happy.
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MRS. LETHA COLVIN, net OWNBY.
MISS MARIE BUFFINGTON.
MISS VIRLEA WAYLAND.
Salisbury.
ALISBURY, the acknowledged metropolis of Chariton county and one of the most peaceful, happy and pros- perous cities of two thousand five hundred inhabitants, handsomely located upon an elevated prairie and sur- rounded by one of the most beautiful and productive agricultural regions to be found upon the face of the globe, was organized into a city of the fourth class, under the laws of the state classifying and governing cities of the various classes, in 1882. Prior Bibo, a soldier in the war of 1812, was the original owner of the land upon which the main part of the city now stands. Bibo drew 320 acres which he transferred to one John Bull, he in turn selling the land to one James Bennett. In 1856 Judge Lucius Salisbury, father of the city that now bears his name, paid Bennett $400 in gold for the two quarters. Two years later Judge Salisbury moved to his farm, erecting a box house as a temporary place of abode, until he could complete a more substantial structure, which was a frame house of two rooms, and stood upon what has since been known as the "Salis- bury Square." The city of Salisbury was laid out April 1, 1867, by Judge L. Salisbury, G. W. Williams and O. W. Lusher. The first business establishment operated in the city was a blacksmith shop run by one John Culver. John H. Thomas opened the first general store. The post-office was located here in 1863 and was kept at the residence of Judge Salisbury, who conducted an entertainment house, known as "Stop-a-while, where travelers and the stage coach stopped. In 1870 the city had grown until it had a population of 626. According to the census of 1880, the population was only 908, while the next ten years increased the number to 1,700.
To-day Salisbury has upwards of 2,500 loyal, enterprising, pro- gressive citizens, who are proud of their city and the steady growth and prosperity it has enjoyed. Why shouldn't they be? Located on the main line of the Wabash railroad, in direct connection with the great markets of Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City, surrounded by a soil unequaled in fertility and with a climate that is both healthy and de-
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lightful, Salisbury stands with head erect, "Queen of the Prairie," enveloped in a nineteenth-century atmosphere, ready to challenge the world in the race of progress. Nowhere in the whole country can you find a city with a larger proportion of beautiful homes or with more churches and educational institutions or with better facilities for ad- vancement than here. An unquestioning faith in her future kindles the spirit of enterprise among her citizens cansing them to unite, eager to work for her upbuilding. Men love to work where there is a promise of reward and a sure foundation to rear the structures of their hopes, and in Salisbury they work without question or doubt, and watch with pleased eyes and grateful hearts the fruits of their labor in the upbuilding of the city. Salisbury, of to-day, possesses many attractive features of which her citizens have just reasons for feeling proud. They are proud of the loca- tion of the city and its excel- lent natural drainage; proud of their business houses and the enterprising spirit of the merchants ; proud of the broad, shady streets,. border- ed on either side by beautiful homes, answering all the de- mands of wealth, refinement * and ease, adding beauty to *** utility and blending the prac- SALISBURY'S FIRST BUSINESS HOUSE. tical with the ideal. Salisburians take pride, too, in the social advan- tages to be found here, for a more social people are not to be found. In the way of church organizations, various shades of religious belief and creeds here find congenial environment, and are represented by twelve different organizations, in charge of pastors of more than ordi- nary ability, who labor unceasingly, not only in looking after the intellectual welfare of their congregations, but are active in promoting the social culture in all things conducive to the highest ideal of Chris- tian manhood and womanhood. Another source for great pride are the educational advantages offered here to-day, unequaled by any city of double population in North Missouri. Salisbury is pre-eminently a city of schools, as well as of churches, but as they are more extensively spoken of elsewhere we refrain from comments here. Art has its
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home in Salisbury and there are those among its devotees whose names may become household words throughout the land. Music has her gifted representatives and literature her followers whose names may yet become familiar fireside words throughout America.
A CITY OF CHURCHES.
As has been previously stated, Salisbury is pre-eminently a city of churches, as well as of schools, there being eleven substantial and elegant structures to testify to the religious convictions of her citizens. Perhaps no other city of equal size in North Missouri has, in propor- tion to its wealth, expended so much for the cause of Christianity. Salisburians are justly proud of their churches, the influence of which is felt and appreciated throughout the community.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
This church was organized on the ninetheenth day of January, 1867, at the old Union church, two miles southwest of Salisbury, by Elders Louis Elledge and W. L. T. Evans, but one year later was moved to this city where services were held at the city hall until the erection of their present commodious structure, the largest in the city, which was built in 1869, costing $3,422.42. This building however has undergone many modern improvements and changes, until now it pre- sents a marked contrast to the original structure. The interior is nice- ly carpeted and handsomely furnished and presents a very cozy, inviting appearance. The original organization was composed of twenty-five members, while the present membership numbers over three hundred. Rev. Louis Elledge served as the first pastor. The first trustees of the church were M. L. Hurt, Eli Wayland, and W. C. Wright. This organization has always been very strong, numerically and financially; and very active in work. Services are held every Sun- day morning and evening, Rev. S. P. Brite, being in charge as pastor. Prayer meetings are held every Wednesday evening. The ladies of the church have benevolent and missionary societies, home and foreign and do a good and noble work.
