History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 42

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > Missouri > History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 42

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surveyed a year before Charleston was, in 1836. It was established by James Ramsay and William Lester, and is situated on the Mississippi river about six miles below Bird's Point. It is famous as the scene of a fiercely fought battle during the Civil war.

Vol. I-19

CHAPTER XXJV

TOWNS OF SIX COUNTIES

COMMERCE INCORPORATED-BENTON, SCOTT COUNTY SEAT - SIKESTON-DONIPHAN, COUNTY SEAT OF RIPLEY-POPLAR BLUFF, BUTLER COUNTY'S SEAT OF JUSTICE-BLOOMFIELD, STOD- DARD COUNTY-IRONTON, COUNTY SEAT OF IRONTON - ARCADIA - LESTERVILLE - SMALLER SETTLEMENTS.

The town of Commerce, in Scott county, was laid out in 1823. The commissioners were Wilson Abel, James Purtels, Thomas Roberts, Joseph Smith and James Wellborn. It had been a trading post for about twenty years before it was regularly laid off as a town. The land on which it was built was the property of the heirs of Thomas W. Waters. The early merchants were Archibald Price, Weaver & Echols, Shaw & Pettit, and Ignatius Wathen. John Brown was hotel keeper, Lyon & Apple- gate were carpenters, and William and Sam- uel Graysey operated a pottery making estab- lishment. In 1844 Benjamin B. Gaither be- gan the operation of a tan yard. In 1856 a large mill was built by Ignatius R. Wathen, who was at that time a resident of Cape Girardeau. Other men who bought and sold goods during this period were Thomas M. Shaw, John Hoskins, Moses Baker, and Mo- rean & Burgess.

COMMERCE INCORPORATED

The town was incorporated in July, 1834, with William Grasey, Jacob Stear, J. S. Smith, John Brown and Joseph W. Echols as trustees. The legislature of the state granted a charter to the town in 1857 and the govern- ment was organized in accordance with the

provisions of this charter. It, however, fell into disuse during the war period.

This town is at that point on the ridge known as the Scott county hills and is also on the Mississippi river. It has river transpor- tation and is also on the Gulf division of the Frisco railroad. It has several business estab- lishments, the principal one being a flouring mill and a plant for the manufacture of tile. There are the usual church organizations in the town and a public school. The Farmers' Bank was chartered in 1892 and has a capital stock of $50,000. The population of Com- merce is 544.

BENTON, SCOTT COUNTY SEAT

Benton, the county seat of Scott county, was laid out in 1822 on land owned by Colonel William Meyers. Among the early residents were Colonel Meyers, Edmond Rogers, John Houts, Michael MeLaughlin and John B. Rut- ter. Rogers was a tavern owner, Houts ran a tan yard, MeLaughlin was a merchant, and Rutter was a clerk of the court. The early houses were, most of them, log houses. The first frame house in the town was a store build- ing erected about 1830 by Joseph Hunter. Some of the other merchants in the early his- tory of the town were Dr. E. P. La Valle, John

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Harbison, George Netherton, Abraham Win- chester, Crow, MeCrary, George and Thomas Williams. The first physicians were John Golden, Samuel Chapman and Dr. A. S. Hen- derson, who came to the town in 1842. The town was incorporated in 1860 by the county court, with James Parrott, A. S. Henderson, D. H. Leedy, Daniel Abbey and Edward Burke as trustees.

The principal thing about Benton is that it is the county seat of the county, and the court house is situated in the midst of the public square. It is a two-story brick building and was erected in 1883. There are about a half dozen business establishments, including a large flouring mill. On the court house square there is a large well, from which the town is supplied with water, and there is a good sys- tem of electric lights. There are three churches in the town and a public school building. The Benton Bank was organized in 1903 and has a capital stock of $15,000. The population is about 320.

SIKESTON

The first town in the neighborhood of Sikes- ton was called Winchester, and was named in honor of Colonel Henderson Winchester, who lived in the vicinity. This town was laid out in 1814 about a half mile south of the present site of Sikeston. The first store in Winchester was opened by Thomas Bartlett, and Hartwell Baldwin kept the tavern at that time. Other stores were opened by David Hunter, Mark H. Stallcup, and Christopher Houts. The town grew rather rapidly for a time and was the seat of justice for New Madrid county. When the county seat was removed to New Madrid. however, the town practically ceased to exist. This was in 1822. Its successor as a town was laid out in Sikeston in 1860 by John Sikes. The site selected was the place where the

Cairo & Fulton Railroad crosses the road called the King's Highway from Cape Girar- deau to New Madrid. In the year that Sikes- ton was founded the Cairo & Fulton Railroad was completed to that place.

