USA > Missouri > St Charles County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 14
USA > Missouri > Montgomery County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 14
USA > Missouri > Warren County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 14
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An attachment was issued against August Chouteau, administrator of the estate of St. Paul Lacroix, deceased, for his contempt in not making final settlement.
Thomas French was recommended to the Governor of the State as a suitable person for justice of the peace.
The above constitute the proceedings of the first day of the session.
The remainder of the term was devoted to the appointment of ad- ministrators, settlements of administrators, executors, guardians, etc. At the May term, 1821, the court made the following order : -
The court orders, that the sheriff of this county transport the jus- tices' seat and furniture belonging to the county court, to the two rooms now occupied by the Masonic society in Peck's row, for the pur- pose of holding the several courts therein, for the term of one year, having been given gratis by the following gentlemen: Benjamin Emmons, Uriah I. Devore, Osburn Knott, Charles Peck, H. M. Mills, M. Millington, Shaw & Machett, Nathaniel Simonds, P. Wetmore, Chancy Shepherd and S. W. Forman. P. H. Robbins was appointed surveyor of the county, Hiram H. Baler, collector, and Warren Cottle, assessor.
Benjamin Emmons was granted a license to keep a tavern in St. Charles for the term of one year, on his paying a tax of $20. Keepers of billiard tables paid a license of $50; retailers of wines and spirituous liquors, $20; auctioneers, $100. Daniel McNair was granted a license to keep a ferry across the Missouri river, and George Smelcers a license to keep a ferry across the Mississippi. Nathan Boone, administrator of the estate of Enoch Cormack, made settlement.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
Notwithstanding the fact that a large number, probably a majority, of people in every county have very little practical experience in
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courts, and although they have the legal capacity to sue and be sued, never improve their opportunities, and never appear in court, unless it be on compulsion as witnesses and jurors ; yet, as the one great conservator of peace, and as the final arbiter in case of individual or neighborhood disputes, the court is distinguished above and apart from all and every other institution in the land, and not only the proceed- ings of the court, but the place of holding court, is a matter of interest to the average reader.
Not only so, but in many counties the court-house was the first, and usually the only public building in the county. The first court-houses were not very elaborate buildings, to be sure, but they are enshrined in memories that the present can never know.
Their uses were general rather than special, and so constantly were they in use, day and night, when the court was in session, and when it was not in session, for judicial, educational, religious and social purposes, that the doors of the old court-houses, like the gates of gospel grace, stood open night and day ; and the small amount invested in these old hewn logs and rough benches returned a much better rate of interest on the investment than do those stately piles of brick or granite which have taken their places. The memorable court-house of early times was a house adapted to a variety of purposes, and had a career of great usefulness. School was taught, the Gospel was preached, and justice dispensed within its substantial walls. Then it served frequently as a resting place for weary travelers. And, indeed, its doors always swung on easy hinges. If the old settlers are to be believed, all the old court-houses, when first erected in this Western country, often rang on the pioneer Sabbath with a more stirring elo- quence than that which enlivens the pulpit of the present time. Many of the earliest ministers officiated in their walls, and if they could but speak, they would doubtless tell many a strange tale of pioneer religion that is now lost forever.
To those old court-houses, ministers came of different faiths, but all eager to expound the simple truths of the sublime and beautiful religion, and point out for comparisons the thorny path of duty, and the primrose way of dalliance. Often have those old walls given back the echos of those who have sung the songs of Zion, and many a weary wanderer has had his heart moved to repentance thereby, more strongly than ever, by the strains of homely eloquence. With Mon- day morning, the old building changed in character, and men went thither, seeking not the justice of God, but the mercy of man. The scales were held with an even hand. Those who presided knew every
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
man in the county, and they dealt out substantial justice, and the broad principles of natural equity prevailed. Children went there to school, and sat at the feet of teachers who knew little more than them- selves ; but, however humble the teacher's acquirements, he was hailed as a wise man and a benefactor, and his lessons were heeded with attention.
The old people of the settlement went there to discuss their own affairs, and learn from visiting attorneys the news from the great, busy world, so far away to the southward and eastward. In addition to the orderly assemblies which formerly gathered there, other meet- ings no less notable occurred.
