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 4
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Lead. Long before any permanent settlements were made in Missouri by the whites, lead was mined within the limits of the state at two or three points on the Mississippi. At this time more state at two or three points on the Mississippi. These deposits of lead cover an area, so far as developed, of more than seven thousand square miles. Mines have been opened in Jefferson,
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GEOLOGY OF MISSOURI
Washington, St. Francis, Madison, Wayne, Carter, Reynolds, Crawford, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Cole, Cape Girardeau, Camden, Morgan, and many other counties.
Copper and Zinc. Several varieties of copper ore are found in Missouri. The copper mines of Shannon, Madison and Frank- lin counties have been known for years, and some of these have been successfully worked and are now yielding good results.
Deposits of copper have been discovered in Dent, Crawford, Benton, Maries, Greene, Lawrence, Dade, Taney, Dallas, Phelps, Reynolds and Wright counties. Zinc is abundant in nearly all the lead mines in the southwestern part of the state.
Building Stone and Marble. There is no scarcity of good building stone in Missouri. Limestone, sandstone and granite exist in all shades of buff, blue, red and brown, and are of great beauty as building material.
There are many marble beds in the state, some of which fur- nish very beautiful and excellent marble. It is found in Marion, Cooper, St. Louis, and other counties.
One of the most desirable of the Missouri marbles is in the third magnesian limestone, on the Niangua. It is fine grained, crystalline, silico-magnesian limestone, light drab, slightly tinged with peach blossom and clouded by deep flesh-colored shades. In ornamental architecture it is rarely surpassed.
Gypsum and Lime. Though no extensive beds of gypsum have been discovered in Missouri, there are vast beds of the pure white crystalline variety on the line of the Kansas Pacific rail- road, on Kansas river and on Gypsum creek. It exists also in several other localities accessible by both rail and boat.
All of the limestone formations in the state, from the coal- measures to fourth magnesian, have more or less strata of very nearly pure carbonate of pure lime.
Clays and Paints. Clays are found in nearly all parts of the state suitable for making bricks. Potters' clay and fire clay are worked in many localities.
There are several beds of purple shades in the coal-measures which possess the properties requisite for paints used in outside work. Yellow and red ochres are found in considerable quanti- ties on the Missouri river. Some of these paints have been thor- oughly tested and found fire-proof and durable.
No state is, perhaps, better supplied with cold springs of pure
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
water than Missouri. Out of the bottoms there is scarcely a section of land but has one or more perennial springs of good water. Even where there are no springs, good water can be ob- tained by digging from twenty to forty feet. Salt springs are abundant in the central part of the state, and discharge their brine in Cooper, Saline, Howard and adjoining counties. Con- siderable salt was made in Cooper and Howard counties at an early day.
Petroleum springs are found in Carroll, Ray, Randolph, Cass, Lafayette, Bates, Vernon, and other counties. The variety called lubricating oil is the more common.
The water power of the state is excellent. Large springs are particularly abundant on the waters of the Meramec, Gasconade, Bourbeuse, Osage, Niangua, Spring, White, Sugar, and other streams. Besides these, there are hundreds of springs sufficiently large to drive mills and factories, and the day is not far distant when these crystal fountains will be utilized, and a thousand wheels buzz to their dashing music.
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CHAPTER V.
TITLE AND EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The title to the soil of Missouri was, of course, primarily vested in the original occupants who inhabited the country prior to its discovery by the whites. But the Indians, being savages, possessed but few rights that civilized nations considered them- selves bound to respect; so, therefore, when they found this country in the possession of such a people they claimed it in the name of the King of France, by the right of discovery. It re- mained under the jurisdiction of France until 1763.
Prior to the year 1763, the entire continent of North America was divided between France, England, Spain and Russia. France held all that portion that now constitutes our national domain west of the Mississippi river, except Texas, and the territory which we have obtained from Mexico and Russia. The vast region, while under the jurisdiction of France, was known as the "Province of Louisiana," and embraced the present state of Missouri. At the close of the "Old French War," in 1763, France gave up her share of the continent, and Spain came into the possession of the territory west of the Mississippi river, while Great Britain retained Canada and the regions northward, having obtained that territory by conquest, in the war with France. For thirty-seven years the territory now embraced within the limits of Missouri remained as a part of the possession of Spain, and then went back to France by the treaty of St. Ildefonso, October 1, 1800. On the 30th of April, 1803. France ceded it to the United States, in consideration of receiving $11,250,000, and the liquida- tion of certain claims, held by citizens of the United States against France, which amounted to the further sum of $3.750,000, making a total of $15,000,000. It will thus be seen that France has twice, and Spain once, held sovereignty over the territory embracing Missouri, but the financial needs of Napoleon afforded our government an opportunity to add another empire to its domain.
