USA > Missouri > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Missouri : past and present, including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county Vol. I > Part 39
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The sale came off as ordered, and the county court at its ses- sion on February 4, 1856, received the report of the county seat commissioner, Colonel Austin. In effect it was that at the public sale on November 19, and at various private sales after that time he had sold lots to the amount of $331.85. He also presented a bill for $11.85, the expenses of the sale. Other expenses, such as surveying and advertising, had amounted to $48.50, which he had paid, leaving cash on hand $271.50. Colonel Austin's report was approved by the judges, who also ordered that out of the money remaining in his hands Austin and Baugh should be paid for their land, and this being done a balance was left in the hands of the commissioner of $21.50. It is self evident from these records that the whole transaction was managed with due economy and celerity.
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It was not until the spring of 1856 that any improvements were made in the town, despite the fact that it had been laid out in the fall of 1855. The first improvement was made by A. G. Anderson in May, who began the erection of a storehouse on lot 1, block 7. This was a frame structure. Shortly afterward D. C. Hunter began the erection of a dwelling house on lot 8, block 7, and this was also a frame structure. Unfortunately for Mr. An- derson, a violent windstorm wrecked his structure just as it was nearing completion, and so to Mr. Hunter belongs the honor of having the first completed building in the town. Mr. Anderson's was the first storehouse.
After Mr. Hunter had completed his building he brought his family to live in it, and they have the distinction of being the first family to live on the original townsite, although the families of Benjamin Baugh, James H. Morris and Thomas H. Austin at that time lived within what are now the corporate limits of the city. When court was first held in Nevada Colonel Hunter's house was used as a court house, and the grand jury retired for its deliberations into a smokehouse which the colonel had built. The mail for Nevada was at first delivered at "Haletown," but soon after the first houses were built the postoffice was removed from that place to Nevada and Colonel Hunter received his com- mission as the first postmaster, succeeding Colonel Austin, who had been the postmaster at "Haletown."
The town began to grow, as is seen from the fact that a hotel was needed, and this was erected by D. B. McDonald, who came from Papinsville and put up a double log building for that pur- pose on lot 5, block 2. McDonald also conducted a merchandizing business in June, 1856, but the first merchants in the town were Anderson and Hays. The legal fraternity was well represented in the town in 1856, among those who were resident at that time being D. C. Hunter, William H. Blanton and John C. Boone. The first physician in the town was Dr. J. L. D. Blevins, who afterward became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
The town could also boast of its saloons, for in June, 1856 the first licenses were granted to J. H. Morris and William Wilson. Licenses were cheap in those days, only $20, and of this $5 went to the county. Later on in the same year Joseph Reynolds was granted a license. The saloons were exceedingly primitive. Wil- son's, for instance, was a little pole cabin with a clapboard roof,
CA
KING'S
RESHOE, FORE
ANDERS
STREET SCENE, NEVADA.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NEVADA
a rough slab of lumber supplied the place of a bar, and his patrons drank from tin cups instead of glasses. The only liquor sold was whiskey, and the quality of this can be imagined from the state- ment that it was so highly adulterated that it froze in the cold of a moderate winter.
There is some doubt as to the first adult death which occurred in Nevada, but it rests either between James Connor or a Mr. Roberts, in 1857.
Settlement once having begun, the increase in the population of the town was quite rapid. There were probably twenty-five families in the town by January 1, 1857, and one year later there were fully fifty. A court house was completed and occupied in June, 1857. For some years this building served the dual pur- poses of a court house and church, as there were no church build- ings erected in the town until after the Civil War. The lower room of the court house was used for religious purposes when it was not occupied by the courts.
In the two years succeeding 1857, Nevada had nothing to boast of in the way of growth. It did not stand still, but there was nothing in its rate of growth to inspire any great confidence in its future. There were a number of causes to account for this. Kansas was then in an extremely disturbed condition; affairs along the border were greatly unsettled; the panic of 1857 had paralyzed business and enterprise all over the country; and there had been a couple of seasons of great drouth. All these causes had operated to the great disadvantage of Vernon county, and of course Nevada City felt the effects. But if the city did not grow rapidly, it grew steadily, and such improvements as were made were of a higher and more substantial character than had been the custom. There was nothing elaborate or costly about the improvements, but quite a number of pretty and commodious dwellings were constructed.