Sikeston has experienced the most rapid growth of any town in Southeast Missouri in the last ten years. In 1899 its population was about 500; its present population is 3,327. This rapid growth is due in part to its situa- tion with regard to railroad transportation, it being on the main line of the Frisco and also on the Cairo & Texas branch of the Iron Mountain. It has prospered also because of the fact that the farming country about it has developed wonderfully in the last few years. There is no better soil than that on the Sikes- ton ridge; it produces large quantities of wheat, corn and melons. Sikeston has also been fortunate in having an unusual and ex- ceptional group of business men, who have pushed the interests of the town very rapidly. At the present time there are about fifty busi- ness establishments, including several large general stores; there are two flouring mills, one of them being the largest in Southeast Missouri. The usual church organizations are to be found here and the Methodist church South has recently completed a very large, handsome building, perhaps the most costly in this part of the state. The Bank of Sikes- ton was organized in 1800 and has a capital stock of $250,000. The Citizens' Bank was organized in 1895 and has a capital stock of $150,000, and the People's Bank was organ- ized in 1909 and has a capital of $50,000. The public school system of Sikeston is a good one and there are two new and commodious buildings and a four years' high school course fully accredited is maintained. The Herald is a Democratic paper and The Standard is an independent paper. Just south of the town

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is a very beautiful plot of ground laid out as a cemetery, and here are buried some of the pioneers of Southeast Missouri. The most prominent of these is Ben F. Hunter, a man well known in the early history of the state, and whose descendants are prominent in this section still.

DONIPHAN, COUNTY SEAT OF RIPLEY

The county seat of Ripley county was set- tled about the year 1847 and was named for General Alexander William Doniphan, the hero of the Mexican war. Among the families who lived in Doniphan in its early days were Ponders, Dudleys, Daltons, Pulliams, O'Neals, Stringers, Kents, Lawsons, Wheelers and Mulhollands ; most of these early families were from Tennessee. The census of 1850 shows that there were more native Tennesseeans in Ripley county than natives of all other states combined. In 1856-57 a number of Irish fam- ilies were located in a colony in this county by Father Hogan, a pastor from St. Louis. The earliest merchants in the town were Kitrell & Thannish and W. P. Kreps. The town grew slowly at first and was not incorporated until after the close of the war. It was made the county seat of Ripley county when Carter county was organized in 1859. Previous to this time Van Buren had been the county seat and was then made the county seat of Carter county. For many years the town was with- out railroad connections and it was so until 1883, when the Doniphan branch of the Iron Mountain was built from Naylor to Doniphan. This gave the town an impetus and it has had a steady growth since that time. There are now ten general stores, with other business interests of minor importance, an ice factory and a canning factory. The financial inter- ests of the town are cared for by the Ripley County Bank with a capital of $15,000, and

the Doniphan State Bank whose capital is $15,000. The more important buildings in the town are the two bank buildings and ten brick business blocks. There are the usual church organizations, most of them having houses of worship, and a good system of public schools. The town has a modern system of water works and boasts that it has more concrete sidewalks than any other town of its size in the state.

Doniphan is beautifully situated on the hills overlooking Current river, perhaps the most beautiful stream in the state. It is connected with the territory on the other side of Current river by a modern steel bridge, which was recently erected. Its population is now about 1,800 and it is one of the most pleasant resi- dence towns in this part of the state. It has two good weekly papers-The Prospect-News, published by J. P. Campbell, and The Demo- crat, published by D. G. Cunningham. Both are Democratic in politics.

POPLAR BLUFF, BUTLER COUNTY'S SEAT OF JUSTICE

The following order appears on the record of the county court of Butler county, of the date August 13, 1850: "It is ordered that hereafter the courts of Butler county be held at a place known and designated as Poplar Bluff, and the sheriff give notice by putting up three hand bills." This record gives the selection of Poplar Bluff as the county seat of Butler county. Prior to this time the courts had met at different places ; sometimes in Cane Creek township, at the house of Solomon Kit- trell, and sometimes in Epps township, at the house of Daniel Epps. The county judges at this time were Jonathan Sandlin and Solomon Kittrell. Jacob C. Blount was the clerk and Newton Wallace was the sheriff.

