USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 41
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In 1887 the Bank of Farmington was or- ganized, with A. Parkhurst as president and L. P. Cayce as cashier, with a capi- tal stock of $15,000; it now has a capital of $50,000. The Farmers' Bank of Farming- ton was organized in April, 1904, and has a
capital stock of $35,000. The St. Francois County bank was organized in April, 1907, and has a capital of $30,000. At the present time there are twelve general stores, two drug stores, two confectionery stores, three restau- rants, one five- and ten-cent store, two express offices, one jewelry store, four barber shops, one book store and three newspapers.
The present manufacturing establishments are three wagon and buggy shops, three black- smith shops, four lumber yards and one con- struction company. The town has a good sys- tem of electric lights and water works. The principal buildings are the court house, St. Francois hotel, the Realty building, the opera house and a high school building. The town now covers two and a half square miles and has a population of 2,800. Its assessed valu- ation is more than a million dollars. It is divided into four wards; there are eight alder- men. Hon. George M. Wilson is mayor of the town.
There are eight churches in Farmington- Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South, negro Methodist, Christian, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Catholic. The first newspaper published was the Southern Missouri Argus, which was established by Nichol, Crowell & Shuck in 1880. In 1889 its name was changed to The Herald, and in 1892 it was removed to Desoto. The New Era, a paper which began a publication at Liberty- ville, was removed to Farmington in 1871 and to Marble Hill in 1876. In 1872 The Times was started by C. E. Ware and J. H. Rodehaver; it is now published by Theodore D. Fisher. The New's was established in 1884 by P. T. Pigg and The Herald in 1886 by Isaac Rodehaver.
Farmington has been famous for many years as a center of educational interest. Its system of public schools is not surpassed in Southeast Missouri. It has three good school
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MISSOURI STATE HOSPITAL FROM SUPERINTENDENT'S RESIDENCE
HIGH SCHOOL, FARMINGTON
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buildings, one of them-the high school build- ing-having been recently completed at a cost of $50,000. Besides its system of public schools the town is the seat of Carleton Col- lege and of Elmwood Seminary, accounts of both of which appear in the chapter on edu- cation. The town is also the seat of the state hospital No. 4 for the insane. This institution is one of the best equipped in the state. It is situated on beautiful and commodious grounds and the buildings are costly and convenient.
The town is not on any line of railroad but is connected with the St. Louis & Iron Moun- tain, and also with the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad by the St. Francois County Interurban line, which was con- structed in 1905. The present population is 2,613.
MARBLE HILL
Marble Hill, which was selected as the county seat of Bollinger county, was first named New California. It was laid off as a town in 1851 by Thomas Hamilton. The commissioners to choose the site of the county seat, who were David Ramsay, Isaac Shep- herd and J. J. Daugherty, selected this place and laid off a town, including New California, which they named "Dallas." They proceeded to mark out a place for the public square, and title to the town site was obtained from the owners of the land, who were Joseph Baker, Jacob Lutes, Daniel Crader and Thomas Ham- ilton. The first store in the town was con- ducted by John C. Whybark. Some of the other early merchants were William Grimsey, Edward Wilson and George Clippard The first hotel was opened by Calvin Cook. The town was not incorporated until during the Civil war. Its name was then changed to Marble Hill and Levy E. Whybark, F. J. Williams, J. J. Conrad, Lindsay Murdoch and J. J. Duffy were appointed as trustees for the town.
The town has not grown very rapidly in recent years, but still has experienced a steady increase. Its present population is 313; it is supported by the farming community about it. The principal importance of the town lies in the fact that it is the county seat of the county and that it is the seat of the Will Mayfield College. The Bank of Marble Hill was chartered in 1905 and has a capital stock of $5,000. The town is situated on the top of a hill and is separated from Lutesville by Crooked creek. It is a pleasant place of residence and has a public schools system and churches of the Baptist, Methodist and Catho- lie denominations. The Marble Hill Press is a weekly newspaper published by Hill & Chandler.