It was a sort of a forum, whither all classes of people went, for the purpose of loafing and gossiping and telling and hearing some new thing. As a general thing, the first court-house, after having served the purpose of its erection, and served that purpose well, is torn down and conveyed to the rear of some remote lot, and thereafter is made to serve the purpose of an obscure cow-stable on some dark alley.
There is little of the romantic or poetic in the make-up of Western society, and the old court-house, after the building of the new one, ceases to be regarded with reverence and awe. In a new country, where every energy of the people is necessarily employed in the prac- tical work of earning a living, and the always urgent and ever present " question of bread and butter is up for solution, people can not be expected to devote much time to the poetic and ideal. It therefore follows that nothing was retained as a useless relic that could be turned to some utility ; but it is a shame that the people of modern times have such little reverence for the relics of former days. After these houses ceased to be available for business purposes they should have been preserved to have at least witnessed the semi-centennial of the county's history. It is sad, in their hurry to grow rich, so few even have a care for the work of their own hands. How many of the first settlers have preserved their first habitations? The sight of that humble cabin would be a source of much consolation in old age, as it reminded the owner of the trials and triumphs of other times, and its presence would go far toward reconciling the coming generation with their lot, when comparing its lowly appearance with the modern resi- dence whose extensive apartments are beginning to be too unpreten- tious for the enterprising and irrepressible "Young Americans."
CHAPTER IV.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Boundaries and Conformation - Water Courses - Geology - Indigenous Growths -
Agricultural Products - Fruits and Grape Culture - Lands, Improved and Unim- proved - Number of Farms and Value of all Farm Products -Live Stock - Taxa- ble Wealth - Population - Roads and Railroads - Game, Fish, Etc., Etc.
The county of St. Charles includes that portion of the State of Missouri which lies between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, east of the fifth principal meridian and south of the Cuivre river.
The county is of irregular, wedge-like shape, owing to its water boundaries. It includes portions of Congressional township 44 north, in ranges 1 and 2 east, on its southern boundary, and a small part of township 49, range 5 east, on its most northern boundary, and extends eastwardly from the fifth principal meridian to the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, in township 48, range 8 east, a dis-
tance of about 42 miles. Its greatest breadth is on the western boundary line, about 24 miles. It contains, including islands in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, about 540 square miles, and its total surface in acres is about 345,600. The western boundary crosses a range of bluffs, or highlands, about two miles north of the Missouri river, running in a north-easterly direction with the river, diverging occasionally from the course of the river, with intervening bottom lands between the bluffs and the river, until it reaches a point 21/2 miles north of the city of St. Charles, where it makes an abrupt turn, running a little south of west, till it strikes the Dardenne creek, and from thence in a north-westerly direction till it strikes the Cuivre river, about a mile and a half east of the western boundary line of the county. Within this chain of bluffs, or highlands, is contained all the upland in the county, composed partly of timber and in part of prairie. The rest of the county is timbered bottom and bottom prairie.
From the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers to the Mamelles, a distance of more than 20 miles, the land is entirely of an alluvial formation. The point at which the bluffs of the Missis- sippi and Missouri rivers unite and make the abrupt turn above refer- red to, is about 21/2 miles north-west of the city of St. Charles, 6
(130)
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
miles south of the Mississippi river and 1 mile west of the Missouri. At this point, where the main body of the bluffs is covered with tim- ber, two smooth mounds of regular surfaces, without trees or shrubs, but coated with grass, project out into the prairie some distance from the main bluffs. These were named by the early French pioneers La Mamelles, from their fancied resemblance to the human breasts. These mounds have an elevation of about 150 feet, and afford an ex- tensive view of a most beautiful country, lying east, west and north. The northern side of the county is washed by the Mississippi and the southern side by the Missouri river. There is always sufficient water in these streams for the larger steamers, and navigation is only im- peded by freezing over, an occurrence which does not take place every year, and lasts only a few weeks.
