History of Bates County, Missouri, Part 18

Author: Atkeson, William Oscar, 1854-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Cleveland, Historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1174

USA > Missouri > Bates County > History of Bates County, Missouri > Part 18

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 (link on the Part 1 page).

198

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

of the West with a day named when a public sale of lots would take place. In the meantime syndicates organized at Fort Scott, Sedalia, Butler and some other towns had purchased lots, and erected blocks of buildings and started business. In fact everything indicated great success and the first public sale of lots on the installment plan proved a great success. While everything was thus moving forward so smoothly and successfully, Col. Tom Irish, of the "Rich Hill Mining Review," probably with a spirit of jealousy as well as distrust from his general knowledge of the coal measures of southern Bates, began a thorough investigation of this Walnut City boom on account of its surrounding of black diamonds, its railroad project and also "who was Col. Tom Nichols. the millionaire." He first interviewed General Nettleton, of Kansas City, president of the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Gulf railroad, and was allowed to examine the reports of expert mining engineers who had prospected all the coal measures of Bates county and learned while there was a large amount of coal underlying the farm lands of Walnut township, there was none susceptible of being mined profitably on any large scale, and any intention previously had of tapping these coal measures by the said railroad company had been abandoned. He learned also that Colonel Nichols had also several years previous, been a citi- zen of Ft. Scott, was a man of no means, had delivered lectures on the existence of the orthodox hell and located it beneath. the crust of the earth to its center, denying Professor Sym's theory that the crust of the earth was like a shell and was inhabited by human beings far in advance of those of us on the surface-and further, that he had left Ft. Scott leaving many creditors. He also looked up the officers of the C. & A., the C. B. & Q., and the Wabash railroads and learned that neither road was interested or back of any such enterprise and that no sane financier would foster any such railroad proposition at that time.

With this and other data, he published a leading article in the "Review" puncturing this full-bloom bubble while it was floating high in the air. This expose was copied in the dailies of Kansas City, St. Louis, Ft. Scott, Sedalia and in other papers. A suit for $100,000 dam- ages was immediately instituted in our circuit court against Colonel Irish and also action for criminal libel. The syndicate of distinguished financiers, mostly politicians, soon put in an appearance in Bates county to investigate the situation and learn what had been done with the $10,000 each member had put up and the amount realized from the sale

199

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

of lots. They had hardly crossed the Bates county line before Sheriff Hanks served all of them with notices to have their depositions taken in Rich Hill the next day in the above damage suit, and they all appeared in that city in the evening after a visit to Walnut, and were highly enter- tained at the Talmage House and speeches were made from the south balcony. No depositions were taken but the following day both suits were dismissed. The name of Foster was substituted for Walnut, and as was predicted in the "Review" article, the lumber and brick in the buildings at Walnut gradually were used in the constructing of sheep corrals and chimney flues on the surrounding farms and a year or two ago many of the lots, blocks and streets were sold to farmers for farm purposes.

The following year Colonel Irish had a boomlet in his hands. The Emporia to St. Louis railroad project came to the front and a charter secured backed by wealthy men of Kansas. Mound City, Pleasanton, Rich Hill, Deepwater and Warsaw were points. on the line. Some of the roadbed was constructed in Kansas and J. D. Scott, of Rich Hill, an old railroad contractor of Union Pacific and Santa Fe experience, had a contract for grading the roadbed from the eastern limits of Rich Hill across the bottoms to the Marais des Cygnes river. He did some $8,000 or $10,000 worth of grading and no funds were forth- coming and the work was abandoned. The enterprise was a complete failure.

