USA > Missouri > Jackson County > Kansas City > Kansas City, Missouri : its history and its people 1808-1908 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57
"The civilians, teamsters and others who had accompanied our troops were organized into a company with Colonel S. C. Owens as captain, to aid Doniphan's men. On the field the order was given to charge and Colonel Owens rashly dashed forward in front of his men and was killed, thus early in the strife. Great was the regret of his men to see one esteemed so highly cut off in the middle of life far from home and family. James Aull, who accompanied Colonel Owens, took charge of the merchandise, and offered it for sale in Chihuahua. Not mistrusting the perfidy of the Spaniards, he was murdered while quietly engaged in business and alone in his store. Much of his goods was stolen. Thus ended the lives of two as good men as ever lived in Jackson county. James Aull was one of the most unassum- ing gentlemen ever met with and his and Mr. Owens' name will never be forgotten as long as Independence and Jackson county exist."
The First Regiment Missouri Mounted Volunteers, under command of Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan, was part of the "Army of the West," con- sisting of 1,659 men and sixteen pieces of artillery, that left Fort Leaven- worth, June 29, 1846, under command of General Stephen W. Kearney, on a daring march across the plains to invade Mexico. William Gilpin of In- dependence, afterwards governor of the territory of Colorado, was a major in Doniphan's regiment. After a march of fifty-two days, in which the troops suffered severe hardships and privation, the army entered Santa Fe without resistance.
At Santa Fe the army was divided, General Stephen Kearney, with 400 men, went to California, while the main body of the troops under Colonel
COL. DONIPHAN'S ARMY MARCHING THROUGH THE JOR- NADA DEL MUERTO, THE "JOURNEY OF DEATHI."
47
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
Doniphan started south into Mexico on a campaign of brilliant marches, battles and victories. Doniphan's most notable success was near Chihuahua where a force of about 1,000 Missourians defeated 4,000 Mexicans. From Chihuahua, Doniphan marched to Monterey where General Taylor had his headquarters. Doniphan's men proceeded to the mouth of the Rio Grande river where their march of nearly 3,000 miles was ended. The troops em- barked for New Orleans where they were disbanded.
Independence had two taverns in 1834, one owned by William Lawrence and the other by Leonard H. Rennich. Smallwood Noland suc- ceeded Lawrence and after the house burned, February 19, 1845, he built on the same site the Merchants' hotel. E. P. West established the City hotel. Lewis Jones and J. W. Modie built the Nebraska house in 1849.
While Francis Parkman was in Westport in the spring of 1846, making preparations for a western journey, he visited Independence. The historian gave this account of his visit to the county seat :
"Being at leisure one day, I rode over to Independence. The town was crowded. A multitude of shops had sprung up to furnish the emigrants and Santa Fe traders with necessaries for their journey; and there was an incessant hammering and banging from a dozen blacksmiths' sheds, where the heavy wagons were being repaired, and the horses and oxen shod. The streets were thronged with men, horses and mules. While I was in town, a train of emigrant wagons from Illinois passed through to join the camp on the prairie, and stopped in the principal street. A multitude of healthy children's faces were peeping out from under the covers of the wagons. Here and there a buxom damsel was seated on horseback, holding over her sunburnt face an old umbrella or a parasol, once gaudy enough, but now miserably faded. The men, very sober looking countrymen, stood about their oxen; and as I passed I noticed three old fellows who, with their long whips in their hands, were zealously discussing the doctrine of regeneration. The emigrants, however, are not all of this stamp. Among them are some of the vilest outcasts in the country."