The business of Nevada in those days was conducted under considerable difficulties and inconveniences. There was no rail- road within miles of the town, and the towns in which the mer- chants bought their supplies were generally Independence, Lexington and Kansas City. All the goods they bought had to be transported by wagon, and the usual method was to transport them by ox teams. This was a slow method of transportation, but the oxen were, if slow, sure, and were able to draw heavy
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loads without injury where horses would have succumbed. With oxen the time consumed in the trip to and from Kansas City was usually eight days, while seven days was express speed.
When the war broke out in 1861 Nevada had a population of about 400, or perhaps 450. The town was not incorporated, and was not separately enumerated from Center township in 1860. It was strongly secession in its sentiments, and secession flags were liberally displayed, while if a vote could have been taken the sentiment would have been found practically unanimous in favor of Missouri's separation from the Union. All the leading men of the town-Hunter, Blanton, Chivington, Anderson, Sheriff Taylor-were ardent secessionists, while the women of the town were no whit behind the men in their zeal for the Confederacy. The fact that they could not carry muskets or brandish swords did not discourage them. They could use the needle, there were flags and uniforms to be made, and they went at the work with a will that was an inspiration to the. men.
In due time there came the call to arms and the mustering of troops for the fray. Nevada responded promptly, and in June of 1861 a battalion was formed under the command of Colonel Boughan and marched away to join the army of Governor Jack- son and General Price. The next four years were years of woe for Nevada. It was the theater of frequent raids and forays. What citizens remained in it were seized and impressed, and be- tween the operations of the opposing forces the little town was in time dismantled and desolated. Its buildings were consumed by the flames and only a few blackened ruins remained to tell the story of what had been a cheerful and prosperous community.
Nevada did not have long to wait to feel the fury of war. Early in the fall of 1861 the first Union troops occupied the town for a few hours. These troops were some of Montgomery's Kan- sans, and they came from Fort Scott. At the time they attacked the town there happened to be in it a man named Stegall, whose home was a little way out in the country. Stegall had no desire to meet the soldiers, and so mounting his horse he rode rapidly for his home. The Union soldiers saw the flight and gave chase, at the same time calling on him to halt. Stegall, however, kept right on, and the troopers then opened fire on him, with the result that he was shot dead from his saddle. Aside from this, the
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troopers did little damage except to round up a small herd of horses which they took away with them.
The Union troops paid several visits to the town during the fall and winter of 1861, but their visits were always short ones and they did little damage. It was not until early in 1862 that there was any formal occupation of the town. At that time a detachment of the Second Ohio cavalry, which was then stationed at Fort Scott, entered the town under command of Major Burnett. This detachment remained a week or more as a garrison. During the remainder of 1862 and for a part of 1863 the town was at the alternate mercy of the Confederate and Union troops, who preyed upon it by turns. When the Confederates were satisfied there were no Union troops in the vicinity they would raid the town, helping themselves to whatever struck their fancy, and the Union troops pursued a similar course of action when satisfied there were no Confederate troops around.
It kept the people of the town busy to provide for these hun- gry troopers. It was with difficulty they could provide for their own necessities, but the demands of the soldiers had to be met or there would have been severe reprisals. As a rule the demand was always for something to eat, and as soldiers are generally notorious trenchermen the people of the town were almost driven to despair to satisfy them. If there was any live stock about it was sure to be confiscated. Horses especially were in demand, and it finally got so that the inhabitants could not-or would not -run any chances on live stock, as it was only a matter of time until they were despoiled of it.
