History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 71

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 71

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There are three general classes of lands in the county. In the northeast part there is a table land where is to be found the most

valuable of farming lands. The surface is gently rolling and well drained. The soil is gravelly clay, sometimes covered with rocks. The sub-soil is usually a red clay. This is fairly productive land and is well adapted to fruit growing. In the southeast part of the county there are also some high, rolling lands suitable for farming, while in the western part the land is broken, the only farm land in this county being found in the valleys of the streams.

There is scarcely a mineral known to South- east Missouri that is not found in consider- able quantities in Washington county. Of these minerals the most valuable and im- portant is lead. Lead mines have been oper- ated in the county from about 1780, when the mine known as Mine a Breton was discovered, near the present site of Potosi. This is the center of the lead mining district. Another is about Old Mines, and another is found at Palmer, in the western part of the county. In the early times, mines were worked on the Mineral fork of Big river.

The production of lead is no longer as large as it once was, but in 1910 nearly 1,000 tons of lead ore were shipped from the county. Besides lead, barytes, zinc, iron, copper, clay, limestone and sandstone are found in paying quantities, and all of them are being mined and exported. In 1910, 25,000 tons of barytes were shipped from the county. In 1910 there were manufactured in the county products to an amount of $308,096. The large items were cooperage, flour, mineral products and lumber.

The only railroad in the county is the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, which touches the western edge, and a branch of this system extending from Mineral Point to Potosi. The county has a fine system of roads which extend in every direction from Potosi.

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There are more than sixty miles of good rock roads within the limits of the county.

There are a number of streams, the most important being Big river, but Indian creek, Fourche a Renault and Mine a Breton creeks are also important streams. There is an op- portunity for the development of water power on some of these.

Potosi, the county seat, is the principal town in the county. Its population is 840. It has a flour mill, stave factory and mining interests. Irondale is a mining town in the east part of the county, and Caledonia, the old seat of Marvin institute, has flour mills and mineral interests. Other towns are Bel- grade, Richwoods, Shirley and Blackwell. The population of the county is 13,378, and its total taxable wealth is $3,250,410. There are 71 school districts, employing 84 teachers. The nearness to St. Louis makes possible the growing of vegetables in a profitable way, and also makes residence in the county much more pleasant than it would otherwise be.

At one time Wayne county embraced about one-fourth of the area of the state. It has been reduced by the formation of other coun- ties until its area is now about 500,000 acres. Of this only a small part, less than one-fifth, has been put into cultivation. The remain- der is largely timbered land. At one time the whole county was covered with an im- mense forest, principally pine, oak, cotton- wood, gum and maple. The greater part of the valuable timber has been removed, though there is still some pine and oak to be found. The land is hilly, being mountainous in the northwest part where the county joins Iron county. There are some river valleys, ap- proximating about 15,000 acres, that are ex- ›eedingly productive. The other soil in the county consists of upland and is of two kinds,

limestone, which is free from surface rock (this centers around Patterson), and then there is a gravelly clay, where considerable rock occurs, found in most other parts of the county. All the land in the county which may be farmed at all is fairly productive.

The principal interests in the county are farming and lumbering, though mining em- ploys a considerable number of men also. The principal crops are corn and wheat. At one time the county produced more pine lum- ber than any other county in the state. There were then immense mills at Greenville and Williamsville, employing thousands of men. With the practical exhaustion of pine timber, however, these large mills have ceased to exist, and the timber is worked up by smaller mills which can be moved from place to place. The value of the county's manufactured pro- ducts in 1910 was $396,770. The largest item was lumber. Other important products were flour and cooperage.

The largest town is Piedmont, which is a division point on the main line of the Iron Mountain. It is in the western part of the county. The county seat, Greenville, is on the St. Francois river and is connected with the Iron Mountain system by the Williams- ville, Greenville & St. Louis Railroad, an in- dependent line, built in order to carry the immense quantities of lumber manufactured at Greenville to the railroad at Williamsville. Williamsville is the third town in the county. It has timber and farming interests, and there are also some iron mines in the vicinity.

The population of the county is 15,181, and its total taxable wealth $2,979,166. There are 73 school districts, employing 95 teachers.