The government opened a postoffice in Independence in 1827. The first overland mail route west of Missouri was established in 1850, between Independence and Salt Lake City, Utah, the distance of 1,200 miles. James Brown was given the government contract. The government awarded a contract the same year 1850, to David Waldo, Jacob Hale and William McCoy to carry the mail from Independence to Santa Fe. The first regular United States mail that was taken across the Missouri border left Independ- ence for Salt Lake City, July 1, 1850, strongly guarded against attacks from the Indians. The undertaking was regarded as extremely hazardous at that time and when the mail carriers returned in safety the second month the
48
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
event was celebrated in Independence with much rejoicing. The men suc- cessfully fulfilled their first four years' contract, demonstrating that a mail service to Santa Fe and other points in the West was practicable. The firm of Hockaday and Hall made this announcement of a new stage line in the Western Journal of Commerce in Kansas City, in 1857:
"Santa Fe traders and those desirous of crossing the plains to New Mex- ico, are informed that the undersigned will carry the United States Mail from Independence to Santa Fe for four years, commencing on the first day of July, 1857, in stages drawn by six mules.
"The stages will leave Independence and Santa Fe on the first and fif- teenth of each month. They will be entirely new and comfortable for pas- sengers, well guarded and running through each way, in from twenty to twenty-five days. Travelers to and from New Mexico will doubtless find this the safest and most expeditious and comfortable, as well as cheapest mode of crossing the plains.
"Fare through: From November 1st to May 1st, $150.00; from May 1st to November 1st, $125.
"Provisions, arms and ammunition furnished by the proprietors.
"Packages and extra baggage will be transported when possible to do so, at the rate of twenty-five cents per pound in summer, and fifty cents in win- ter, but no package will be charged less than one dollar.
"The proprietors will not be responsible for any package worth more than fifty dollars, unless contents given and specifically contracted for, and all baggage at all times at the risk of the owner thereof.
"In all cases the passage money must be paid in advance, and pas- sengers must stipulate to conform to the rules which may be established by the undersigned, for the government of their line of stages, and those travel- ing with them on the plains.
"No passenger allowed more than forty pounds of baggage in addition to the necessary bedding.
"Mr. Levi Spiekleburg, at Santa Fe, and J. & W. R. Bernard & Com- pany, at Westport, Missouri, and our conductor and agents are authorized to engage passengers and receipt for passage money.
July 18, 1857.
HOCKADAY AND HALL."
Flour mills were in operation in the vicinity of Independence as early as 1835, one on the Little Blue river, eight miles from town, was owned by Michael Rice. A flour mill was built in Independence in 1846 by Jacob Hallar. Independence was incorporated July 20, 1849. The first mayor was William McCoy. The city charter and general ordinances were re- vised and re-enacted. November 1, 1878.
TWO-STORY BRICK DEPOT OF INDEPENDENCE & WAYNE CITY R. R., BUILT IN 1848.
51
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
In an effort to hold the overland trade that had begun to shift to Westport and other up-river towns, Independence, in 1849, built a rail- road to Wayne City, three and one-half miles north on the Missouri river. The line was known as the Independence & Wayne City, or Missouri River railroad. The railroad passed through Sugar Creek valley, where the Standard Oil company's refinery is situated. This, it is supposed, was the first railroad constructed west of the Mississippi river. Wooden rails with a thin strip of iron were used for the track. The four-wheeled flat cars, drawn by teams of mules, carried both passengers and freight from the steamboat landing to Independence. The up-town terminus of the railroad was a two story brick depot. The project was not a success. The road was abandoned in 1851 and the wooden rails were left to decay.
Independence has had superior educational advantages since about 1840. Several private schools and colleges have prospered at different times and gained some distinction in the West. H. D. Woodworth established the Inde- pendence academy in 1841. The school had a promising beginning, but a misunderstanding arose between the principal and residents of the town and the institution was closed after it had been in existence three years. Mrs. Gertrude Buchanan, a woman of culture and administrative ability, opened a school for young women in 1846 in the Presbyterian church. After one year Mrs. Buchanan transferred her school to David I. Caldwell. He needed more room and bought the Old Irish tavern on South Main street as an addition to the seminary. Prof. David J. Caldwell withdrew from the school in the spring of 1849 on account of ill health.