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
On the 31st of October, 1803, an act of congress was approved, authorizing the president to take possession of the newly ac- quired territory, and provided for it a temporary government, and another act, approved March 26, 1804, authorized the di- vision of the "Louisiana Purchase," as it was then called, into two separate territories. All that portion south of the 33d par- allel of north latitude was called the "Territory of Orleans," and that north of the said parallel was known as the "District of Louisiana," and was placed under the jurisdiction of what was then known as "Indian Territory."
By virtue of an act of congress, approved March 3, 1805, the "District of Louisiana" was organized as the "Territory of Louis- iana," with a territorial government of its own, which went into operation July 4 of the same year, and it so remained till 1812. In this year the "Territory of Orleans" became the state of Louisiana, and the "Territory of Louisiana" was organized as the "Territory of Missouri."
This change took place under an act of congress, approved June 4, 1812. In 1819 a portion of this territory was organized as "Arkansas Territory," and on August 10, 1821, the state of Missouri was admitted, being a part of the former "Territory of Missouri."
In 1836 the "Platte Purchase," then being a part of the In- dian Territory, and now composing the counties of Atchison, An- drew Buchanan, Holt, Nodaway and Platte, was made by treaty with the Indians, and added to the state. It will be seen, then that the soil of Missouri belonged :
1. To France, with other territory.
2. In 1763, with other territory, it was ceded to Spain.
3. October 1, 1800, it was ceded, with other territory from Spain, back to France.
4. April 30, 1803, it was ceded, with other territory, by France to the United States.
5. October 31, 1803, a temporary government was authorized by congress for the newly acquired territory.
6. October 1, 1804, it was included in the "District of Louis- iana" and placed under the territorial government of Indiana.
7. July. 4, 1805, it was included as a part of the "Territory of Louisiana," then organized with a separate territorial govern- ment.
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TITLE AND EARLY SETTLEMENT
8. June 4, 1812, it was embraced in what was then made the "Territory of Missouri."
9. August 10, 1821, it was admitted into the union, as a state.
10. In 1836, the "Platte Purchase" was made, adding more territory to the state.
The cession by France, April 30, 1803, vested the title in the. United States, subject to the claims of the Indians, which it was very justly the policy of the government to recognize. Before the government of the United States could vest clear title to the soil in the grantee it was necessary to extinguish the Indian title by purchase. This was done accordingly by treaties made with the Indians at different times.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The name of the first white man who set foot on the territory now embraced in the state of Missouri, is not known, nor is it known at what precise period the first settlement was made. It is, however, generally agreed that they were made at Ste. Gene- vieve and New Bourbon, tradition fixing the date of the settle- ments in the autumn of 1735. These towns were settled by the French from Kaskaskia and St. Philip in Illinois.
St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede Liguest, on the 15th of February, 1764. He was a native of France, and was one of the members of the company of Laclede Liguest, Antonio Maxant & Co., to whom a royal charter had been granted, confirming the privilege of an exclusive trade with the Indians of Missouri as far north as St. Peter's river.
While in search of a trading post he ascended the Mississippi as far as the mouth of the Missouri, and finally returned to the present town site of St. Louis. After the village had been laid off he named it St. Louis in honor of Louis XV., of France.