Most of the gentlemen of Butler, bankers, lawyers, merchants, and business men of all the industries who were prominent and did "their bit" in all these railroad enterprises have taken passage to that station to which no tickets are required, no return passage ever is issued, no baggage accepted, no personal fare exacted and no railroad transporta- tion required for this final trip to the unknown Beyond; they are at rest, the shriek of the locomotive and the rumbling of the cars, that they so earnestly longed to hear, disturbs not their peaceful sleep. They all acted their part in life in the interest of the communities in which they lived and passed over the river with the sublime conscious- ness that they had performed what seemed to them their individual duty in the interest of progress and of future generations who would so soon follow them. If any of them made mistakes or erred in judg- ment, there are none now to criticise. The acts and deeds of past generations is history, of them we are able from the record to familiar- ize ourselves and learn lessons of value, but of the future we can only

200

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

conjecture. To realize what life has in store for us we have to live that life. It is a personal individual conscious soul, controlled by that Spirit that carries safely through to the end, and there is no one but Self. the Ego, to shoulder the responsibility of the life lived. If we were to write in detail the local press reports of all these railroad meetings and of the amount of brain and nerve energy used and actual work accomplished, it would fill this volume. If the men all were living and had it to do over again perhaps different methods would be pursued and less energy exhausted in "Beginning Again." To use the language of the poet, Tarkington :

"It wouldn't be possible not to be kind In the land of Beginning Again; And the ones we misjudged and the ones whom we grudged Their moments of victory here Would find in the grasp of our loving handclasp More than penitent lips could explain.

"For what had been hardest we'd know had been best, And what had seemed loss would be gain ; For there isn't a sting that will not take wing When we've faced it and laughed it away ; And I think that the laughter is most what we're after In the Land of Beginning Again.

"So I wish there were some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again."

WASHINGTON SCHOOL. BUTLER, MISSOURI.

CHAPTER XII.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF BATES COUNTY. (By Arthur C. Moreland, County Superintendent.)

EARLY SCHOOLS-FIRST SCHOOL HOUSES-FIRST TEACHERS-BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE CIVIL WAR-EARLY SETTLERS-OFFICE OF SCHOOL COM- MISSIONER CREATED-WILLIAM C. REQUA-NATHAN L. PERRY-FIRST COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT, DAVID McGAUGHEY-L. B. ALLISON-FIRST TEACHERS' INSTITUTES-CHARLES WILSON-JAMES HARPER-SCHOOL COM- MISSIONERS-HOWARD TOWNSHIP-FIRST READING CIRCLE-LAWS-MEET- INGS-SALARY-STATISTICS-ADRIAN-RICH HILL-BUTLER-BUTLER ACA- DEMY-HUME-AMORET-AMSTERDAM-ROCKVILLE - MERWIN - BUSINESS COLLEGES.

There is very little recorded material regarding the public schools of Bates county up to and including the Civil War period. The educa- tors of this period have passed away or have moved to other localities as is the case with other old settlers having a knowledge of school condi- tions.

As soon as a settlement was formed, consisting of a few families, a log hut was built to be used for school and for religious purposes when school was not in session.

The first school house erected in Bates county was at Harmony Mission. It was built by missionaries who were sent there to instruct the Indians. The school house was built in August. 1821, and was used for religious purposes as well as school purposes. The missionaries built a log house for the education of the Indian children. As soon as the school house was completed the missionaries began their efforts to educate the Indian children. The Indians did not take to their ideas and demanded that the missionaries should pay them for the privilege of using their children as pupils. From a practical standpoint the edu- cation of the Indian children was a failure for as soon as the children were released from school they would return to the tribes, and instead of teaching them the ideas they had received from the missionaries they would continue their old tribal customs, and remained as savage as ever. The county and the circuit court established at Harmony Mis-

202

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

sion used the school house to hold their sessions until the county seat was located at Papinsville.

One of the first school houses erected in the north part of the county was built in 1843. It is well described by J. H. Laman, who immigrated from Tennessee to Bates county in 1841, and located in what is now Deer Creek township. His description of the school and school house is as follows: "The first school house in the north part of the county was built in a grove about a mile northwest of the old town of Cresent Hill. The house was built by donation of work. There was not a dollar in money paid out on it; everything was manufactured in the timber near the building site. The floor was of split logs, the · seats were made of logs split open, and the flat side dressed with an ax, and holes bored in the end and legs stuck in. The legs and the seats were all nicely turned, that is, they were turned the otherside up after the legs had been driven in the auger holes. Then they were ready for the polishing; this was done by the scholars during school hours and it was a slow process. The scribe did his part of the polish- ing during the summer season for a number of years but did not get all of the splinters off. Our writing desks were made the same way, only the pins were put in the wall, just below the window-one log out of the side of the house-and a broad slab split out and laid on these pins.