The Rev. W. H. Lewis, a Southern Methodist minister who had been president of the Monticello academy in Howard county, Missouri, and prin- cipal of a seminary at Jefferson City, Missouri, opened a school, in 1853, in the Methodist church on Rock street. A stock company was organized the next year and a college building was erected on North Liberty street. The school received the hearty support of the residents of the town and students came from various parts of Western Missouri. The school was at the height of its success when the Civil war began and the Rev. Mr. Lewis was forced to flee from Independence. In the war the school building was occupied as barracks and a hospital by Federal soldiers. The Independence high school was organized in 1857 by H. W. Miller and continued until 1871. A school with a boarding department was established in 1847 by Miss Bettie T. Tillery and continued until the beginning of the Civil war. W. A. and W. Buckner, formerly principals of the Bourbon Female college at Paris, Kentucky, spent $17,000, in 1869, in establishing a school in the west part. of town that afterwards was known as Woodland college.
52
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
Independence Female college was founded in 1871 by a corporation at an expense of $20,000. The school continued until December, 1898. St. Mary's academy was established in 1878 by Father Thomas Fitzgerald under the direction of the Sisters of Mercy. The public schools of Independence were organized September 18, 1866.
Independence has had several prosperous churches since the early years of the town. The Cumberland Presbyterian church was established in 1832, and the Christian church in 1836. The Rev. J. P. Hulse organized the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in 1835. The Methodist church was or- ganized in 1867. The first baptism in St. Mary's Catholic church in Inde- pendence was performed by the Rev. Father Bernard Donnelly, February 11, 1849.
The first bank in Independence was organized in 1853 by Ulysses Turner and James T. Thornton. The institution continued in business until the Civil war. A branch of the Southern bank of St. Louis was established in 1856. After the war the branch became the First National bank and con- tinued in business until 1879 when it was consolidated with the Chrisman- Sawyer bank. McCoy & Son organized a bank in the building that had been occupied by the old First National bank. The bank continued until 1898 when its affairs were liquidated.
The Independence Savings bank was organized in 1857, and later be- came known as Stone, McCoy and Company. Again the name of the firm was changed and it became known as Chrisman, Sawyer & Co. This com- pany was incorporated, August 29, 1877, under the title of the Chrisman- Sawyer Banking company. Since the incorporation it has been a state bank. This is one of the oldest banking institutions in Missouri. The present First National bank of Independence is the outgrowth of the old banking firm of Brown, Hughes & Co., an early private institution. The first president of the First National bank was M. W. Anderson. The Bank of Independence, incorporated as a state institution, was opened for business, January 2, 1887. Dr. J. D. Wood was the first president.
Several conflicts occurred in Independence during the Civil war. The town was raided by Union cavalry in 1861, and was occupied by Union troops in 1862. W. C. Quantrell, the guerrilla, made a dash into the town in the spring of 1862. The Union garrison in Independence, under com- mand of Lieutenant Colonel J. T. Buell, was attacked, August 11, 1862, by a Confederate force estimated at 600 to 800 men and the town was captured and 350 prisoners taken. General John T. Hughes was killed while leading a charge against the garrison. The town was reoccupied by Federal troops. Southern sympathizers were expelled, August 24, 1863. The town was oc- cupied by General Sterling Price, October 20, 1864, and was retaken four
INDEPENDENCE FEMALE COLLEGE.
55
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
days later by General Alfred Pleasanton. General Lee's surrender in 1865 did not bring immediate peace to Independence. A law and order associa- tion, organized, July 14, 1866, was able to suppress violence and restore quiet.
A Baptist missionary, the Rev. Isaac McCoy, entered a tract of gov- ernment land in 1831, four miles south of Chouteau's warehouse on the road that led from Independence west to the plains. The next year his son, John C. McCoy, established a store on the land. The business prospered and in 1833 John C. McCoy decided to become a town builder; he divided the land adjacent to the store into lots and called the settlement Westport. It is said that McCoy chose this name because the town was a port of entry into the great Western country. McCoy became a surveyor for the government in 1836 and sold his store to William M. Chick.
On the land purchased from the government by Isaac McCoy was the site of the village of the "Sank" or "Saukee" Indians, the last tribal habita- tion in the vicinity of Kansas City. The Indian settlement was situated on a ridge one mile south of Bush Creek. A trail led from the Missouri river along the line of Prospect avenue, turning westward through the site of West- port to the prairies beyond. The Indians abandoned their village in 1824.