The colony thrived rapidly by accessions from Kaskaskia and other towns on the east side of the Mississippi, and its trade was largely increased by many of the Indian tribes, who removed a portion of their peltry trade from the same town to St. Louis. It was incorporated as a town on the 9th day of November, 1809. by the court of common pleas of the district of St. Louis: the town trustees being Auguste Chouteau, Edward Hempstead, Jean F. Cabanne, William C. Carr and William Christy, and incor- porated as city December 9, 1822. The selection of the town site
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
on which St. Louis stands was highly judicious, the spot not only being healthful and having the advantages of water transporta- tion unsurpassed, but surrounded by a beautiful region of coun- try, rich in soil and mineral resources. St. Louis has grown to be the fifth city in population in the union, and is today the great center of internal commerce of the Missouri, the Mississippi and their tributaries, and, with its railroad facilities, it is destined to be the greatest inland city of the American continent.
The next settlement was made at Potosi, in Washington county, in 1765, by Francis Breton, who, while chasing a bear, discovered the mine near the present town of Potosi, where he afterward located.
One of the most prominent pioneers who settled at Potosi was Moses Austin, of Virginia, who, in 1795, received by grant from the Spanish government a league of land, now known as the "Austin Survey." The grant was made on condition that Mr. Austin would establish a lead mine at Potosi and work it. He built a palatial residence, for that day, on the brow of the hill in the little village, which was for many years known as "Dur- ham Hall." At this point the first shot-tower and sheet-lead man- ufactory were erected.
Five years after the founding of St. Louis the first settlement made in northern Missouri was made near St. Charles, in St. Charles county, in 1769. The name given to it, and which it re- tained till 1784, was Les Petites Cotes, signifying, Little Hills. The town site was located by Blanchette, a Frenchman, surnamed LeChasseur, who built the first fort in the town and established there a military post.
Soon after the establishment of the military post at St. Charles, the old French village of Portage des Sioux was located on the Mississippi, just below the mouth of the Illinois river, and at about the same time a Kickapoo village was commenced at Clear Weather lake. The present town site of New Madrid, in New Madrid county, was settled in 1781, by French Canadians, it then being occupied by Delaware Indians. The place known as Big River Mills, St. Francois county, was settled in 1796, Andrew Baker, John Alley, Francis Starnater and John Andrews, each locating claims. The following year, a settlement was made in the same county, just below the present town of Farmington, by the Rev. William Murphy, a Baptist minister from East
VERNON COUNTY FARM SCENE, CHARLES FALOR.
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TITLE AND EARLY SETTLEMENT
Tennessee. In 1796, settlements were made in Perry county by emigrants from Kentucky and Pennsylvania; the latter locat- ing in the rich bottom lands of Bois Brule, the former generally settling in the "Barrens," and along the waters of Saline creek.
Bird's Point, in Mississippi county, opposite Cairo, Ill., was settled August 6, 1800, by John Johnson, by virtue of a land- grant from the commandant under the Spanish government. Nor- folk and Charleston, in the same county, were settled respectively in 1800 and 1801. Warren county was settled in 1801. Loutre Island, below the present town of Hermann, in the Missouri river, was settled by a few American families in 1807. This little com- pany of pioneers suffered greatly from the floods, as well as from the incursions of thieving and blood-thirsty Indians, and many incidents of a thrilling character could be related of trials and struggles, had we the time and space.
In 1807, Nathan and Daniel M. Boone, sons of the great hunter and pioneer, in company with three others, went from St. Louis to "Boone's Lick," in Howard county, where they manu- factured salt and formed the nucleus of a small settlement.
Cote Sans Dessein, on the Missouri river, in Callaway county, was settled by the French in 1801. This little town was consid- . ered at that time, as the "Far West" of the new world. During the War of 1812, at this place many hard-fought battles occurred between the whites and Indians, wherein woman's fortitude and courage greatly assisted in the defence of the settlement.
In 1810, a colony of Kentuckians numbering 150 families immigrated to Howard county, and settled on the Missouri river in Cooper's Bottom near the present town of Franklin, and opposite Arrow Rock.
Such, in brief, is the history of some of the early settlements of Missouri, covering a period of more than half a century.
These settlements were made on the water courses; usually along the banks of the two great streams, whose navigation afforded them transportation for their marketable commodities, and communication with the civilized portion of the country.
They not only encountered the gloomy forests, settling as they did by the river's brink, but the hostile incursion of savage Indians, by whom they were for many years surrounded.