"If we had to close the windows, which was frequently the case. in the spring time, all we had to do was to turn the slab on edge and it formed a shutter. The house was covered with boards split from large bur-oak trees, laid on poles and held in place by other poles on top of them. The house was not complete until there was a large fireplace and chim- ney in one end, built of sticks and plastered over with mud. When the mud was dry the house was ready for use.

"Schools in those days were different from what they are now. The teacher was employed by the month, and had to teach from the first of one month until the first day of the next-putting in every day except Saturday and Sunday-and they would commence school as soon as there were enough pupils present to form a class, and hold until very late in the evening. The teacher generally boarded around with the patrons of the school. There was no escape: every one had to keep him until he got around, then he would start in again."

In the Session Acts of 1843 is found the following regarding a school in Van Buren county, township 42. range 31, which is at present Deer Creek township, Bates county :

203

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

"It shall be lawful for the county court of Van Buren county in this state, upon the petition of a majority of the inhabitants of con- gressional township 42 in range 31, in said county, to cause a contract to be made with Joseph J. McCrane of said township and county, to teach a school at some place in said township, as may be agreed upon, by a majority of the inhabitants thereof.

"It shall be the duty of said court. in making said contract, to see that the interests of the inhabitants of said township be sufficiently guarded ; and that the interest arising from the proceeds of such portion of the 16th section, as has been heretofore sold, shall be applied, as far as the same may extend, to the payment of the said Joseph J. McCrane for his services as teacher of said school."

The first school house in Deepwater township was built of logs in 1845, and was taught by a man named Master Lindsey ; the first school in Hudson township was taught by Cynthia Tousley. This was in 1843, and was taught at the residence of Richard Stratton near the town of Hudson: the first school house in Pleasant Gap township was located near the Wix home. It was built of logs floored with puncheons. The school was supported by "rate bills." there being no public school fund. Neigh- boring townships furnished some of the pupils while others came from as great a distance as twenty miles and boarded that they might attend the school. The first teacher was S. D. Cockrell, son of the postmaster of Pleasant Gap. He was employed by the year, and for three years in succession. The school house was also used for religious purposes. the first preacher being Uncle Dicky, a good old negro from Balltown. He was a Presbyterian, and was later sent to Liberia, Africa, by the Colonization Society ; the first school in Shawnee township was located near Elk Fork creek. It was a log cabin and was built in 1842: the first school house in Spruce township was located near the Captain Newberry blacksmith shop. The exact date of its erection is unknown. The school house was used for religious purposes by several denominations : the first school house in Walnut township was built in 1845. There were about twenty-five pupils in the district. The first teacher was a man named Linsey, who received $10 per month for his services as teacher: the first school in West Point township was built in West Point in 1852. It was erected by public subscription. The first teacher was a Mr. Kirkpatrick ; the first school house in Mt. Pleasant township was built in Butler in 1856. It was used for religious purposes. The first teacher was Mrs. Martha Morgan.

20.4

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

School conditions in Bates county were somewhat undeveloped up to and including the Civil War. Only four school houses were left stand- ing at the close of the Civil War. The school houses were used as a place of refuge for bushwhackers during the war and upon their being abandoned were destroyed by fire. The four school houses that were left were at Pleasant Gap; Johnstown, on South Deepwater, and Elk Fork. The first school house built at the close of the war was the Elswick school house and the second was in the Park neighborhood, both in Charlotte township. Only five teachers returned to the county after the war, they were A. E. Page, R. J. Reed, William Requa, Mrs. Sarah Requa, and Miss Josephine Bartlett.

Soon after the close of the Civil War most of the county was organ- ized into school districts. As soon as a few families settled in a neigh- borhood, school houses were built, and school districts formed. This caused many small districts to be formed which later had to be reor- ganized and the school house site changed to accommodate the people after the district had become thickly populated. The condition of the school fund was good, and this resulted in good wages being paid the teachers. Many good teachers came to the county to take advantage of the salaries paid to teachers. The sale of school lands before the war amounted to $65,000 and had been increased to $100.000 at the close of the war. The capital school fund had been well preserved during the war and had been loaned at interest which had accumulated for four or five years. Then the advance in the value of land in Bates county after the close of the war caused an increase in the amount of school money. .