The transportation facilities are good in the western and southern parts of the county. The main line of the Iron Mountain runs near the western line, and the south part of

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

the county is crossed by the 'Frisco and the Missouri Southern extends from Leeper into Reynolds county. There are a number of streams, the principal one being the St. Fran- cois river, which runs through the county from north to south, dividing it into practic- ally equal parts. Black river is in the west- ern part of the county, and is paralleled

through a considerable part of its length by the Iron Mountain railroad.

The population of the county is very largely American born. In 1905 there were only 126 foreign born persons and only 115 negroes. The value of manufactured pro- ducts in 1910 was $396,770. Of this amount, lumber and flour represented about three- fourths.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

THE NEWSPAPERS

CAPE GIRARDEAU - THE FIRST PAPER - BOLLINGER - BUTLER - CARTER - DUNKLIN - IRON - JEFFERSON - MADISON - MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID - PEMISCOT - PERRY - REYNOLDS - RIPLEY - ST. FRANCOIS - STE. GENEVIEVE - SCOTT - STODDARD - WASH- INGTON - WAYNE - THE GREAT WORK OF NEWSPAPERS.

This chapter is intended to give an account of the newspapers of this district. It is hardly possible that it is entirely full and accurate, because of the difficulty in ascer- taining all the facts concerning some of the early papers. It does include within it, how- ever, a mention of the principal papers that have been published from time to time in this part of the state, and it is believed that it has a record of all the papers now being pub- lished. Newspaper enterprise began in South- east Missouri at a very early date. The settlers soon felt the need of some medium for the exchange of news, and a forum for the discussion of public questions. It was, perhaps, this latter need that led to the founding of the earliest papers, for it was not until the great discussion which arose from the admission of the state into the . published it only until 1850 when it went into Union, and the formation of its constitution, that a paper was published here.

E. Strange. Strange soon transferred the paper to James Russell who, in 1825, sold it to William Johnson. Johnson changed the name of the paper to the Independent Pa- triot, and later to The Mercury. In 1831 it passed from Johnson to R. W. Renfroe and Greer W. Davis, who published it for a short time under the title of the Jackson Eagle. In 1835 its name was changed to the South- ern Advocate and State Journal. It was moved to Cape Girardeau and published there at first by Dr. Patrick Henry Davis, and later by Robert Burns. In 1845 it was returned to Jackson and was now called the Jackson Review, being published by Wagner and MeFerron. In 1849 its name was again changed to the Southern Advocate. the pub- lisher being II. S. McFarland. McFarland the hands of J. W. Limbaugh, who renamed it the Southern Democrat. It was Democratic in politics. and its motto was "The constitu- tion in its purity, the bulwark of American liberty." Limbaugh continued its publica- tion until his death in 1852. At that time the name was changed to the Jeffersonian,

So far as can now be ascertained, the first paper in Southeast Missouri, and the second one published outside of the city of St. Louis, was the Missouri Herald, the publication of which was begun in 1819, at Jackson, by T. and the publication continued by Robert Vol. I-34

529

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

Brown. In 1853 it was succeeded by the Jackson Courier, of which Joel Wilkinson was editor and proprietor. Wilkinson con- tinued its publication until the breaking out of the Civil war, when the newspaper was suspended.

On August 4th, 1871, ther appeared the first issue of the Missouri Cash Book at Jack- son. It was founded by W. S. Malone, and he continued as editor and proprietor until June, 1875. For a time it was conducted by the Cash Book Publishing and Printing Com- pany. They sold it to D. D. Hampton, who died within a year of his purchase. It was then published by A. S. Coker, and later by Coker & Honey, until January, 1882, when Coker sold his interest to F. A. McGuire. In June, 1883, McGuire became the sole propri- etor, and has continued the publication up to this time.

The Cash Book is unique among the older papers of this section in that it has never changed either in name or political faith. It was established as a Democratic weekly and has continued as such up to the present. It is one of the oldest papers in this part of the state issued under its original management, and is an influential and ably conducted journal. Mr. McGuire's long association in the newspaper world has given him a fund of information about newspapers and news- paper men that is exceedingly valuable.