The expedients of these brave men who first broke ground in the territory, have been succeeded by the permanent and tasteful
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
improvements of their descendants. Upon the spots where they toiled, dared and died, are seen the comfortable farm, the beau- tiful village, and thrifty city. Churches and school houses greet the eye on every hand ; railroads diverge in every direction, and, indeed, all the appliances of a higher civilization are profusely strewn over the smiling surface of the state.
SOME FIRST THINGS.
The first marriage that took place in Missouri was April 20, 1766, in St. Louis.
The first baptism was performed in May, 1766, in St. Louis. The first house of worship (Catholic) was erected in 1775, at St. Louis.
The first ferry established in 1805, on the Mississippi river, at St. Louis.
The first newspaper established in St. Louis (Missouri Gazette) in 1808.
The first postoffice was established in 1804, in St. Louis-Rufus Easton, postmaster.
The first Protestant church erected at Ste. Genevieve, in 1806-Baptist.
The first bank established (Bank of St. Louis), in 1814.
The first market house opened in 1811, in St. Louis.
The first steamboat on the Upper Mississippi was the General Pike, Capt. Jacob Reid; landed at St. Louis 1817.
The first board of trustees for public schools appointed in 1817, St. Louis.
The first college built (St. Louis College), in 1817.
The first steamboat that came up the Missouri river as high as Franklin was the Independence, in May, 1819; Captain Nelson, master.
The first court house erected in 1823, in St. Louis.
The first cholera appeared in St. Louis in 1832.
The first railroad convention held in St. Louis, April 20, 1836.
The first telegraph lines reached East St. Louis, December 20, 1847.
CHAPTER VI.
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION.
Congress organized Missouri as a territory July 4, 1812, with a governor and general assembly. The governor, legislative coun- cil, and house of representatives exercised the legislative power of the territory, the governor's veto power being absolute.
The legislative council was composed of nine members, whose tenure of office lasted five years. Eighteen citizens were nom- inated by the house of representatives to the president of the United States, from whom he selected, with the approval of the senate, nine councillors, to compose the legislative council.
The house of representatives consisted of members chosen every two years by the people, the basis of representation being one member for every 500 white males. The first house of repre- sentatives consisted of thirteen members, and, by act of congress, the whole number of representatives could not exceed twenty-five.
The judicial power of the territory was vested in the Superior and Inferior courts, and in the justices of the peace ; the Superior Court having three judges, whose term of office continued four years, having original and appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases.
The territory could send one delegate to congress. Governor Clark issued a proclamation, October 1st, 1812, required by congress, reorganizing the districts of St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, and New Madrid, into five counties, and fixed the second Monday in November following, for the election of a delegate to congress, and the members of the Terri- torial House of Representatives.
William Clark, of the expedition of Lewis and Clark, was the first territorial governor, appointed by the president, who began his duties 1813.
Edward Hempstead, Rufus Easton, Samuel Hammond, and Matthew Lyon were candidates in November for delegates to congress.
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
Edward Hempstead was elected, being the first territorial delegate to congress from Missouri. He served one term, declin- ing a second, and was instrumental in having congress to pass the act of June 13, 1812, which he introduced, confirming the title to lands which were claimed by the people by virtue of Spanish grants. The same act confirmed to the people "for the support of schools," the title to village lots, out-lots or common field lots, which were held and enjoyed by them, at the time of the session in 1803.
Under the act of June 4, 1812, the first general assembly held its session in the house of Joseph Robidoux, in St. Louis, on the 7th of December, 1812. The names of the members of the house were :
St. Charles-John Pitman and Robert Spencer.
St. Louis-David Music, Bernard G. Farrar, William C. Carr, and Richard Clark.
Ste. Genevieve-George Bullet, Richard S. Thomas, and Isaac McGready.
Cape Girardeau -- George F. Bollinger and Spencer Byrd.
New Madrid-John Shrader and Samuel Phillips.
John B. C. Lucas, one of the territorial judges, administered the oath of office. William C. Carr was elected speaker, and Andrew Scott, clerk.
The house of representatives proceeded to nominate eighteen persons from whom the president of the United States, with the senate, was to select nine for the council. From this number the president chose the following :
St. Charles-James Flaugherty and Benjamin Emmons.
St. Louis-Auguste Chouteau, Sr., and Samuel Hammond.
Ste. Genevieve-John Scott and James Maxwell.