The early settlers took great interest in the education of their children, and continued to build school houses at a rapid rate until there were 78 school houses in the county in 1870. The schools con- tinued from three to six months in the year, and where the funds were not sufficient, subscription schools were provided. These schools pro- vided a good practical, common-school education. This interest has continued to grow with those who came after the early settlers until at present the schools of Bates county rank favorably with any in the state.

In 1853, the Legislature of Missouri created the office of school commissioner. The first school commissioner of the county was Will- iam C. Requa, who was appointed by the county court in May, 1856, and served until May, 1858, when Nathan L. Perry was appointed by

205

HISTORY OF DATES COUNTY

the court. Mr. Perry served until the beginning of the Civil War, when the office was discontinued, so far as the court records show, until May, 1866. A change in the school law of 1866, created the office of county superintendent.

The first county superintendent of schools of Bates county was David McGaughey, who was appointed by the county court in May, 1866. He was elected in November, 1866, and served for a term of two years. The day following his appointment he granted certificates to teach to George Lamkin, who began teaching at Pleasant Gap, and Mrs. E. Burk- leo, his sister. Mr. McGaughey began the system of visiting the schools and delivering addresses upon educational subjects throughout the county. It was during his administration that between forty and fifty school districts were organized. At the first convention of the teach- ers of the state at St. Louis in June, 1866, Mr. McGaughey was the only representative from southwest Missouri.

In November, 1868, L. B. Allison was elected county superintendent of schools, and served for a term of two years. He continued the prac- tice of his predecessor in visiting the schools, and delivering addresses upon educational subjects throughout the county. The number of school districts increased rapidly during his term of office, there being 78 school houses in the county at the close of his administration. Bates county stood first in 1869 in the amount of money spent for the erection of school houses, and second in the state in 1870, expending that year the sum of $14,170.71.

The first teachers' institute ever organized in the county was in May, 1869. It was organized in Butler in the First Presbyterian church. There were fifty teachers present. The meeting was presided over by the county superintendent who had devoted considerable time to the study of institute work in the East. It was a very profitable meeting and the teachers present received much benefit from it. The following is from the record of the proceedings of this meeting: "Butler, Mis- souri, May 24, 1869. At 2 o'clock p. m. a number of teachers and citi- zens met at the First Presbyterian church, pursuant to a call of the Bates county superintendent for the purpose of organizing a teachers' institute."

The second session of the teachers' institute was held in the same place as the first on September 1st, 2nd and 3rd. State Superintendent T. A. Parker, and his assistants, Edwin Clark and Jasper A. Smith. were present at this meeting and rendered valuable service to the suc-

206

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

cess of the institute. Nearly every teacher in the county was present.

Because of the interest manifested in these institutes, Prof. L. B. Allison called the third meeting of the teachers' institute in April, 1870, at Papinsville, then the second town in the county. About forty teach- ers were enrolled at this, meeting, and a number of the. citizens. took part in the discussions, making the session both interesting and profit- able.

In November, 1870, Mr. Charles Wilson was elected county super- intendent of schools, and served until January, 1873. During his admin- istration a number of new school houses were erected. He continued holding teachers' institutes. Because of a change in the school law in 1870, making more liberal provisions in increasing the number of days for official work, Mr. Wilson was enabled to visit every school in the county and consult with school officers, which resulted in more uniformity in the making of reports, and in school work.

In January, 1873, Mr. James Harper succeeded Mr. Wilson as county superintendent of schools. Because of a change in the school law Mr. Harper was the last of the superintendents to visit the schools. Many good school buildings were built throughout the county and in most cases the schools were furnished with patent school furniture. He served until April, 1877. It was during Mr. Harper's term that a change in the school law required the school commissioner to be elected in April instead of November, and in 1875 the Legislature created the office of school commissioner. The school commissioner was to possess the qualifications of a competent teacher of the public schools ; be a quali- fied voter of the county; and to be of good moral character.