LUTESVILLE
The town of Lutesville is situated on the west side of Crooked creek, about a half mile from Marble Hill. It was laid out as a town in 1860 by Eli Lutes, in whose honor the town was named. In order to secure a station on the Belmont branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, Mr. Lutes gave to the railroad company ten acres of ground for station purposes, the right-of-way through the town, and one-third of the lots. The first merchant in town was C. E. Rowe, who began business in a small box house and continued until the time of his death. Eli Lutes was also one of the early merchants. The first mayor of the town was F. S. Traut- wein. There are now five general stores and the usual number of smaller business estab- lishments. There is one stave factory, which has been in operation for a number of years, and also a mill. The Bollinger County bank, with a capital of $25,000, was incorporated in 1891, and the Peoples' Bank of Lutesville, with a capital of $12,000 was incorporated in 1903. Among the principal buildings are
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WILL MAYFIELD COLLEGE, MARBLE HILL .
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the Odd Fellows' hall and the business blocks of W. W. Sample and Robert Drum. The pop- ulation of Lutesville is 551. The Lutesville Banner is a weekly paper and is Republican in politics.
GAYOSO
This town received its name in honor of the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Don Manuel Gayoso. When the site was selected for the county seat of Pemiscot county in April, 1851, there was not a house standing on the fifty acres of land purchased by the commissioners. This land was bought from James A. McFar- land and the town was surveyed by William Bigham. No house was erected until 1854, when Sanford Jackson built a small residence. The next house was built by Charles A. Kim- ball. Warrington & Pennell of New Madrid were the first merchants. They began busi- ness in 1854 and were succeeded by Benjamin Sellers. John H. Kelly was another early merchant. The first hotel was built in 1856
by Wade H. Spencer. Francois Baxter, who , capital stock of $175,000, with large deposits. was an Englishman, taught the first school in the school house, which was erected in 1859. Other schools had been taught prior to this time, but they were conducted in the court house. This court house was erected in 1854 and was a small frame building on the public square. This building was used until 1873, when it was moved away and used as a stable by George W. Carleton.
James A. McFarland, who owned the land on which the town was laid out, was one of the first physicians in Gayoso, as was Robert E. Clowd. In 1858 Dr. John H. Alexander came from Point Pleasant to Gayoso. He seems to have been the first graduate of a regular medical college in the county. The principal resident of the town during many years of its history was Major George W.
Carleton, whose life is recorded in another chapter. To his enterprise and business abil- ity was due in large measure the prosperity which the place enjoyed. Gayoso met the fate of many other river towns. The Mississippi gradually encroached upon it until little was left. The county seat was removed to Caruthersville and the place ceased to exist.
CARUTHERSVILLE
Caruthersville, the present county seat of Pemiscot county, is situated not far from the old village of Little Prairie. It was named in honor of Hon. Sam Caruthers of Madison county, and was laid out in 1857. G. W. Bushley and Col. J. H. Walker were the men instrumental in locating the new town. It grew very slowly and attained no real impor- tance until after the war. Among the first merchants were Harbison & Christie, and Davidson & Edwards.
At present Caruthersville has a population of 3,655. The three banks in the town have a Among the business interests are an ice plant, four cotton gins, a cottonseed oil mill, a large egg case factory, heading factory, a handle mill. bottling works and about thirty general stores. Besides these there are a number of other business interests of minor importance. The town is lighted with electric lights and has a modern system of water works. The public schools of Caruthersville are in a good condition, there being one large brick building for the grades, and a new high school building. Seventeen teachers are employed. Besides the public schools there is a Catholic parochial school, which has a large attendance. There are church organizations of most of the denom- inations and several of them have church buildings.
There are published in the town the follow-
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ing papers: The Democrat, edited by W. R. Lacey ; The Argus, edited by H. E. Averill, and The Republican, edited by Frank Aber- nathy.
Large lumber interests center here and the
rich farming country about makes the future of the place secure. It enjoys the advantage of river traffie and is the southern terminus of the St. Louis & Gulf, a branch of the Frisco.
CHAPTER XXIII
DUNKLIN AND MISSISSIPPI
OLD-TIME KENNETT-MODERN TOWN DATES FROM RAILROAD - CLARKTON - HORNERSVILLE MISSISSIPPI COUNTY SEAT-CHARLESTON OF THE PRESENT-BELMONT.