The Deutscher Volks Freund was estab- lished in 1886, the first number appearing on March 11th. Its editor was Frederick Kies, and it was published in the German lan- guage. The publication has continued down to the present time. Mr. Kies still conducts it with distinguished ability, and the paper has a large circulation among the German population of Cape Girardeau and surround-

ing counties. For several years Mr. Kies has published in connection with it an English paper called the Jackson Items.

The Comet was issued at Jackson for a short time, about 1895, by W. S. Wilkinson. It was a Populist paper and soon disap- peared.

The first newspaper printed in Cape Girardeau was The Patriot, established in 1836 by Edwin H. White. White was a Whig and published his paper in the interest of that party; however, he experienced the usual difficulty attendant upon newspaper publication in Southeast Missouri and sus- pended his paper after a short time. In 1843 John W. Morrison established another Whig paper called The South Missouri. The West- ern Eagle and Marble City News were pub- lished in 1866, and Democracy, by William Gruelle. James Lindsay for a few years edited a paper called The Censor about 1846, and a paper called The Argus was estab- lished in 1869 and published for a short time. The first German paper was the Westliche Post, established in 1871. The Courier began to be published in 1878 and the Mississippi Valley Globe in 1872. The Cape Talk was published for a while in 1856 and a religious paper called The Baptist Headlight in 1896.

In 1876 a paper called The Democrat was established as a weekly and later made a daily about 1888, and published for many years by Benjamin H. Adams. Publication of The Democrat was discontinued in 1907. The Southeast Gazette, a weekly, was estab- lished in 1898 by Joseph Flynn and con- tinned by him for several years. In 1893, The New Era began but was published only for a short time. It was published by Minton & Shelton. In the same year D. L. Hoffman published a paper which he called the Re-

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

view. It was independent in politics. In 1895, Larey & Hoffman issued a few numbers of a paper called the Spice-Box. It was a Democratie weekly. In 1899, C. D. Tresen- writer established the Progress. He con- tinued its publication until 1908. The Pro- gress was Democratic in political affiliations. . lished a paper which he called the Reflector. After a short time he sold it to James G. Finney, who published it for many years as the Press. At the present time the Press is owned by Hill & Chandler and edited by Dean B. Hill. It is a Democratic paper and has an established place.

In that year, too, D. L. Hoffman issued some numbers of the Optimist.

In 1901, the Cape Girardeau News Pub- lishing Company began to publish a daily and weekly called the News. Its publication was soon discontinued.

In 1900, The Republican was established. One year later it came into the hands of Naeter Bros. They began to issue it as both a daily and weekly and soon established it as the leading newspaper in Cape Girardeau. At the present time it is issued from a well- equipped plant and is one of the leading papers of the state.

In 1911, the Herald, which had been pub- lished at Jackson since its establishment in 1899, by B. F. Lusk, was removed to Cape Girardeau and it is now edited by Fred Goyert.

In 1907 Dix Walker established the Oak- ridge Indicator and continued it for a num- ber of years. In the same year The White- water Times began to be published at White- water. It had a brief existence.

It seems that the first paper in Bollinger county was the Standard, which was estab- lished about 1868 by a Mr. Osborne. He con- tinued its publication for only a short time and then sold it to Col. Lindsay Murdoch, the Civil war veteran. Col. Murdoch con- ;inued in charge of the paper until 1874, when he sold it and it was removed to Fred- ricktown. It was, of course, a Republican paper. The first Democratic paper was the

Herald. Thomas Johnson was the owner and editor of the Herald and he strongly opposed Murdoch and the Standard. In 1883 this paper was also sold and was taken to Iron- ton.

In 1881, George W. Harrington estab-

The Palladium was a paper established in 1878 by P. T. Pigg. After two years he sold it to the Herald. After J. G. Finney dis- posed of the Press he published the Times for several years, beginning in 1896. All the papers mentioned were conducted in Marble Hill, the county seat.

The only other paper in Bollinger county is the Lutesville Banner. It was established in 1891. It was edited by a number of per- sons, among them Thomas R. Green. The present editor is F. A. Wiggs. The Banner is Republican in politics.