The Santa Fe traders adopted the custom, about 1837, of stopping at Westport to await the arrival of their goods at Blue Mills on the Missouri river. The prairie lands adjacent to Westport afforded excellent camping grounds. From Westport it was only four miles to the French settlement on the Missouri river, while it was eighteen miles to the Blue Mills landing. Pierre Roi, a Frenchman, built a road from Westport directly north to the French settlement in the Missouri river bottom. The traders taking ad- vantage of the shorter distance, soon began having their goods landed at the French settlement rather than at Blue Mills.
The superior advantages of Westport as a business center soon attracted various classes of merchants, tradespeople and mechanics. The Indians liv- ing in the country west of town received large annuities from the govern- inent and they spent their money freely. The country adjacent in all directions was being settled. The freighters on the Santa Fe trail attracted blacksmiths and wagon makers. The demand for furniture other than the home-made kind of the pioneers brought cabinet makers to Westport.
The business houses of early Westport were situated, for the most part, on a little stream that flowed through town in the direction of the south- east, crossing the present Westport avenue at Mill street. Along the banks of the stream, inside the town limits and without, were a number of ex- cellent springs that were convenient to the townspeople and travelers. One of the best known of these watering places was "Cave Spring," a fountain
56
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
that issued from a cavern near the present juncture of Charlotte and Thirty- eighth streets. Situated by the side of the road between Westport and Inde- pendence, the spring was the camping place for many travelers. Enough water flowed from Cave spring in the early days to form a rivulet. Joseph Smith, the Mormon leader, established a school one hundred yards northeast of the cave's mouth two years before Westport was platted. The school was abandoned when the Mormons left the county in 1833.
Westport's first tavern, owned by Daniel Yocum, was situated near the juncture of Westport avenue and Mill street. The hostelry was a gathering place for trappers, hunters, traders, Indians and soldiers. The second tavern was established by A. B. H. McGee at Westport avenue and Penn street. In 1847 McGee was succeeded by John Harris who conducted the "Harris house" there until 1864. James H. Hunter was at first a saddler and after- wards a successful merchant. Robert Johnson operated a tannery and was the owner of the first brick house west of the Blue river. Mrs. James Hallo- way was a tailoress and made wedding garments for the young men. The leading physicians were Dr. H. F. Hereford, Dr. Joel B. Morris, Dr. Parker and Dr. A. B. Earle, also postmaster. Park Lee was an early attorney. The bread-making business was profitable in early Westport. A. M. Eisele's bakery at the northeast corner of the present Westport avenue and Mill street made him a small fortune and he built one of the best two-story residences in town.
A party of about fifteen rough appearing men. under the leadership of John McDaniels, went to Yocum's tavern one day in April, 1843. The strangers said they were on the way to the Texas border to fight the Mexicans. A few days after they left, going westward over the Santa Fe trail, word was received in Westport that Antonio Chavez. a wealthy Mexican merchant who was on the way there from Santa Fe to purchase supplies, had been murdered and robbed of about $12,000. Then Daniel Yocum realized that he had sheltered robbers at his inn. After committing the crime the thieves started on the return journey to Westport. They were met near Council Grove, Kansas, by a company of men from Jackson county, among whom was Sheriff George Buchanon. Ten of the outlaws were captured and part of the stolen money recovered. The robbery having been committed on Indian territory, outside the jurisdiction of Missouri. the prisoners were taken charge by the United States authorities and tried in St. Louis. Three of the out- laws were hanged and others received prison sentences.
The government established a postoffice near the site of Westport in 1832, giving it the name of Shawnee. The name in two years was changed to Westport. The first postmaster was Dr. Johnston Lykins, and the second John C. McCoy. Mail from Independence was carried to Westport once a
J
LILBURN W. BOGGS.
ISAAC AND CHRISTIANA McCOY.
59
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
week on horseback. A road was built across the state from St. Louis to Westport in 1839 and mail was brought by stage twice a week.
