USA > Missouri > Dunklin County > History of Dunklin County, Mo., 1845-1895 Embracing an historical account of the towns and post-villages of Clarkton, Cotton Plant, Cardwell, Caruth [etc.] Including a department devoted to the description of the early appearance, settlement, development, resources With an album of its people and homes, profusely illustrated > Part 8
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
be bought reasonably, and there can scarcely be finei land in this or any other county.
MALDEN.
Malden, though comparatively a new town, is the largest in Dunklin County. Its growth has been phenomenal; in fact it has had a " boom," extending over fifteen consecutive years, and while there is a slight calm after the storm of immigration which has poured into it, Malden is now, and by reason of the fine agricultural resources surrounding it, must con- tinue to be a thriving and prosperous town. Its beginning was similar to other railroad towns, com- mencing with the railroad company's supply store, officials' and workmen's residence, etc.
The citizens of Old Cotton Hill and its vicinity, and men with money from other places, soon, however, congregated here and speedily made a good town of Malden. In 1877 the Little River Valley and Arkansas Railroad was extended from New Madrid to Malden, which was then the western terminus of that road. This road, which was under the direction of Maj. George B. Clark, ran its first cars into Malden in February, 1878. The town was laid out by the railroad company in 1877, the chief engineer being Hon. Oscar Kochtitzky; among his assistants were G. Z. Loman, F. A. Smith and Geo. W. Peck.
Many were the comic sayings about this new road when first built. It was a narrow-gauge, and some old citizen said its trains reminded him of a small " Dydapper Duck " by their downward and upward
133
.
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
motions as they came into town over the cotton ridges. Certainly its accommodations were crude, but it was as good as the ordinary new road, and it was subse- quently made a standard gauge and merged into the Cotton Belt Route, and is now equal in every respect to the best roads in the South and West. It connects at Paragould, Ark., with the main line of the Iron Mountain, and at Jonesborough, Ark., with the Kansas City and the Memphis road. The Delta branch, which runs into Malden from the north, connects at Delta, Mo., with the Belmont branch of the Iron Mountain, thus giving Malden a direct line to St. Louis and all Northern points.
These roads are known as the St. Louis South- western Railway, Cotton Belt Route, and it seems almost needless to say they have been among the most potent influences in the progress of the " Queen City" of Dunklin County.
Malden is situated about five miles from the north line of this county, near the line between Dunklin and New Madrid counties, in a very fine agricultural country. It is essentially a Missouri town, and has one of the finest public school buildings in Southeast Missouri, surrounded by a splendid grove of forest trees. This school has a very large attendance of pupils, and, during this winter of 1895-96, is under the able management of W. C. Canterbury, principal, and Miss Annie. Stuart, Miss Vara Waltrip, Miss Minnie Price, Miss Mayme Hughes and Miss Williford, assistants.
Five church buildings is the number in this Mis-
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
souri town of 2,000 inhabitants ; they are owned by the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian and Catholics, and are all a credit to a town of its size.
Besides these it has an Opera and Music Hall, several handsome brick business houses, and as many sub-
HIGH SCHOOL, MALDEN.
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
stantial and pretty residences as may be found in this part of the State.
One of the largest enterprises of Malden at present is the Heading or Stave Factory. The plant covers about ten acres of ground, is lighted by electricity and has a capacity of 4,000 sets per day. It gives employment to about 140 hands and has a pay-roll of $1,000 per week. During the year of 1895 this Heading Factory received 350 cars of rough material, and forwarded 1,000 cars of finished work.
The large amount of white-oak and other valuable timber around Malden is rapidly being put on the market, thus affording the farmers a home market for their surplus timber. This is certainly an enter- prise of which any town might be proud. This fac- tory runs at its full capacity day and night, and to fully realize its importance and magnitude one should see the hundreds of loads of timber on its grounds with more arriving daily, and the large amount put forward for shipment each week.
Other enterprises of this enterprising town are: R. A. Behymer, manufacturer of all kinds of rough and dressed cypress lumber, shingles, lath, etc .; The Malden Machine Works, H. H. Watson, proprietor; Malden Corn Co., G. W. Peck, proprietor; and a Cotton Compress which turns out the latest round cotton bales, established by Sexton Merchandise Co. of Malden, and Jerome Hill Cotton Co. of St. Louis, Mo.
The principal business firms are : Levi Mercantile Co., T. C. Stokes & Co., Allen Store Co., Sexton
OPERA HOUSE AND MUSIC HALL, MALDEN.