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This church was organized in 1873 with W. R. Slaughter, Mary E. Slaughter, F. T. Dysart, Lou. E. Dysart, Susan E. Dysart, Ellen Williams, Mary JJ. Ellington, L. D. Brummall and C. A. Brummall as the original members. As stated elsewhere the church property was built by the first presbyterians, and sold under a deed of trust, when it was bought in by W. R. Slaughter and sold it jointly to the Methodist and Cumberland Presbyterians, the latter in 1885 acquiring
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entire control. Since, the building has undergone a complete trans- formation, especially upon the interior now is one of the best furnish- ed churches in the city. Rev. H. D. Maness is now in charge as pastor, his flock numbering something like 125. In addition to ser- vices being held every Sunday, well attended prayer meetings convene each Wednesday evening and a number of societies from time to time.
SNEDICT
BEN
4 ca city
M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
This organization was made in 1869, with seven members; namely: John Redding, Rebecca Redding, Jno. T. Marr, Mrs. J. K. Marr, J. M. McMurry, S. E. McMurry and Charles W. Hogan. Until 1885, the Methodist people shared property with the Cumberland Presbyterians when they disposed of their interest and erected the property they now ocenpy, observed by the accompanying illustration. This organiza- tion has enjoyed a very prosperous growth, until now the membership is about two hundred. The building is nicely furnished and seated with opera chairs. Services are conducted each Sunday, by Rev. James Ramsey, pastor, who this fall will close his second four years
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labor in this field, having served this people four years in the eighty's. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The first church building erected in Salisbury was built in 1868 by the above organization and is now the property of the Cumberland Presbyterian people. This organization was small, a Mr. Webber be- ing the ruling elder. Due to the removal and death of members the organizations was forced to sell their property and dishand. However the church was again reorganized in 1878, when a neat structure was erected on 4th street, which they have since occupied. The present membership numbers about fifty.
CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Among the various churches of Salisbury which have enjoyed a highly satisfactory growth, we note with pleasure that of the Chsistian church, organized in 1873 with the following membership: J. N. Moore, L. C. Moore, L. Silvey, Charlotte Silvey, Mrs. C. J. Via, Mrs. Mary Baily, Mrs. M. Dulany, Mrs. C. Dempster, J. H. Hickerson and wife, F. B. Philpott and wife, Calvin Sweeney and wife, and R. L. Osborne. The building now occupied by this denomination is a nice frame structure, well furnished, and erected in 1883 at a cost of $1,800. Rev. G. D. Edwards is at this time in charge as pastor, ser- vices being held twice each month. As with the other churches men- tioned, there is connected with the church a flourishing Sunday school and one or two society organizations for missionary work, which meet regularly and accomplish much good work for the cause of Christ- ianity. The present membreship numbers about one hundred and seventy-five.
GERMAN EVE. LUTHERAN CHURCH.
This church was organized in Salisbury with only twelve members in 1887, but the church property they now occupy, in the north part of the city, was not erected until during the fall and winter of '89 and '90. It is a frame structure, nicely finished off, and erected at a cost of $900, which stands as a credit to the enterprise and loyalty of the members of this denomination. The present membership is about forty. At present, Rev. Wockenfuss is in charge as pastor.
GERMAN M. E. CHURCHI.
This organization is an offspring of the Bowling Green church, and was established in Salisbury with about twenty-five members in 1889. The property they now occupy was erected the same year, at a cost of about $1,000 Rev. Rompel is the pastor in charge.
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ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH
With sixteen members was organized in Salisbury in 1874, their house of worship being erected the same year at a cost of $800.00 and was dedicated by Bishop Ryan, of St. Louis. The present membership now numbers about fifty families, and Rev. Father Jno. L. Gadel is in charge as pastor. Through his instrumentality the church property was removed to a different location in the city in '92, when $1,600 was expended in its improvement, and enlargement.
COLORED CHURCHES.
Salisbury has three colored church organizations, who have prop- erty that certainly reflects much credit upon the thrift and manage- ment of the members. As a rule, Salisbury's colored people are peaceable, law-abiding citizens, among whom are found many of more than ordinary intelligence, hence it is not surprising that they support three regular organizations in an approved manner.
ANH
SANDERS-CIYST
The above illustration shows an interior view of L. T. JJackson's Palace Barber Shop, North Second street, Salisbury, Mo. The room is large, well lighted and ventilated and newly furnished throughont. Elegant bath rooms are handsomely furnished at rear end where hot and cold baths can be given any time of day.
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FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
In a previous article we have stated that Chariton county was pre-eminently a county of fraternal organizations, and what is true of the county in that respect is especially true of Salisbury. In this city there are at the present time nine secret organizations, all of which have a most creditable membership and are enjoying a healthy, sub- stantial growth. Salisbury Lodge No. 208, A. F. & A. M., the first lodge organized in the city, was instituted May 18, 1867, and has since been an active and influential organization. The lodge numbers about 95 members, S. F. Trammel being Worshipful Master. Regular meetings are held on the Tuesday evening on or before the full moon of each month. White Stone Royal Arch Chapter, No. 57. was or- ganized November 10, 1867, with twelve members and has enjoyed a satisfactory increase.
The second lodge organized in the city was Salisbury Lodge, No. 236, I. O. O. F. instituted June 20, 1870, with six charter mem- bers, only two of whom are now living and reside in Salisbury; name- ly, M. R. Williams and R. M. Jones. The growth of this lodge numerically and financially has been all that could have been desired or expected. It has performed a good and noble work in this commu- nity the influence of which has been felt and appreciated. The present enrollment contains the names of 90 members. Edward C. Westen- keuhler is the present Noble Grand. Regular sessions are held each Friday night. In connection with the I. O. O. F. is the Daughters of Rebekah, who have a very prosperous organization and occupy the same hall.
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