On the 11th day of November, 1850, the

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court assembled for its first meeting in Poplar Bluff. This meeting was held in a rail pen, or shed, on the bank of Black river, near the foot of what is now Vine street. The judges at this time were Abraham Romine, John N. Tarber and William Vandover. The place selected was in the woods, and is named be- cause of the presence of large poplar trees.

A postoffice was established February 27, 1850, and the first postmaster was Jesse A. Gilley, who was succeeded in September of the same year by Jacob C. Blount. The post- office was kept at the east end of the old county bridge, in a small one-room cabin. The mail was brought to this place on horseback but was so uncertain that the postoffice was dis- continued in December, 1851. The only mer- cantile establishment in Poplar Bluff was a small cabin built of hickory logs at the corner of Second and Vine streets. Charles S. Hen- derson was the proprietor, and he sold whisky and tobacco and dealt in furs. Other mer- chants who conducted stores in Poplar Bluff during the early years were C. P. Phelps, who operated a general store, Kelley & Taylor, and Henderson & Lawson. The town grew slowly of course during the period before the war, and was almost depopulated during the war.

The first circuit courts in Poplar Bluff were presided over by the Hon. Henderson Huff. The sittings of the court were held in the house opposite the present court house square. General Watkins, Thomas B. English and a Mr. Hill were the lawyers who con- ducted most of the cases before the court. They were all from Cape Girardeau county. In 1859 a contract was let to S. G. Kitchen and D. B. Miller to build a brick court house. The work was supervised by William Ringer of Stoddard county. The building, which cost $6,000, was paid partly in cash and partly in lands.

The first frame house was built in 1859 by James S. Ferguson. By the year 1860 there were twelve houses and ten families in the town.

Among the early settlers one of the most prominent was John N. Yarber. He was a native of North Carolina and came to the vicinity of Poplar Bluff in 1844. He took part in all the activities of his time and held numerous offices in the county. He lived for many years after the war and was held in great esteem by those who knew him. An- other man prominent in the early times was James S. Ferguson, who built the first frame house in the town. He also held a number of offices, being clerk of the courts and county judge. Other citizens were James M. Spence, Dr. J. R. Franklin, Dr. James T. Adams, John Snoddy and Jesse A. Gilley. They were all prominent in the life of the town in its early years.

We may well suppose that life in a com- munity like this was hampered in many ways and that the growth of the county, and neces- sarily the towns, was slow. Possibly one of the most remarkable records ever entered by a court was made by one of the courts in Poplar Bluff, as follows: "It is ordered by the court that the sheriff borrow $20 from anybody who would loan it to him for the purpose of buying two seals, one for the eir- cuit clerk and one for the county clerk." We are left in doubt as to whether anyone was good enough to lend this money, but as seals were used by the courts within a short time after this we may reasonably conclude that the loan was made.

At the present time there are in Poplar Bluff about seventy-five mercantile establish- ments of every kind; this large number indi- cates the amount of mercantile business trans- acted in the town. In addition to these there

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POPLAR BLUFF HIGH SCHOOL

SCENE ON BLACK RIVER NEAR POPLAR BLUFF

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are about thirty factories of one sort or an- other. Many of these are wood working estab- lishments, consisting of stave mills, spoke fac- tories, handle factories, furniture making establishments, wagon factories, machine shops, planing mills, bottle and ice plant, brick and tile factory and a factory for the manufacture of adding machines. There are four banks in the town, indicating the finan- cial situation and needs. The town is lighted with electric lights and has a good system of waterworks. Up to the present time the streets have never been paved, but there is now a movement on foot which will probably lead to the beginning of this work in the summer of 1912. Among the important build- ings are the city hall, court house, high school building and the Dalton Adding Machine Company's fireproof factory building.

One fact of interest which connects Poplar Bluff of today with the old town is the exist- ence of a farm in the suburbs which was trans- ferred from the government of the United States directly to Judge Yarber in the early days of the town and which has never been re- transferred. The original patent from the government was signed by President Bu- chanan and is still in existence.