Keunett, the county seat of Dunklin county, was laid out as a town in 1846. It was first called Chilletecaux, after the Indian village which was near. In 1849 the legislature of the state changed its name to Butler. A few years after that time it received its present name, in honor of Luther M. Kennett.
OLD-TIME KENNETT
The first merchant in the town of Kennett was Elbert C. Spiller. Some of the other early merchants were James Cude, A. M. Davis, J. R. Mccullough, John S. Houston, John H. Marsh and Campbell Wright. The town grew slowly for a good many years and was supported in part by the business of the county seat. It is surrounded by very fertile land, but this land for many years was unde- veloped and the population of the county was small. In 1847 a small log building was erected as a court house. It was placed in the center of the public square, about where the present court house stands. It was used until during the war, when it was destroyed. The first jail was built at the same time of the court house building. It, too, was of logs. and was used until after the war.
The town suffered greatly during the war, as it was in territory traversed by both armies and was sometimes in the hands of lawless
men. After the war there was not much left except a small village. Progress was very slow for many years. The town was so far from river and rail transportation that it seemed practically impossible for it to develop. The population of the county grew but the great bulk of its trade went to Cape Girar- deau. That was the nearest accessible point on the river. The cotton and other products of Dunklin county soil were hauled to that place, and the dry goods and supplies used by the people brought back in return. With the building of the Cairo & Texas Railroad from Cairo to Poplar Bluff, Dexter became the great trading point for Dunklin county. A little later Malden, the western terminus of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railway (later the St. Louis Southwestern) was the most important trading center.
There were always a few stores at Kennett during this period, but they carried small stocks of goods and made little effort to pro- vide a market for the county's products. This failure to provide for handling the crops was due to a number of things. The distance from adequate means of transportation, the lack of sufficient capital, and the method then in vogue of handling cotton, which was the most important staple crop. At that time cotton was ginned before being sold by the farmer,
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and was then usually consigned by him to some commission merchant in St. Louis to be sold on account. Furs were for many years an important item in the county's wealth and these were often bought by traveling agents for fur houses in the cities. All these condi- tions prevented the town from acquiring any considerable importance.
A few men, however, saw the possibilities of the development of trade and the building up of a town, and kept working and planning for their own and the town's prosperity. The foremost of these men was W. F. Shelton, whose early struggles and final success form a most interesting chapter in the town's his- tory. Other men who held on and kept faith in the town's eventual success were Tatum Bros., T. E. Baldwin, W. G. Bragg, R. H. Jones, D. Y. Pankey, Dr. A. B. Mobley and J. B. Blakemore.
MODERN TOWN DATES FROM RAILROAD
Many plans were made for ending the town's isolation by the building of a railroad, but nothing was actually done until 1891. In that year E. S. MeCarthy and associates built a line from Campbell on the St. Louis South- western, to Kennett. The first train reached the town January 1, 1892. The road soon came into possession of Louis Houck. It was eventually extended to Caruthersville, giving an outlet to the river ; later it was built to the south. Coupled with the coming of the rail- roads were other changes which added to the prosperity of the town. Population of the county grew rapidly, the products of the farms became more varied, new business methods were introduced, capital for opening up new enterprises became abundant. The timber, which was very abundant, became valuable. and its development brought large sums of money. The county became one of
the most prosperous in this part of the state, and Kennett shared in this prosperity. Frame buildings were supplanted by brick, sidewalks were built, and other public improvements made, so that in the short time since the rail- road reached the town it has been transformed from a country village with a population of 500 or 600 to a thriving and prosperous town with modern improvements, good schools, churches, handsome residences, good business establishments, and a population of more than 3,000.