The Cuivre river, which empties into the Mississippi, also forms part of the northern boundary of the county, and is navigable for small steamboats in the spring season as far up as the mouth of Big creek, one of its tributaries. Indian Camp creek and McCoy's creek are tributaries of Big creek. Perruque creek rises in Warren county, and after running southward for some distance, makes a bend and empties into the Mississippi, about four miles below the mouth of Cuivre. Dardenne creek rises near the Warren county line. Its first course is eastward, and also making an elbow, discharges its waters into the Mississippi about seven miles below the mouth of the Perruque. The general course of all these streams is north-east. The Femme Osage, with its branches, is the only stream of any size which empties into the Missouri river within the county. Both branches rise in Warren county, and unite about 5 miles above the mouth of the creek, which is about 15 miles by water below the western line of the county.
The Femme Osage creek, its branches and tributaries, flowing south-eastwardly, drain about 110 square miles in the south-west part of the county. All the other streams of any size but the Cuivre, Perruque and Dardenne, and their branches, flow in a north-eastwardly direction, and drain the rest of the county, except the Point Prairie lands.
SPRINGS .- Fine springs abound on McCoy's creek and Indian Camp creek. There are also good springs on Perruque, Dardenne and Femme Osage creek, along the Mississippi bluffs east of Dardenne, and in other parts of the county good springs are found. On the prairies and uplands wells and cisterns are mostly used for supplies of water. The Mississippi river affords for all those in its vicinity an abundant supply of the best water for drinking and all other purposes.
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
The geological formations of St. Charles county, beginning at the highest or most recent formations, are as follows : -
QUATERNARY. - This system includes the Alluvium, Bottom Prairie, Bluff and Drift.
Alluvium. - This comprises the soil and the deposits along the principal streams.
Bottom Prairie. - This is best developed on the Mississippi bot- toms, where it occurs as a dark clay, with beds of sand.
Bluff. - The bluff underlies the soil, and is found on most of the hills ; it is well developed on the Missouri bluffs, especially near the city of St. Charles, on the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Rail- way, and in the street excavations in the city, and also at the Mamelles.
Drift - Is not very well developed, but when seen is composed of clay and rounded pebbles, and underlies the bluff.
Next come the rocks proper, which are geologically interesting, affording an interesting field of research to him who loves to investi- gate the records of ages past.
PALEOZOIC ROCKS - Coal Measures. - Coal of good quality is found near St. Charles, and may not be found in any other part of the county. The coal measures cover an area of about eight square miles. The coal bed ranges from 15 to 30 inches in thickness, and would probably average about 22 inches, or be equal to 408,808,000 cubic feet.
Ferruginous Sandstone -Is found only in limited quantities.
St. Louis Limestone .- This rock, of good quality, is found only near St. Charles.
Archimedes Limestone. - West of St. Charles this formation is seen cropping out from beneath the St. Louis limestone. It extends as far west as the west end of Green's Bottom, and thence northward and westward over that part of the county lying east of Cottleville and Wentzville.
Encrinital Limestone. - West of the last, and as far west as range 1 east, this group occurs as the highest rock in the western part of the county and north of the Boone's Lick road. The scenery afforded by it on the Missouri river is very fine, the bluffs below Hamburg rising to a height of 200 feet or more, and presenting at the top a castellated ap- pearance, which is further beautified by the presence of cedars on the summit.
Chemung and Devonian Groups - Are uplifted on Perruque creek, near the county line, and the Chemung occurs as the highest in town-
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
ship 45, and township 46, range 1 east, and also near the mouth of Femme Osage creek, on the Missouri.
Trenton Limestone - Appears on Dardenne creek, in township 46, range 1 east, on Femme Osage beautiful perpendicular castel- lated cliffs, with rounded tower-like faces, and affording beautiful scenery.
Black River and Bird's-eye Limestone-Is found on the Femme Osage creek, and south-west, near the Missouri river, it caps the highest hills.
First Magnesian Limestone, Saccharoidal Sandstone and Second Magnesian Limestone - Appear in the Missouri bluffs, near Darst's Bottom, and westward, affording very picturesque scenery. Cedar hill, opposite Darst's Bottom, is composed of saccharoidal limestone, and the neighboring bluffs are capped with first magnesian limestone.
BUILDING MATERIALS. - Good building rock is found almost every- where.
The St. Louis Limestone - Affords good building material, and there are good quarries west of St. Charles. It is fine grained, and a light drab color, with a somewhat splintory fracture.