The first paper in Butler county was the Black River News, established at Poplar Bluff in 1869, under the management of G. L. Poplin and G. T. Bartlett. Bartlett's con- nection with the paper was soon terminated and it was then called Poplin's Black River News until 1874. W. T. Kitchen and George H. Kelly purchased the paper at that time and changed the name to the Headlight. It became the Poplar Bluff Citizen in 1877 under the management of George H. Crumb, and still continues under that name. Two new papers were established in Poplar Bluff in 1875, one the Black River Country and the other the New Era. They lasted for only

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

a few months. In 1879 the Southeast Mis- sourian was begun, but was later sold to the owners of the Citizen. Judge John G. Wear, a lawyer, began the publication of the Reno- vator in 1882, but he, too, sold to the Citizen about two years later. In 1887 the office was purchased by W. L. Oury, and in April, 1888, George H. Crumb issued the first number of the Republic. The publication of this paper was continued for only a short time.

After Mr. Crumb's retirement from the Citizen it was conducted by a number of editors. George H. Kelly held the place for a time. He was succeeded by Thomas M. Johnson, and he by George H. Thomas. In 1882 the paper came into possesion of Hedges & Batterton, with Batterton as editor. Dur- ing their ownership Richard L. Metcalfe, later a famous newspaper man of Lincoln, Nebraska, was a writer for the paper. Joe C. Berner became the owner in 1895 and established the daily edition in 1897. Later it absorbed a paper called the Democrat and the consolidated paper is known as the Citi- zen-Democrat. The present publishers are Ferguson & Adams and the paper has both a daily and weekly edition and is a prosperous and flourishing enterprise.

There were many other newspaper ven- tures during the years that the Citizen was being developed. One of these was a real estate trade journal called the Southern Land Owner, which was conducted for a time by E. R. Lentz. It was devoted to the interests of the real estate business in surrounding communities. Another was the Advocate, published in 1893 by W. L. Onry.

The Republican was founded in 1890 by J. T. Davidson. It was devoted to the inter- ests of the Republican party in opposition to the Citizen, which was Democratic in politics. For a number of years it was conducted by

L. F. Tromley. At present the Republican is published by D. L. Burnside and has both weekly and daily editions. It is one of the progressive and influential papers in this part of Missouri.

There is only one paper published in Car- ter county. This is the Current Local, which was founded in 1884. It is a Democratic weekly and is owned and edited by Oliver W. Chilton.

In 1907, when Grandin was perhaps the greatest saw-mill town in the state if not in the world, Elbert C. White established a Re- publican paper there which he called the Grandin Herald. It received considerable support for a time but was not permanently successful and finally had to be discontinued.

The first newspaper published in Dunklin county was the Dunklin County Herald, es- tablished in 1872 at Kennett. In the same year the Missouri Democracy was removed from Cape Girardeau to Clarkton and these two were afterward consolidated and pub- lished at Kennett.

In 1872 a paper called the Advertiser was established at Clarkton by Albert & Baldwin. It later became the property of Charles E. Stokes who changed its name to the Enter- prise and improved it in many ways. In 1876 this paper was moved to Kennett, but like the previous ventures it was discontinued after a short time.

The next paper published in the county was called the Dunklin County Advocate and was established in October, 1877, at Clark- ton, by W. R. McDaniel. It later came under control of John W. Baldwin and was moved to Kennett. In 1879 it was purchased by Charles E. Stokes and removed to Malden.

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HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

Here its name was changed to Malden Clip- per. It was then taken to Kennett in 1886, and its publication discontinued in 1887.

The publication of the Kennett Clipper was begun in March, 1888, by R. H. Jones, who had had previous newspaper experience in Dexter and in Malden. After some years, Ligon Jones, a brother of R. H., became in- terested in the paper and they continued it until in April, 1903, when it was sold to the Dunklin County Publishing Company, a cor- poration. This publishing company con- tinued to issue the paper, at first under the editorship of O. S. Harrison for about five months. E. P. Caruthers was then made editor and the name of the paper was changed to the Dunklin Democrat. Since that time it has continued under the management of Mr. Caruthers and has been published a total of 980 weeks without having missed a single number. The Democrat is an able and in- fluential paper and is conducted along busi- ness lines. It is published in a well-equipped plant belonging to the publishing company.

In 1902 the Dunklin County Mail was es- tablished at Kennett, by Rev. J. H. Peay. He continued its publication for a time and the office was closed. The property came into the hands of a company which issued it for a time as the Dunklin County Herald. Later it disappeared.