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
Merchandise Co., T. C. Buford & Co., Kauffmau Bros., and Cox & Bohlcke, general merchants; H. Bohlcke Furniture Store; More Drug Co., and H. P. Kinsolving, drugs; M. Clem, M. Fly & Co., and John P. Allen, groceries.
To mention all of the miscellaneous and smaller enterprises would call for more space than has been allotted to Malden, and it goes without saying that every live Missouri town has or is fast gaining its own marble works, undertakers, music emporiums, news stands, public libraries, real estate companies, saw mills, and many more miscellaneous enterprises. Malden has its share of all these, and more, for besides being the largest watermelon shipping town in the county, it is also a large shipper of corn, cotton and other produce, and has a number of cotton gins, steam corn shellers; warehouses and cold storages, for it ships considerable fish and game.
Dunklin County Bank, of which H. P. Kinsolving is president, and W. J. Davis, cashier, is financially in good condition, and has withstood the late financial depression of the country without inconvenience. It has a capital stock of $15,000 and an aggregate deposit of $31,584.32.
Malden has two good papers, the " Dunklin County News," edited by C. M. Edwards, and referred to else- where in this volume, and the " Dunklin County Reg- ister," recently established by E. G. Henderson, lately of the " Evening Shade," Arkansas. This paper is bright, newsy, and bids fair to be an honor to even as thriving and energetic a town as Malden. Both of
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
these papers are issued weekly and are in politics Democratic.
The Rapp House is the principal hotel and is well and favorably known to the traveling public. Another
RAPP HOTEL, MALDEN.
is the Spooner House, which is well known and is the oldest hotel in town.
Malden is easily the metropolis of the north'end of this county. Kennett striving for metropolitan honors has stimulated Malden to put forth every effort to
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
retain the crown of honors accorded her several years ago as the " Queen City " of Dunklin County.
In the past two years she has built churches, busi- ness houses, handsome residences and modest cottages, which has attracted many strangers to her; she has also joined to her town-plat several handsome addi- tions. One of the largest and prettiest is that of Spoonerville, which is itself a nice little town.
A few years ago the business of this town was of a somewhat different character to that of the present. Its first merchants, who were James Gregory, Jackson & Erlich, Wm. M. Harkey, Sisel & Plant, and later on, J. S. Levi & Co., Squires & Lasswell, Decker & Co., Gregory & Gardner, Davis & Co., Mr. Yearwood and Wm. Bridges, general merchants, and O. M. Wal- lace, hardware and furniture, Malden Stove and Im- plement Store, and E. Mayes & Co., G. T. Vancleve and Dr. F. M. Wilkins, drugs, must certainly have reaped some of the benefits of " red letter days " in Malden.
A busy day meant that farmers from all over this county, Green and Mississippi counties of Arkansas, were in town with hundreds of bales of cotton, and much other produce, which was practically changed for the wares of these merchants. It then shipped more produce and sold more goods than all other towns of the county combined. Its cotton gins, five or six in number, were during the cotton season kept busy almost day and night, and its planing mills, corn mills and granaries, were equally so. One of these planing mills was operated by H. B. Spooner,
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
who, with the assistance of Wm. M. Satterfield, started the machinery to work in 1885. Now her factories, cotton compress, and other enterprises, have obviated the necessity of smaller affairs, and while she does not sway so large a scope of country, that immediately surrounding her is much better devel- oped, more thickly populated and the value of the timber and surrounding soil is just being appreciated. The farmers are turning their attention somewhat from cotton, and raise more corn, watermelons, poultry, eggs, cattle and hogs.
The soil surrounding this town is particularly well adapted to the raising of small fruit and garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, corn, beans, cabbage, etc., and a canning factory is an enterprise which it is anticipating, and one which could certainly get plenty of food from the surrounding country.
The people of Malden are genuine Missourians and Dunklinites, and are proud of the State, county and town to which they belong. When it is remembered that the first white settler of Dunklin County located but sixty years ago near Malden, on what was then an Indian hunting-ground, where the ax of the woodman had never been heard, where the buffalo, elk, wild ox, bear, wolf and smaller animals were as plentiful as squirrels and rabbits to-day ; where the plow of the farmer had not penetrated even so much as an inch of soil, and that Malden itself had not been dreamed of twenty years ago, it is at once understood that Malden, as one of the youngest towns in one of the youngest counties in the " Grand Old Iron State," deserves
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
the honor to be known as the Queen City of Dunklin County. It would not seem too much to say that Malden is one of the very best first-class cities in Missouri for its age. The town which reaches the standard of this city - builds the churches, schools, public halls, brick business houses, comfortable homes, attracts important enterprises to its limits, organizes banks, lays out and improves nice parks, in less than twenty years, as Malden has done, and yet maintains a solid financial condition - must certainly be a " hustler," and have the livest of live American people.