The Archimedes Limestone - Also affords much good building rock, and it is often found in remarkably thick beds. Excellent quarries of it are found in the bluffs at Green's Bottom, where it occurs in thick strata of both brown and gray limestone. Similar beds crop out in the Mississippi bluffs, a few miles east of Dardenne, where it was quarried før masonry on the North Missouri Railroad.
Trenton Limestone. - The gray beds of the upper portion of the Trenton limestone found on Femme Osage creek would admit of a good polish, and make a handsome material for. building.
Encrinital Limestone. - Goods beds, and of considerable thickness, outcrop in the Missouri bluffs, below Hamburg, and other good quar- ries are seen in the north-east part of the county. On Perruque creek, at the county line, are good quarries of Devonian limestone The beds of Black river limestone found on the tops of many of the hills in Femme Osage township would admit of a polish, and make quite pretty marble.
The First Magnesian Limestone-Found on Femme Osage and Missouri bluff, affords one of the most valuable of building materials, being generally of a rich buff color. Missouri College, in Warren county, Mo., is built of this material, which is quarried near by. Similar rock used for building in St. Louis was brought from Joliet, Ill.
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
The next rock of importance is the Saccharoidal sandstone, found on Femme Osage and Missouri bluff and Darst's Bottom. This is- useful as a fire rock, and the softer and whiter beds, which are as white and clear as the best crushed sugar, would be very suitable for the manufacture of glass.
MINERALS. - Iron Pyrites - Are found in some localities. Frag- ments of red and brown hematite have been discovered, but it is not thought they exist in sufficient quantities to pay for working.
Quartz Geodes - Are found on Missouri bluffs, embedded in shales of Archimedes limestone. Calcareous spar in small quantities is some- times found.
CLAYS FOR PAINT. - In section 35, township 47, range 1 east, is an extensive bed of variegated, purple, buff and drab clays, and near by is a bed of whitish clay, which has been successfully used for white- wash. Red clay has been found on Callaway's fork of the Femme Osage. In addition to the above, clays of different colors are found in other parts of the county suitable for paints and pigments. There are also to be found various other valuable clays in the county, some of which are white and suitable for potters' ware.
Clay for Brick. - An abundance of the best red clay, free from flint and gravel, is found in and around the city of St. Charles, and in many other parts of the county. Brick made of this material are of a bright red color, and for beauty, solidity and durability are not ex- celled in any part of the country.
Limestone - Suitable for burning, and producing the best quality of lime, is found in large quantities.
Sand - For building, plastering and molding purposes can be readily obtained.
About three-fourths of the lands in this county were originally tim- bered, and although large quantities have been cut off for lumber, fire wood, fencing, and for the purpose of clearing lands for cultiva- tion, an abundance remains sufficient for generations to come. The following are some of the varieties :-
Oaks. - Black jack, Spanish oak, red oak, white oak, overcup, black oak, pin oak, chinquapin, burr oak, post oak. .
Maples. - Soft maple, sugar maple, box elder.
Ash. - White ash, black ash, blue ash.
Hickory. - Small shellbark hickory, pignut hickory, black hickory, butternut hickory, large shellbark hickory, pecan hickory.
Elm. - White elm, slippery or red elm.
Walnut. - Butternut, black walnut.
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
Wild Fruit Trees. - Red mulberry, crab apple, persimmon, paw- paw, wild cherry, black haw, red haw, red plum ( several varieties ) .
Locust. - Honey locust, black locust (cultivated ).
In addition to the above are the hackberry, buckeye, red cedar, cottonwood, sycamore, sassafras, linden, coffee nut, red birch, and many others.
Nut Trees. - Black and white walnut ; several varieties of hickory, above enumerated, and pecan. The hazel is the only nut-bearing shrub indigenous to the county. The chestnut has been successfully cultivated here.
Shrubs, Small Trees, Etc. - Dogwood, sumach, elder, green brier, red bud, prickly ash, creeper, wild rose ( several varieties ), poison oak.
Small Fruits. - Wild strawberry, dewberry, blackberry, black rasp- berry, wild gooseberry.
Grapes. - Summer grape, winter grape, fox grape ( several varieties of each ).