The town was incorporated in 1861 and its first mayor was Daniel Kitchen. Its popula- tion is now 6,916, and it is growing rapidly. Its two papers, The Republican and The Citi- zen-Democrat-are published both daily and weekly and are both enterprising papers.

BLOOMFIELD, STODDARD COUNTY

John McCombs, Michael Rodney and Henry Shaner, three citizens of Stoddard county were appointed as commissioners to locate the site for the county seat. A number of offers of land were made to them, and many persons were interested in securing the selec-

tion of their property for this purpose. After a considerable consultation, the commissioners decided to select fifty acres of land donated to the county by Absolom Barley. This they did, and proceeded to lay out a town, which they named Bloomfield, it is said, because of the fact that the field was then covered with flowers. After the selection of the site, the county court appointed William C. Ranney as special commissioner for the sale of lots. It is probable that Absolom Barley, who had pre- viously owned the land, was the first resident of the town. He lived in a small log house on the southwest corner of the place, but after- ward built a brick house on another site. Or- son Bartlett was, perhaps, the first merchant, and Rev. John N. Mitchell, a Methodist preacher, and Thomas Neale, who operated a tan yard, were very early residents. The hotel was kept by Harmon Reed, and the early physicians were M. B. Koons, Daniel Sanford, and Samuel Chapman. Edmund White open- ed a store on the south side of the public square in 1844 and Daniel Miller about the same time, together with his brother Henry, ' also began the sale of goods. In 1854, John M. Johnson, R. P. Owen and N. G. H. Jones, began to operate stores. The other merchants prior to the war were: Elijah Miller, John L. Buck, Paramore & McDaniel, Louis Ringer, John Leach and Harper & Christy.

The Herald, the first newspaper in Bloom- field, was established in 1858 by A. M. Bed- ford, of Charleston. The purpose of the publi- cation of this paper was to advocate the build- ing of the Cairo & Fulton Railroad. The Methodist church was used for several years for the conduct of the schools. These were elementary in character, and the terms were short. In 1853 a number of gentlemen or- ganized the Bloomfield Educational Society for the purpose of conducting a seminary for

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learning. Its trustees were S. G. Kitchen, Orson Bartlett, Henry Miller, D. B. Miller and Michael A. Wilson. The society built a two-story frame structure and carried on the school in it until the breaking out of the war.

The town was one of the most prosperous in the district. Perhaps no other town away from the river grew quite as rapidly and sub- stantially during these years as did Bloom- field. It was surpassed in size, perhaps, only by Cape Girardeau. The war, however, put an end to the prosperity of the town, and in fact, resulted in its almost complete destruc- tion. Practically every building was either torn down or burned.

The site was taken possession of by Fed- eral forces who erected a fort soon after the fire. On the close of the war the town had practically ceased to exist but was reincor- porated in 1869 and in 1870 a new court house was built at a cost of $25,000. The first news- paper published in the town was the Herald, established in 1858 by A. M. Bedford and J. O. Hall, it was discontinued in 1861; in 1866 · the Argus was started by James Hamilton and published until 1873; in 1878 the Cosmos began to be published but was later discon- tinued ; the Bloomfield Vindicator, the present paper, has been published since 1878. In 1899 the town had a population of 2,200, and there were about 40 business establishments at that time, there were also churches, Metho- dist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South and the Catholic.

Up to 1896 the town was without railroad facilities of any kind. In that year a line was built from Bloomfield to Zeta on the St. Louis Southwestern. In 1898 Mr. Houck built a line from Broomwood to Bloomfield and rebuilt the line. to Zeta. The improved methods of transportation and the erection of large woodworking plants, chiefly stave mills,

increased the town's prosperity very greatly and it grew rapidly for a number of years. It was well-built with substantial brick build- ings, many public improvements were made, and it became one of the most rapidly advanc- ing towns of the section. The practical ex- haustion of the timber, however, led to the loss of the mills and this dealt the prosperity of the place a heavy blow. For a time its population began to decline. In 1910 there were only 1,147 people there. This condition is changing now and population is once more increasing.