NESBIT.
Nesbit is in the Harkey neighborhood and has grown out of a country store, cotton gin, grist mill, etc., established by Mr. Harkey, commonly spoken of as " Nug " Harkey. The young men of the · neighborhood at first jocularly called it " Need More,"
and by this name it was known for a few years. In 1885 T. R. Neel opened a general store in the Harkey house. Mr. Harkey having discontinued his business, Mr. Neel established a post-office which he called in honor of Mr. Nisbit of the firm of Mckay, Nisbit & Co., Evansville, Indiana. After running the business for a while Mr. Neel took for a partner T. J. Douglass ; they built a large business house, and for a time did an immense business, but subsequently Mr. Douglass drew out of the firm and later Mr. Neel sold out to McKay, Nisbit & Co. J. F. Smyth managed the busi- ness for them for about one year and then bought their interest. He ran a general store until May, 1895,
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
when he removed to Caruthersville, Pemiscot County, Missouri. At present A. H. Short is postmaster and keeps a very nicely selected and fresh line of groceries.
Judge J. H. Harkey operates at this place a grist mill and cotton gin and does about the best business in his line in that part of the county. Harkey Chapel church is one of the neatest in the county and the number of its members is large. A weekly prayer meeting, Epworth League, singing and Sunday- school are "ever green " in this neighborhood and the morals of its people are the best. Its young people are noted for their sobriety, industry and intelligence, and its elderly people for their commendable exem- plary lives. This people succeeded in getting the parsonage of Grand Prairie Circuit, M. E. C. S., located at Nesbit, and when it is completed it will be a pretty preacher's home. A good six or eight months school is usually taught in the school building one- half mile distant.
SENATH.
The post-office of Senath was established in the spring of 1882 at the residence of A. W. Douglass and named in honor of his wife, Mrs. Senath Hale Douglass.
Robert W. Baird was the first postmaster and served in that capacity for several years. In July of 1889, the office was moved to the pleasantly situated town of Senath. From this date Senath began to put on the tangible appearance of a village. Its location in Salem
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
Township on Horse Island is a good one, being ten miles from Kennett, the county seat, and on high land, drained on one side by Honey Cypress, and on the other by Buffalo Creek. Fine farms surround it on all sides, and they are owned by an industrious and thrifty class of farmers.
At present there is in Senath three general stores conducted respectively by Baird, Satterfield & Co., R. M. Bone & Co., and J. I. Caneer. All do an exten- sive business furnishing the fine country around them with general supplies. There is one barber shop and J. I. Caneer accommodates the traveling public.
Two cotton gins and grist mills and a blacksmith find plenty of work to keep them fairly busy.
Dr. R. W. Baird is the oldest and leading physi- cian ; Dr. W. W. White also has a good practice, and Dr. Burks has only been in the county a short time. Miss Hulda Douglass is a notary public, and is the only woman in the county holding that office. Two churches, and one of the neatest little schoolhouses in the county, are conveniently situated.
Usually a live Sunday-school is kept up in at least one of these churches. Miss Hulda Douglass is, in a way, a leader and chaperon for the young set and children; this is evidenced by their superior manners and morals.
The day school at this place has turned out some of the brightest young people in the county, who are now themselves teaching. The whole district takes pride in the public school, and cheerfully supports an eight months' term.
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
The principal products sold at Senath are cotton, corn, cattle, hogs, poultry, eggs, butter, beeswax, furs, etc.
The business men are all wide-awake, up with the times, and own good lands and other property, thus making a substantial basis for their merchandising. The town is making a firm and substantial growth.
VALLEY RIDGE.
This is a post-village on Crawley's Ridge, in the northwest part of the county. It was established and named by Oxley, who came to the county in 1875 and made a homestead entry on his present home. He first established a grain store, afterward adding a general store. The name Valley Ridge was given to the post-office because of the peculiarities of the ridge land ; it is as rich and productive as the valley land and nearly every hill can be tilled. Corn, oats, wheat, etc., all kind of grasses are grown here, and the ridge cannot be excelled for fruit.