Owing to the raids and exactions of both sides in the Civil War Nevada lost rapidly in population and by May, 1863, there was not over twenty-seven inhabitants in the town. There were in all about ten families and not over a half dozen adult men. Most of the people had been compelled to go elsewhere to escape the raids of the troops and to gain a living, while the men were mostly serving in the Confederate army. As a consequence there were plenty of vacant houses which were open to the tenancy of any person who took a desire to occupy them. Then the town was attacked by the St. Clair and Cedar militia, under command of Captain Anderson Morton, who, after raiding and plundering the place applied the torch to what was left. This occurred on May 26, 1863. Only a few structures escaped the flames, and
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these were generally spared because their owners were known to be Union sympathizers. The court house was one of the struc- tures burned, while the school house was spared. After the smoke of the conflagration had disappeared the site of Nevada resem- bled an ash heap more than any thing else. Probably a dozen buildings, and these small and insignificant structures, were all that was left of the flourishing little town. And in this condition the town remained until the close of the war. Such few inhab- itants as remained huddled in the few remaining buildings and fared as they best could. There was no attempt at rehabilitation made, and in fact, if there had been any disposition to do so, there was no money to be obtained for the supplies and no labor procurable.
After the burning the town, such as it was, did not suffer from any more raids. It was not worth it, and neither Federal nor Confederate troops paid it any further attention. When the war closed the town was in such a wretched and impoverished condition that the question of abandoning the site was seriously discussed, and a proposition to relocate the county seat was made. Two sites were proposed for this purpose, one to the north or northwest on the Marmaton, and the other to the west, on the west side of the Little Drywood. These projects failed, mainly. through the strenuous opposition to them waged by Austin, Requa, Dodson and some others. So Nevada remained the county seat, and when the county court met late in the fall of 1865, there was no suitable building in which the judges could hold the sessions, and for a number of weeks the sessions of the court were held at Balltown, or Little Osage. In the course of time the old school house was patched up and in this the county business was con- ducted for a considerable period.
Having settled that Nevada would remain the county seat, the work of rebuilding began. The first building of any con- siderable size erected after the war was a two-story frame, which was put up by Dr. J. N. B. Dodson on the south side of the square. The upper part of this building was sometimes used as a public hall, while the lower part was occupied as a store. A little south of the opera house was a small log building, and this was one of the first stores, where Dr. Dodson was the second merchant. There was another store west of the southwest corner of the square.
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On January 1, 1867, the business directory of the town read as follows: J. N. B. Dodson & Co., dealers in dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hardware, tinware, queensware, iron, nails, glass, sash, etc .; Frank P. Anderson & Co., general merchants as Dod- son & Co .; and also dealers in ready-made clothing, ladies' goods, gents' furnishing goods, saddlery, etc. Harvey Karnes, E. I. Fishpool, W. W. Prewitt, F. P. Anderson, and Wight & Pitcher were real estate and tax paying agents; lawyers were Wight & Pitcher, D. C. Hunter and E. I. Fishpool; physicians were Drs. J. N. B. Dodson, John Brockman and J. H. Blake. D. W. Graves, who represented the Missouri Horse Insurance Company of Pal- myra, an association which insured horses against theft, was the only insurance agent. R. C. Brown was the publisher of the Nevada City "Times," a five-column folio newspaper, which had been established in June, 1866, and was regularly issued.
It was a good time for business, and everyone made money rapidly. Goods were sold at high prices, and the demand was fully equal to the supply. Emigration from the North and East had set in as well as from certain parts of the state to south- western Missouri, and Nevada got her full share of this new popu- lation. The lawyers had their hands full of business, craftsmen had more to do than they could attend to, and wages were high. Everybody had something to do. The crying need of the town was a railroad, and this was talked about for years. The pros- perity of the town depended upon direct and quick transporta- tion facilities with the outer world. The terminus of the Missouri Pacific railway was then at Pleasant Hill, and from there, or from Kansas City, all merchandise had to be hauled in. In spite of the lack of railway facilities, however, Nevada grew. There was a healthy optimism and unbounded faith in its future. The debris of the war was gradually removed. Stores and dwelling houses took the place of old ash heaps, and in a few years Nevada was one of the thriving and beautiful villages of the state.