The following citizens filled the office of school commissioner since April, 1877 : C. L. Mills, April, 1877 to April, 1881 ; J. H. Hinton, April, 1881 to January. 1884; W. W. Graves, January, 1884 to April, 1887; James Burke, April, 1887 to April, 1891 ; Frank Deerwester, April, 1891, to April, 1893: J. P. Thurman, April, 1893, to April, 1897 ; Arthur Borron, April, 1897 to April. 1899; Burr Raybourn, April, 1899 to April, 1901 ; H. O. Maxey, April, 1901 to April, 1904.

During the latter part of Mr. Wilson's term as school commissioner, teachers' meetings were discontinued. It was not until the summer of 1878 that the move for re-organizing teachers' meetings was begun.

Mr. T. C. Robinson makes the following statement concern- ing early education in Howard township: "In 1878, there were two

207

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

school houses in Howard township. There were only twenty-six voters in the township. As most of the township was unsettled, the dwellings were few and far between. This caused most of the pupils to have a long distance to ride or walk to school. Nevertheless, there was shown a keen and intense interest and desire on the part of the pupils to get an education, and on the part of the parents to keep the schools going. As an instance of the desire of the boys and girls of that period to get an education, I have but to mention one family, that of John Badgett whose two boys and two girls walked two and one-fourth miles to school every day for four terms without missing a day or being tardy. There were others just as attentive.

"The two school houses referred to above were the Montrose and the Greenridge. They were located as follows: The Montrose school house was located in the southwest corner of section 13, township 38, range 33, and the Greenridge school house was located in the northeast corner of northwest fourth of section 20, township 38, range 33. The Montrose school house was later moved one mile north.

"Some boys and girls rode as far as five miles to the Montrose school in the fall of 1878 and 1879, and I have counted as many as thirty horses and ponies tethered on the prairies around the school house.

"With the coming of railroads in 1880, came population and in a short time more school houses were built, and schools were almost the first consideration of the people."

The first Reading Circle in the county was organized in 1898. Only a few teachers took any interest in the work. Later a requirement was issued from the State Department of Education which in a short time became a law that teachers must do Reading Circle work to get their certificates renewed. This caused several Reading Circles to be organ- ized throughout the county. Interest in this work has grown, until at present most of the teachers in the county are doing the work. A Read- ing Circle chairman for each township in the county is appointed by the county superintendent. It is the duty of the chairman to call a meeting of the teachers in the township, and to assign a portion of each book for discussion at some future meeting, usually once or twice a month.

In 1901. the school library law was enacted. It required local school boards to provide school libraries, and to spend annually not less

208

HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY

than five cents per pupil enumerated in the district in supplying refer- ence and supplementary books. This law has had great influence in furnishing rural school pupils with good wholesome literature.

A systematic course of study was adopted for rural and village schools in the county in 1902. It stressed the use of literature for use in the grades and thus made the school library a necessity. It provides for an alternation of work by grades and does away with the formal recitation hearing and provides the teacher with time to teach litera- ture and other subjects of interest to children.

In 1903, a change was made in the school law, abolishing the old teachers' institute system and providing for a three days' teachers' asso- ciation to be held on the last three days of some week in September. October, November or December. At the last teachers' association held in Butler 98 per cent. of the teachers in the county were present.

County school supervision was adopted in Bates county in April. 1904. This required the county superintendent to devote all of his time to supervision and office duties. A law was passed in 1917 allowing the county superintendent one-fourth of his salary for clerical help and traveling expenses. This will permit more time to be devoted to supervision, and will make the work of the county superintendent more efficient. The following have served as county superintendent since the adoption of county school supervision: H. O. Maxey, April. 1904. to April, 1905: Emma Cassity, April, 1905, to May, 1905; A. L. Ives, May. 1905, to April, 1909; P. M. Allison, April, 1909, to April, 1915: Arthur C. Moreland. April. 1915.

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 Bates County, Missouri, Part 18

Author: Atkeson, William Oscar, 1854- Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Topeka, Cleveland, Historical publishing company Number of Pages: 1174

Author: Atkeson, William Oscar, 1854-
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Cleveland, Historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 1174