It is now one of the fastest growing towns in Southeast Missouri, is situated in the midst of a most fertile farming country, and it has also the advantage of nearness to large bodies of timber. Its railroad facilities are good. It is on the St. Louis and Gulf line of the Frisco, which gives it connection with the Cotton Belt at Campbell, with the main line of the Frisco at Cape Girardeau and Hayti, and also connects it with the Paragould & Southeastern Railroad to the south. Besides the Frisco, the town is the terminus of the St. Louis, Kennett & Southeastern, which ex- tends from Piggott, Arkansas, to Kennett. This line is owned by home capital and is important to the town because it opens up great bodies of timber and much valuable farming land. There are about fifty business establishments of various kinds, including some large general stores, office buildings, drug stores and furniture and hardware estab- lishments. Besides these there are some large wood working plants engaged in the manu- facture of staves, heading and lumber, and the town has one of the few cotton oil mills in Missouri. It possesses the usual church or- ganizations, all of which have good buildings, and there are two banks in the town-the Bank of Kennett, which was organized in 1891 and has a capital stock of $25,000, and the
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Cotton Exchange Bank, organized in 1900, which has a capital stock of $30,000. The town is the county seat of Dunklin county and one of the principal buildings is the court house, which occupies a commanding site in the center of the square. The business con- nected with the courts is one of the features of life in the town. The Dunklin Democrat, a Democratic newspaper edited by E. P. Caruthers, is one of the best county papers in the section. It has a large circulation and
in New Madrid county to Dunklin county, its terminus being Clarkton. The first settler in the town was Dr. Skaggs. Other early settlers were John Timberman and his partner, Wil- liam Muse; they operated the first store in the town. Dr. Van H. Harrison was one of the first physicians and R. W. and T. C. Stokes were merchants. The town grew rap- idly for a time as it was surrounded by a fine farming country and its population soon grew to three hundred. It built the first good school
COURT HOUSE, KENNETT
considerable influence. The town has a good system of public schools, there being at pres- ent two buildings-the Central school and the Shelton school. There is a fully accredited high school and this institution is one of the most popular in the town.
CLARKTON
Clarkton, in Dunklin county, was founded in 1860 and was named in honor of Henry E. Clark, who was one of the contractors of the building of the Plank road from Weaverville
building in the county. Its prosperity was very greatly checked, however, by the build- ing of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas rail- road from New Madrid to Malden. Most of the business of Clarkton was moved either to Malden or Kennett, and for many years the town was at a standstill. Only one ser two stores were conducted during this peritri, the principal one being that owned by Michael Hubbard. About 1895 a railroad was built from Gibson to Cape Girardeau; this was a branch of the Frisco system and it passed
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through the old village of Clarkton. It im- mediately revived and took on new life, and is now a prosperous and flourishing town, having several good general stores, two banks, and boasts a population of 682.
The people of Clarkton have recently con- structed a new school building, which is justly the pride of the citizens of the town. At one time Clarkton was the largest town in Dunk- lin county and constructed the first building for school purposes of any pretentions what- ever. This frame building was used for many years, but has recently been superseded by a new and better building. A well was bored near the town in 1910 in an effort to find oil or gas. This effort was unsuccessful, but at a depth of about 1,000 feet a strong flow of artesian water was found.
HORNERSVILLE
Hornersville, in the south part of Dunklin county, was established in 1840 by William H. Horner. Mr. Horner was the first mer- chant of the town and its most prominent citizen. The town received its name from him. It had a very limited growth prior to the war, there being only a few stores up to this time.
It is now on the line of the Paragould Southeastern Railroad and is a flourishing business community. It has a number of good stores, several cotton gins and its financial interests are cared for by the Bank of Hor- nersville, chartered in 1909; it has a capital stock of $10,000. Its present population is 390.
There are cotton gins and sawmills which contribute to the town's prosperity. Its sys- tem of schools is well organized. It is in the finest farming country in Southeast Missouri and will always be a prosperous community. There are two churches-Methodist and Bap- tist.