The many " well-to-do" farmers and fine farms along this ridge testify to its being a most desirable place in which to live. The Lone Spring on Beech Hill in front of the Will Zebra place is perhaps the best known spring, but there are a number of sulphur and other mineral springs among these hills. There are some signs of lead and some claim of silver and gold to be found here, but these hills are for the most part entirely unexplored, excepting those that are in actual cultivation.
W. J. Oxley & Co. run a general store. Mr.
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 145
Oxley, of this firm, has been postmaster ever since the office has been established. It has a daily mail system.
Rush Creek schoolhouse and Bethany General Baptist churches are the places of worship near here. Among the old families along the ridge are the James Faughn, Higginbotham, Vincent, Dr. Jacob Snider, Lacy, Whitehead, J. P. Stewart, Green Tucker, Ben Hopkins, Harper and Gunnells.
VINCET.
George W. Maharg was the founder of this post- village. He first opened a store near the old Pelt's gin; later he removed to the present site of Vincet and did a general merchandise business for several years, but finally discontinued business and went to Kennett, where he died a few years since. The post- office is now kept in the store of James Rogers. It is on the bank of Buffalo Creek, at the point where the levee crosses, leading north to Kennett, and is five miles south of that town.
It has a new saw mill to cut up the cypress and other heavy timber along the creek, and a cotton gin and grist mill. The Old Shady Grove Baptist Church and the new schoolhouse are within a distance of a half mile. Vincet is at the head of a five-mile scope of the richest and most productive land in the county, which is also high and beautiful.
WHITE OAK.
This is a station on the St. Louis, Kennett & Southern Railroad, and sells goods to, and handles
10
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
the U. S. mails for, about the same farmers as did once the old post-office at Shumache. White Oak, like many of the other little places in the county, is small and insignificant within itself, but around it is a pros perous country, set with good farm-houses, neat churches and comfortable public school buildings. The people are industrious, intelligent and independ- ent livers, who raise something to spare every year. White Oak gets its share of trade and shipments.
WRIGHTSVILLE.
This is a little post-village northwest of Clarkton about four miles. The Wright brothers founded and named it, and keep the post-office in their store. They also run, in connection with their store, a cotton gin and grist mill. Near by is a blacksmith shop, good schoolhouse and church. Around here are many nice farms and old " well-to-do" families. Among them might be mentioned Judge Baker, Whitaker, of the Whitaker nursery; W. H. Shelton, late judge of the first district.
CHAPTER XI.
POLITICS, ETC.
Dunklin County has always been largely Demo- cratic. Fifteen years ago there was scarcely more than a dozen Republican voters in the entire county. Since then, however, much of the emigration has been
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
from the North and East, a considerable number being Republican in politics. At the regular November election in 1894, the following votes were polled at the various voting precincts :-
Demo- Repub- Peoples
crat.
lican.
Party.
Liberty.
41
19
0
Lulu
26
6
5
Senath
134
63
2
Hornersville
66
8
1
Cotton Plant
109
40
1
Kennett
319
87
4
Sumach
22
6
. .
Halcomb
153
111
36
Clarkton
103
16
13
Wrightsville
62
27
1
Campbell
154
154
2
Valley Ridge
27
24
. .
Malden
257
158
15
Totals.
1,473
719
80
-
-
Total number of votes cast being 2,272.
This, however, must not be considered as the full number of legal voters in Dunklin County, as at the Democratic primary election of August 11, 1894, the vote for C. O. Hoffman, candidate for probate judge, with no opponent, stood - Kennett, 540; Sumach, 51; Cotton Plant, 194; Hornersville, 160; Lulu, 41; Senath, 209; Liberty, 56; Halcomb, 189; Clarkton, 153; Wrightsville, 85 ; Campbell, 168 ; Valley Ridge 30; Malden, 355; total, 2,232. As will be seen from
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
these figures the Democratic party alone polled nearly as many votes in August, 1894, as did the three par- ties in November of the same year. The fact is that while the other parties turned out on the regular elec- tion day, a large number of Democrats remained at
RESIDENCE OF JAMES F. TATUM.
home. This county has, and should poll no less than 3,000 votes in November, 1896.
The Democratic Central Committee is composed of W. F. Shelton, chairman ; R. S. Chapman, Isaac Wise, Wm. R. Satterfield, W. Blakemore, Harrison Foley, F. A. Maze, L, Mccutchen, and O. S. Harrison, secretary.