The incorporation of the town did not take place until March 3, 1869, and the real improvement of the town dates from that time. In October of 1868 the court house had been completed and the people of the town had already begun to feel metropolitan thrills and prepare themselves for future greatness. After in- corporation a general scheme of improvements was mapped out and began to be carried into execution. Sidewalks were ordered
·
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built, and a town marshal entered upon his duties as preserver of the peace. At the incorporation of the city the word "City" was dropped from its title, and the town has ever since been called Nevada.
Through the efforts of Dr. E. R. Morerod, in the fall of 1868, a company was formed to operate a stage line or hack line to · Clinton, the usual means of communication with the outer world previous to this time having been by way of Fort Scott. In December, 1869, the first railroad, the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf, was completed from Kansas City to Fort Scott, and until the completion of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas to Nevada in 1870, Fort Scott was the chief shipping point for the section. Prior to the advent of the railroad a daily mail was brought in by the Clinton hack line, but previous to the organization of this line the mail came in only once or twice a week. The proprietor of the hack line was a Mr. Wright.
After the war the first postmaster was Frank P. Anderson and the postoffice was kept in the store of Frank P. Anderson & Co. Judge H. L. Tillotson was deputy postmaster. About 1868 Mr. Tillotson was appointed postmaster, at the munificent salary of $10 per year. Mr. Tillotson remained postmaster until April, 1886, but during his eight years of service his salary had been raised. He was succeeded by W. R. Crockett, who resigned after a year's service and was succeeded by William McCrudden.
The demand for a railroad and its importance to the town led the town council in September, 1870, to order an issue of $10,000 in bonds to the Tebo & Neosho Railroad Company, which was practically the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, to pay for a right of way through the town and for the ground for a depot and other facilities. In November of the same year the town made a vigorous effort to secure the location of the State Normal School. For this purpose the town voted $15,000, in addition to $50,000 that had been voted by Vernon county. In spite of this liberal contribution the school was lost, the institution going to Warrens- burg.
October 26, 1870, is a memorable day in the town's history, as it was on that day that the first locomotive reached the town. The Missouri, Kansas & Texas had completed its road through only a few days previously. There was no organized celebration of the event, but there was a liberal display of bunting in the
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town, and a number of the more enthusiastic citizens went down to the depot and cheered on the new enterprise. The building of this line had not been without opposition from the citizens of other places who were chagrined that it was to go through Nevada and not through their own towns. To prevent its going through Nevada they hatched up a scheme and attempted to put it through the Legislature. They prepared a bill which was known as the "strip law." According to the terms of this bill no bonds issued in aid of the railroad should be valid unless voted for by the citizens living on a strip of land fifty by eighteen miles in width south of Clinton. Credit for the defeat of this bill is generally credited to Drs. Morerod and Harding. The Hon. George Wall- brecht, then a Senator from St. Louis county, owned 2,000 acres of land along the line of the proposed road in Vernon county, and he was also a member of the legislative committee on rail- roads. Drs. Morerod and Harding wrote to Mr. Wallbrecht, and the latter, after obtaining possession and charge of the bill, first pocketed it and finally smothered it.
Nevada kept on improving after the railroad was built and kept on growing until the panic of 1873 came, when everything took a slump. Money was very scarce and property values were low. Freight rates and fares on the railroad were high, and in view of present day, rates would be considered exorbitant. The years from 1873 to 1880 contain nothing startling or remarkable in their history. The town just moved along slowly without any special improvements, its population in the latter year being less than 2,000. The building of the Lexington & Southern railroad worked a decided change for the better. A great many strangers and new capital was attracted to the town, and an era of im- provements set in. Real estate values advanced, property changed hands rapidly, new buildings sprang up in every direction, new business establishments were opened, and the town started on a career of steady and reasonably rapid advancement. There was not sufficient land in the original townsite to accommodate the throngs of homeseekers, and it became necessary to lay off new additions to provide for them. Building operations were brisk, and the improvement was especially noticeable in the style of construction. Business houses were now constructed of brick or stone, were imposing and substantial in character, while the dwellings were remarkable for their architectural beauty. Notlı-
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ing happened to check the town's onward march-no fires or other disasters. A large new school house was built, two fine hotels constructed, the streets improved, and an opera house was built, which, after being burned down, was rebuilt in even better style than originally planned.