MISSISSIPPI COUNTY SEAT
Charleston, the county seat of Mississippi county, was laid off as a town in 1837, sixteen acres being surveyed in twelve blocks. The land on which it was laid off belonged to Thankful Randol, Joseph Moore and W. P. Barnard. The first person to reside on the town site seems to have been Humphrey War- ren, who built a small log house there about 1830. His house and land was bought by Thankful Randol, who resided at the place until her death. After the town of Charleston was established she kept a hotel. The first store in the town was opened by John West and his partner, whose name was Neil. Other merchants were Arthur R. Newman, Henry G. Cummings, and Kuran Gorman. Gorman was one of the largest and most successful merchants in Charleston prior to the war, and is said to have become wealthy through his trading operations. One of the men who did much to build the town up and make it prosperous was George Whitcomb. He moved to Charleston shortly after the town was founded and built a large, double log house en the lot where Hon. J. J. Russell now lives. Hle was a public spirited man and accom- plished a great deal for the town. It was largely due to his work and influence that the Cairo & Fulton Railroad was seenred for Charleston. He was clerk of the courts for about twenty years and during most of that time was also a dealer in real estate.
The first newspaper in Charleston was estab- lished in 1857. It was known as The Courier, and its editor was George Whitcomb. The Courier was one of the few papers in South- east Missouri that was published during the war. From 1858 to 1872 the manager, and for a part of the time the editor. was W. F.
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Martin; though the paper continued to be the property of Mr. Whitcomb.
It is said that there was a school conducted in a log cabin near the site of Charleston prior to the laying off of the town. It was known as the Indian Grove school. Some of the first teachers were Hartford Hayes, James L. Moore and John C. Thomas.
There were fifteen business establishments in the town in 1859, including general and special stores. Among the merchants were K. Gorman, L. Rosenberg, Hayes & Bartlett, Frank Myrick, J. H. Bridges, W. G. Cooley, W. A. Lynn and F. J. Jecko. At this time the town's physicians were B. J. Moore, S. D. Golder, T. C. Poor, J. L. Haw and A. E. Simp- son. There was a strong bar, and a number of attorneys made their homes here. Among them were Robert Waide, A. M. Bedford, N. E. Quinby. Sam C. Moore, Joseph C. Moore and M. Ward.
The first bank in the town was a branch of the old Union Bank organized in 1860. Jolin Bird was made president and J. C. Moore cashier. The directors were among the most influential citizens of the town at that time. They were G. W. Whitcomb, C. C. Kalfus, Thompson Bird, J. S. Bledsoe, Noah Handy, James Smith, J. L. Moore and K. Gorman. The bank was taken possession of by Con- federate soldiers under General Jeff. Thomp- son in 1862 and $58,000 in gold and silver was carried away and afterward turned over to the depositors. This action was taken to pre- vent the funds falling into the hands of the Federal forces. The next bank was the Bank of Charleston, chartered in October, 1887, with a capital stock of $15,000. A. II. Dan- forth was its first president and Scott Alex- ander cashier. This bank now has a capital of $100,000 and J. J. Russell is president :
Scott Alexander is still cashier. The Missis- sippi County Bank was chartered in 1891 and has a capital of $40,000. In 1902 the Peoples' Bank was organized and its capital is $35,000.
CHARLESTON OF THE PRESENT
The town is one of the most pleasantly situ- ated in Southeast Missouri; it is on a sandy ridge and in the midst of the most fertile and easily worked soil in the entire section. It is distinctly a city of homes and has developed the characteristic life of the older settled communities of this part of the state. It is at the crossing of the Belmont branch of the Iron Mountain and of the Cairo & Texas be- tween Poplar Bluff and Cairo; it has ample railroad facilities and is not a great distance 'from the river. The general business interests are well represented and there is a large flour- ing mill and other smaller manufacturing plants. The town is distinguished on account of its interest in churches and school system ; all the usual church organizations exist and the Methodists and Baptists have recently completed the erection of two unusually well constructed church buildings. The public school system is of the highest grade, there being two buildings, both of them new and well adapted to the work of the schools; a four years' high school course is fully ac- credited and takes high rank among the schools of the section. The population is 3,144. The town is the county seat of Mis- sissippi county. The newspapers are The Enterprise, a Democratic weekly, and The Republican, which is Republican in politics.
Charleston is the headquarters of the South- east Missouri Telephone Company, which op- erates exchanges in many of the principal towns of the southeast.
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BELMONT
Belmont, which is the terminus of the Bel- mont branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad, is a little town in Mississippi county; it was laid out in 1853. The oldest town in Missis- sippi county, however, is Norfolk, which was
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