When the Malden Clipper was moved to Kennett in 1886 John P. Allen and R. G. Sandidge began the publication of the Dunk- lin County News. Others were interested in its management from time to time. T. L. Roussin, who had experience with a number of southeast papers, was interested in it for a time. One of the men trained under him was Casper M. Edwards, who secured control of the News, organized a company called the Edwards Publishing Company and carried on

its publication for a number of years. Ed- wards was a brilliant and forcible writer. He finally disposed of the paper to the Malden Printing Company and Daniel J. Keller be- came its editor and manager. Under his management the News became a prosperous and influential paper. He continued its pub- lication until 1910, when he was succeeded as editor and manager by Lyman F. Jackson, who continues its publication.

During all its existence until the present management the News has been Democratic, but it is now conducted as an independent paper.

About 1895 E. G. Henderson, of Arkansas, brought a paper to Malden called the Even- ing Shade. Ile continued its publication as a Democratic weekly for a short time and then moved it away. Other attempts have been made to conduct papers in the town but all of them met with very limited success until the Merit began to be issued in 1904.

The first issue was gotten out July 1, 1904, by R. L. White and J. C. Shores. White was editor and manager of the paper and in September, 1910, became also the sole owner by the purchase of the interest of Shores. The Merit is independent in politics, has es- tablished a place for itself, and is in a pros- perous condition.

The Campbell Citizen was established in 1901 by C. D. Bray and Jas. Sanders. It was published during the first few years by a number of persons, being transferred from hand to hand. In December, 1901, it came under the control and ownership of B. W. Overall and son, and they have continued its publication ever since that time. The Citizen is a Democratic paper and devoted very largely to the building up of Campbell and the immediate vicinity. A few years before the founding of the Citizen D. L. Mabie had

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issued a few numbers of a paper he called The Independent. It was not successful and was soon discontinued.

Senath, in Dunklin county, has had a varied experience with newspapers. About 1902 Jas. A. Bradley established a paper which he called the Star. It was soon discon- tinued. Later a paper called the Farmers' Union Advocate was issued for a while. Other papers followed. Some of them suffered financial shipwreck. At present the Leader is being issued by John Mann.

The first paper published in Arcadia was The Arcadia Prospect, with A. Coulter as proprietor and W. L. Favor as editor. This was in 1859. After a short time it was re- moved to Ironton and in 1861 the publication was discontinued. One year before this time The Furnace had been established in Ironton by James Lindsay. The Furnace was a Free Soil paper, but it, too, was discontinued in 1861. About the breaking out of the war a religious paper known as The Baptist Journal was established by Rev. William Polk, but he, too, was forced to discontinue during the war. In 1865 The Ironton Forge was started by Eli D. Ake, using the material which had formerly belonged to The Furnace. This was the entrance upon newspaper life of probably the oldest editor in this part of the state. In 1866 The Forge was sold to G. A. and J. L. Moser, who called the publication The South- east Missouri Enterprise, but discontinued its publication in 1873. In 1866 The Review, a Democratic paper, was founded by R. E. Craig. The name of the paper was changed to the Iron County Register in July, 1867, with Thomas Essex and W. H. Winfield as editors. This paper was purchased in 1869 by Eli D. Ake and C. K. Miller. In 1871 Mr.

Ake became the sole proprietor and since that time has owned and edited the Iron County Register, perhaps the longest contin- uous control of any paper in Southeast Mis- souri. Mr. Ake is regarded as the dean of newspaper men in this section, not only be- cause of his long service, but also because of his real ability as an editor. The Register is one of the most influential papers of this sec- tion. In 1870 Robert L. Lindsay established a campaign paper called The Liberal at Iron- ton, and The Commonwealth, an independent religious paper, was conducted by Crawford and Duncan for a few months in 1874. The Herald, a Democratic paper established in 1884, by John Smith, which suspended publi- cation in a short time, was another Ironton enterprise.

In 1897 the Republican was established by G. H. Broadwell. It was later edited by C. A. Byers and was discontinued about 1902. Byers transferred the office to Arcadia and established the Arcadia Valley Enterprise. The Enterprise is a Republican paper and is at present under the control of Fuller Swift.

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History of southeast Missouri : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I, Part 71

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