The town was yet without either gas or water works, but the time was considered ripe for the installation of these important public utilities. In July, 1882, the council contracted with D. H. Ireland and J. H. Andrews to supply the city with gas. The city authorities agreed to pay $30 per year each for twenty-five lamps, and the gas company was allowed to charge ordinary con- sumers $3.50 per 1,000 feet until March 1, 1888, after which date the rate was to be $3.00. In September, 1885, the Perkins system of water works was completed. The supply is abundant, pure and wholesome. Since that time the city has added an electric light plant, telephone system, and street railway. And on the first day of September, 1911, natural gas was turned on, being piped into the city and distributed through the service pipes of the old company.
INCORPORATIONS.
Nevada has had three stages of existence as a community. It was first incorporated as a town on March 3, 1869, at which time the "City" was dropped from its title. J. N. B. Dodson was chairman of the appointed board and John T. Birdseye clerk. At the first election, April 10, 1869, the following were chosen mem- bers of the board of town trustees : Dr. J. N. B. Dodson, Thomas H. Austin, Peter Rexrode, H. L. Tillotson and Silas Allison. Dr. Dodson was appointed chairman of the board and John T. Birds- eye clerk. The other first officers were W. A. Poindexter, as- sessor; R. W. McNeil, treasurer; Alexander R. Patterson, col- lector ; David A. Bateman, marshal; Orville Graves, street com- missioner.
The next stage of Nevada's existence was as a city of the fourth class, which took place March 16, 1880, by a vote of 155 to 134. The first mayor was J. E. Harding; the first marshal was W. C. Duren. The city was divided into two wards, and the aldermen were C. G. Burton, C. W. Conrad, W. D. Bailey and J. Zellweger.
On March 18, 1884, Nevada was reincorporated as a city of
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the third class, the vote for reincorporation being 444 to 104. At an election held April 1, following, the following officers were chosen : Mayor, C. B. Ingels, and the following aldermen from the four wards into which the city had been divided: I. V. Seymour, H. K. Kuhn, R. J. McGowan, Robert Irons, J. M. Conklin, F. B. Morris, I. F. S. Nelson and N. J. Jones.
Nevada is located in the heart of one of the richest agricul- tural districts in southwest Missouri, at an altitude of more than 1,100 feet above sea level. It has all the natural qualities that go to make an ideal health and pleasure resort, with an abund- ance of healthful mineral water and pure air. The country was famous for its climate, water and atmosphere long before the white men ever saw it. Nevada is sixty-four miles north of Joplin, 103 miles south of Kansas City and 317 miles south and west of St. Louis. Good transportation facilities are afforded by the Missouri Pacific and Missouri, Kansas & Texas and their connecting lines. The city is rapidly increasing in wealth, popu- lation and importance. It has three daily papers and four week- lies. It has three banks with combined deposits of over $1,500,000, and the largest loan and saving association in the state, with assets amounting to over $1,000,000. The mercantile establish- ments of the city are in keeping with its financial standing and on a par with any city twice its size. Corn, wheat, oats and fruit are raised extensively in the vicinity, while much attention is paid to the raising of blooded stock and feeding cattle. The shipments from the city comprise principally grain, flour, live stock poultry, eggs and produce.
A large number of the streets in the city are paved. There is a well-equipped trolley system, fifteen handsome church edifices, and a number of smaller places of worship where almost all de- nominations find homes. Nine public schools and three colleges afford excellent educational facilities. A high school, which cost $80,000, and a government building which cost $75,000 are models of their class, of which Nevada is proud. Just north of Nevada's corporation line is located State Hospital No. 3, a four-story struc- ture erected at a cost of nearly $1,000,000. Statistics show that owing to the pure water, high altitude, dry air, and the many natural resources of the surrounding country the per cent of cures at this hospital are greater than in any similar institution in the world. The Government owns 400 acres of ground near
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