Medicinal Herbs, Plants, Etc. - Boneset, pennyroyal, liverwort, hops, henbane, burdock, yellow dock, May apple, Jamestown weed, nightshade, peppermint, ladyslipper, catnip, dandelion, elder, lobelia, hoarhound, pokeroot, ginseng, bloodroot, Virginia snake root, yellow root, sarsaparilla, sweet flag, wormseed, mayweed, and a great many others.
The area of St. Charles county, as before stated, is about 540 miles, consisting of prairie and timber, the area covered by timber greatly predominating. The surface of the county is agreeably diversified by hill and dale. Between Femme Osage creek and the Missouri river the land is quite broken and the hills very high. Most of the county between range 1 east and south of the line between townships 45 and 46 is quite broken. Going eastward from the mouth of Femme Osage, the amount of broken land gradually diminishes, extending not over one or two miles from the river, and nearly ceases at the east end of Green's Bottom. Broken land occurs in other parts of the county, but it is limited to the hills immediately adjacent to a few of the streams, nor are the hills so high as those above mentioned, nor the slopes too steep to prevent cultivation. In other parts of the county the slopes are quite gentle. If we except the bottom lands, no portion can be said to be flat, but all is rolling, and with such slopes as to recommend it for every variety of farming. The county possesses a very large proportion of rich land. The prairie below St. Charles is unsurpassed in fertility by any land in the State ; its horizon is con-
4
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
siderably above that of high water, the soil for several feet is a rich and very dark loam, under which is a stratum of sand, and again below is dark clay, thus presenting a surface of the richest soil, with underlying natural drainage. This land produces from 25 to 40 bushels of wheat per acre, and is little affected by the seasons, wet or dry. Its fertility is not exceeded by the region of the Nile, producing luxuriant crops of every agricultural product known to this latitude. It is the very Egypt of Missouri. Some of the lands have been in cul- tivation for over eighty years without the aid of fertilizers, and have produced successive crops of wheat and corn, without any rotation whatever, for more than thirty years. Over 100 bushels of corn, 65 of oats, and 45 of wheat have been produced upon these lands per acre. These, however, were extraordinary crops. The average yield of wheat for the county may be safely set down at 20 bushels to the acre, and the annual yield for the county at 1,500,000 bushels. The average yield of corn is about 45 bushels per acre, and the annual yield for the county is estimated at 3,000,000 bushels. Hon. J. R. Dodge, statistician of the United States Department of Agriculture, in his report of the agricultural productions for the year 1871, estimates the amount of wheat produced. in the State of Missouri at 12,825,000 bushels, and the number of bushels of corn at 87,300,000 bushels. It will therefore be seen that St. Charles county alone produces more than one-eighth part of the wheat grown in the 114 counties in the State, and about a twenty- eighth part of the corn, being largely over the average of the annual production of corn for ten counties - the average yield per county being less than 77,000 bushels.
The price of improved farms range from $30 to $100 per acre, taking a point ten miles above St. Charles on the Missouri river, and draw- ing a circle around to the Mississippi river, including all the land from this circle to the mouth of the Missouri river. West of this ten-mile circle, farms will range at from $10 to $40 per acre. Unimproved lands may be put at from $3 to $10 per acre.
The leading agricultural productions of the county are wheat, corn, oats, barley ; some seasons broom corn is raised largely. They export most of wheat, corn and oats. The yield of corn last year, is esti- mated at from 25 to 80 bushels per acre; of wheat, from 12 to 15 bushels ; a chance field from 25 to 30- a falling off in the wheat crop of 1882; oats, from 30 to 35 bushels ; hay 11/2 tons ; potatoes, 80 bushels, per acre.
Hay and Grass. - Twenty years ago, when the prairies were mostly
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HISTORY OF ST. CHARLES COUNTY.
open, farmers and stock raisers depended more or less, sometimes en- tirely, on wild grasses, both for pasturage and hay. Thousands of acres that were then in a state of nature are now covered by grain and corn fields, orchards and meadows, and wild pasturage has become much restricted in extent, in some places exceedingly so. This has forced farmers to make other provisions for stock, and this necessity has had the effect of turning attention to tame grasses. The princi- pal crops are timothy and clover, which do not need renewing for years, and Hungarian grass, which is an annual product.
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