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
The Republican Central Committee consists at pres sent of H. P. Kinsolving, chairman ; H. A. Gardner, J. W. Redding, J. C. D. Towsen, A. Isaacs, J. P. Gist, H. W. Austin, J. R. Pool, and W. S. Gardner, secre- tary.
The Peoples Party Committee could not all be ascertained, but W. P. Baird is chairman, and Frank Moore, secretary.
EXPORTS.
A few of the exports for 1894 were: Cattle, 837 ; hogs, 1,042; corn, bushels, 11,700; game, pounds, 96,471, 6,075 ; eggs, dozens, 50,970; feathers, pounds, 2,898 ; cooperage, cars, 169 ; lumber, feet, 10,395,000; horses and mules, 480; mixed stock, cars, 18; melons, cars, 525 ; fish, pounds, 792,400; tallow, pounds, 4,327 ; poultry, pounds, 66,978; hides, pounds, 29,909 ; logs, feet, 490,000 ; beeswax, pounds, 987. This, for a county which has been organized but fifty years, is a good showing; and is put below the average, as the average cotton crop is about 15,000 bales. Then the cotton seed, stave, cars, cross-ties, strawberries, of which one man raised about 500 crates, corn meal, flour barrels, and nursery stock, are not enumerated at all. This county has two good nursery farms. The Whitaker and Stanley & Pollock ; one of these billed for delivery in one week in 1895, 8,952 trees.
The valuation of taxable property in Dunklin County is $3,000,000. The rate of taxation is eighty- five per cent, exclusive of the special tax of twenty
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
cents voted for the purpose of building the Court House. The bonds issued in 1891 for this purpose will all be paid in 1896. It will be seen that Dunklin has about the lowest tax rate of any county in the State of Missouri.
This favorable state of the financial affairs of the county is undoubtedly a great compliment to its officials, whose sagacity and wise use of the public money in the past few years has helped to bring this about.
The Lone Pine Tree in Dunklin County is about one mile south of Halcomb. How it came here or what is its age is unknown.
Pine is not a growth of this county, but there might have been pine here before the earthquakes of 1811- 12. The tree looked much the same many years ago as now, and little is known about it, except that its boughs have often sheltered the noted desperado, John A. Murrell, and his clans.
In 1849, '50 and '51 this tree was headquarters in this county of this clan. Murrell made his raids through this county at stated intervals, and his allies, some of whom were located in this county, met him under the Lone Pine.
The tree was also a noted landmark of the Indians and early hunters in these parts.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Hon. H. A. APPLEGATE, born December 28, 1828, in Burlington, N. J. His father, Dr. H. A. Apple- gate, was a native of the same State and a graduate of Princeton College, and also took a medical course in Philadelphia. Dr. Applegate emigrated to Paris,
HON. H. A. APPLEGATE.
Tennessee, in 1839, having previously married Miss Ann M. Taylor, a descendant of Zachariah Taylor. Her death had also occurred in 1834.
The son, H. A. Applegate, grew to manhood in Tennessee and received a good education in the common and high schools of that State. In 1854 he married Mary E. McMurray, who died in 1863, leaving one
(151)
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HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO.
child, Mary E. ( Mrs. Monroe Dement ). In 1857 he came to Dunklin County, Mo., and purchased land, where he now resides, at Halcomb.
In his political views he was formerly an old-line Whig but since the Civil War has never voted anything but the Democratic ticket.
He was Representative from Dunklin County shortly after the war, and the cut of him in this book exactly portrays Dunklin County's Representative as he looked in 1868; the picture was made in Jefferson City in that year. He was again elected in 1870 and repre- sented this county two terms.
During the war he was captain of an independent company for some time and was in a number of engagements.
He was also one of the pioneer merchants of New Madrid, Mo., and of Hornersville, this county. Since his retirement from office in the seventies he has devoted most of his time to farming and stock-raising. He has one of the most beautiful homes near Hal- comb, surrounded by a splendid grove of forest trees.
In 1867 Mr. Applegate took for a second companion Mary E. Patton, who bore him three children, Florence (Mrs. Alexander), and two who died in childhood. This wife also died in April, 1875, since which time his daughter and son-in-law have resided with him. He is about sixty-eight years of age, but is more vigorous than many men much younger and, except that his hair is somewhat gray, he looks much as he did when this picture was made, nearly thirty years ago.
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