There are about forty business establish- ments of various kinds. One of these is a pottery factory and kiln. There is a good system of public schools, and several church organizations. The farming country about the town will always support it and it has too the interests which gather about the county seat and add to its prosperity

One of the old papers of the southeast is the Bloomfield Vindicator an ably edited weekly, Democratic in politics. Bloomfield Bank was chartered in 1895 and has a capital stock of $50,000. The City Bank was organ- ized in 1900. Its capital is $15,000.

IRONTON, COUNTY SEAT OF IRON

The present county seat of Iron county, Ironton, was laid off as a town immediately after the organization of Iron county. At that time there were in the county only three villages: Arcadia, Middle Brook and Pilot Knob. Pilot Knob was a settlement of miners at the base of the mountain of the same name. Two men who were interested in the site of Ironton determined to lay off the town there, and if possible to secure the county seat. The election was held September 7th, 1857, and there were three places asking for the county seat: Arcadia, Middle Brook and the pro-

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posed town of Ironton. Ironton was selected, and Tong and Carson, who owned the site, and whose influence had caused its selection, laid off the town and donated alternate lots to the county. These lots were sold at auction and brought the sum of $10,600.00. The new town, though handicapped by its nearness to Arcadia and Pilot Knob, experienced a fair growth owing in part to the mining industry, and in part to the presence of the county seat. In 1859 the population was about three hun- dred. The first paper in the town was the Furnace, a Free Soil paper, established in 1858 by James Lindsay.

Ironton has not experienced anything in the nature of a boom, it has grown slowly and steadily being supported by the fact of its being the county seat and by the further fact that it is a delightful summer resort. The valley in which the town is situated is one of the most pleasant places in the state and it is perhaps the only town in Southeast Mis- souri that is used as a place of summer resi- dence by a large number of people. It is on the main line of the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern railway and is sufficiently near St. Louis to render it easy of access. It has a system of public schools and three churches. The Bank of Ironton was chartered in 1905 and has a capital stock of $15,000, the Iron County Bank was chartered in 1896 and has a capital stock of $10,000. The Iron County Register, one of the oldest newspapers in Southeast Missouri, is published here by Eli D. Ake. It is Democratic in politics and Mr. Ake is the dean of newspaper profession in this part of the state. The population of the town is 721.

ARCADIA

Arcadia was surveyed as a town in 1849 The first merchants were: Ezekiel Matthews,

Smith & Love, John F. T. Edwards, William N. Gregory, G. B. Nall, Pease & Hill and Harris and Chinn. The first mill was erected in 1847 by Josiah and J. C. Berryman. It was a steam mill for grinding grain and saw- ing timber. The first newspaper in the town was the Arcadia Prospect established in 1859 by A. Coulter and W. L. Faber. The town was not incorporated until after this period. It is quite probable that Arcadia owes its existence as a town to the Arcadia high school. It was an institution founded by Rev. J. C. Berryman, and conducted under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The town grew up in part around this school. This school was transferred to the Ursuline Sisters and since operated by them. Ironton was laid off just a short distance north of Arcadia, became the county seat, and out- stripped the older town. It soon took on its distinguishing character as a residence town. No more beautiful situation exists in Missouri than Arcadia valley. Many people came at- tracted by the many desirable residence fea- tures.

The town suffered some during the war, but not greatly. On the lawn of Judge John W. Emerson, then the Union headquarters, Ulysses S. Grant received the commission pro- moting him from the rank of colonel to that of brigadier-general and putting him into command of Southeast Missouri. It was occu- pied at times by forces from both sides.

After the war it resumed its normal course of development. Families of wealth from other parts of the state established summer homes for themselves amid the quiet and pleas- ant surroundings here. Finally the town at- tracted the attention of church people and there was established quarters for summer meetings and encampments of church people especially of the young peoples organizations

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in the church. The Epworth League of the Methodist church owns fine grounds and has a yearly encampment as does also the Bap- tist Young Peoples' Union. Doubtless this

HIGHEST POINT ON PILOT KNOB, ARCADIA HEIGHTS

special feature of life will continue to develop until the town is a famous resort for conven- tions and societies holding their meetings in the summer time. The course so far taken

has been to avoid the development of the usual forms of resort life with large and expensive hotels, but to encourage simpler living. Tents and small cottages are in most demand for these gatherings.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 42

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: Douglass, Robert Sidney. 4n
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844