Cape Girardeau-William Neeley and Joseph Cavenor.
New Madrid-Joseph Hunter.
The legislative council, thus chosen by the president and the senate, was announced by Frederick Bates, secretary and acting- governor of the territory, by proclamation, June 3, 1813, and fixing the first Monday in July following as the time for the meeting of the legislature.
In the meantime the duties of the executive office were assumed by William Clark. The legislature accordingly met, as required by the acting-governor's proclamation, in July, but its proceed-
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TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION
ings were never officially published. Consequently but little is known in reference to the workings of the first territorial legis- lature in Missouri.
From the imperfect account, published in the Missouri Gazette. of that day; a paper which had been in existence since 1808, it is found that laws were passed regulating and establishing weights and measures ; creating the office of sheriff ; providing the manner for taking the census ; permanently fixing the seats of justices. and an act to compensate its own members. At this session, laws were also passed defining crimes and penalties; laws in reference to forcible entry and detainer; establishing courts of common pleas ; incorporating the Bank of St. Louis ; and organizing a part of Ste. Genevieve county into the county of Washington.
The next session of the legislature convened in St. Louis. December 6, 1813. George Bullett, of Ste. Genevieve county, was speaker elect, and Andrew Scott, clerk, and William Sullivan, doorkeeper. Since the adjournment of the former legislature. several vacancies had occurred, and new members had been elected to fill their places. Among these was Isaac McGready, from the county of Washington.
The president of the legislative council was Samuel Hammond. No journal of the council was officially published, but the pro- ceedings of the house are found in the Gazette.
At this session of the legislature many wise and useful laws were passed, having reference to the temporal as well as the moral and spiritual welfare of the people. Laws were enacted for the suppression of vice and immorality on the Sabbath day ; for the improvement of public roads and highways; creating the offices of auditor, treasurer and county surveyor; regulating the fiscal affairs of the territory and fixing the boundary lines of New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Washington and St. Charles coun- ties. The legislature adjourned on the 19th of January, 1814, sine die.
The population of the territory as shown by the United States census in 1810, was 20,845. The census taken by the legis- lature in 1814 gave the territory a population of 25.000. This enumeration shows the county of St. Louis contained the greatest number of inhabitants, and the new county of Arkansas the least-the latter having 827, and the former 3,149.
The candidates for delegate to congress were Rufus Easton.
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HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY
Samuel Hammond, Alexander McNair and Thomas F. Riddick. Rufus Easton and Samuel Hammond had been candidates at the preceding election. In all the counties, excepting Arkansas, the votes aggregated 2,599, of which number Mr. Easton received 965, Mr. Hammond 746, Mr. McNair 853, and Mr. Riddick (who had withdrawn previously to the election) 35. Mr. Easton was elected.
The census of 1814 showing a large increase in the population of the territory, an appointment was made increasing the number of representatives in the territorial legislature to twenty-two. The general assembly began its session in St. Louis, December 5, 1814. There were present on the first day twenty representatives. James Caldwell, of Ste. Genevieve county, was elected speaker, and Andrew Scott, who had been clerk of the preceding assembly, was chosen clerk. The president of the council was William Neeley, of Cape Girardeau county .
It appeared that James Maxwell, the absent member of the council, and Seth Emmons, member-elect of the house of represent- atives, were dead. The county of Lawrence was organized at this session, from the western part of New Madrid county, and the corporate powers of St. Louis were enlarged. In 1815 the terri- torial legislature again began its session. Only a partial report of its proceedings are given in the Gazette. The county of How- ard was then organized from St. Louis and St. Charles counties, and included all that part of the state lying north of the Osage and south of the dividing ridge between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. (For precise boundaries, see Chapter I. of the History of Boone County.)
The next session of the territorial legislature commenced its session in December, 1816. During the sitting of this legislature many important acts were passed. It was then that the "Bank of Missouri" was chartered and went into operation. In the fall of 1817 the "Bank of St. Louis" and the "Bank of Missouri" were issuing bills. An act was passed chartering lottery companies, chartering the academy of Potosi. and incorporating a board of trustees for superintending the schools in the town of St. Louis. Laws were also passed to encourage the "killing of wolves, panthers and wild-cats."
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