The principal treadmill was operated by William Parish at the location of Thirty-third street and Cleveland avenue. Another mill was situated on Brush creek at the crossing of Westport and Wornall roads, and one on Indian creek near the state line. James H. McGee owned a corn cracker where Penn street crosses O. K. creek. A larger water mill. owned by John and Robert Aull, was situated on the Little Blue river. William Parish and J. H. McGee operated a small distillery in the present Roanoke addition.
One of the first large shipments of goods sent to Westport was for the firm of Meservey and Webb in Santa Fe. Boone & Bernard of Westport, acting as agents, received the goods at the landing and engaged wagons and teams for the overland transportation. The caravan required to haul this one consignment of goods consisted of sixty-three wagons, each carrying about 6,000 pounds and drawn by six yoke of oxen.
The outfitting business in Westport had an impetus in 1849 when Jose Chavez, a Mexican merchant, the brother of Antonio Chavez who had been murdered and robbed, came to town one day with 103,000 Mexican silver dollars, two wagon loads. The money was in raw hide bags, $4,000 to $5,000 in a package. Westport had an extensive trade with Santa Fe in 1849 when the Californian immigration began, greatly increasing the business. It is estimated that 40,000 immigrants bought outfits in Westport in 1849 and 1850. Companies of persons from all parts of the country came to Westport to organize caravans for journeys across the plains. The town was head- quarters for all classes of traders, hunters and Indians. Almost every type of man in the West could be seen on the streets of Westport.
Early Westport was a market for cattle, mules, horses, wagons, harness, tents, saddles and all other equipment needed for travel. Several firms were wholly engaged in making ox yokes. The demand for guns and ammuni- tion was very great. Strychnine was sold in large quantities to hunters who killed wolves for their hides. In the town's early days Westport avenne was lined with various outfitting establishments from a point east of Broadway to Mill street. Similar business houses were situated on Penn street between Fortieth and Forty-second streets. The outfitting business was conducted on a cash basis and money was plentiful. When the immigrant trade was at its height the prairies south and east of Westport were dotted with tents and wagons and had the appearance of the camp of a great army.
These are the names of some of the successful business men and firms of Westport: Kearney & Bernard, A. G. Boone, J. M. and J. Hunter, Baker & Street, William Dillon, S. P. and W. H. Keller, S. C. Roby, J. G. Hamilton, F. Gallup, Frederick Eslinger. Edward Price, Henry Sager,
60
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
Francis Booth, J. Bucher, Antoney Richter, A. B. II. McGee, Louis Vogle, P. D. Elkins, father of Senator Stephen B. Elkins of West Virginia, F. G. Ewing, William M. Chick, Calvin Smith and Alfred Warfield.
The firm of Kearney & Bernard of Westport outfitted 11,823 wagons for the western trade between 1853 and 1861. In 1858 Westport factories made two hundred and forty new wagons, 2,000 ox yokes, 3,000 tarpaulins and $25,000 worth of harness. Between 1855 and 1858 Westport reached the zenith of its prosperity with a population estimated at 5,000. Westport was incorporated February 12, 1857. The first mayor was T. J. Goforth. West- port at that time had thirteen merchandise stores, five wagon shops, several schools and churches, three hotels, one slaughter house and several saloons. The Civil war drove the trade from Westport to St. Joseph, Missouri, and Leavenworth, Kansas, where better military protection was offered, and when peace returned business centered in Kansas City.
The educational facilities of early Westport naturally were limited. The village had two schools, one near the Blue river and the other in the edge of town near Cave spring. The school houses had no clocks; the children watched the sunlight on the floor and when it reached a certain mark they knew that it was recess time. The town at first had no churches, but religious services were held regularly at private homes. The Rev. James Porter was an active Methodist minister. The Rev. Isaac McCoy and Dr. Johnston Lykins were interested in missionary work among the Indians west of the state line.
Shawnee mission in Kansas, three miles southwest of Westport, was closely identified with the early history of the town. The Rev. Thomas Johnson, founder of the mission, was intimately associated with Isaac McCoy, Dr. Lykins and other residents of Westport. Thomas Johnson established the first mission school for the Shawnee Indians in 1829 in the town of Shawnee, in John county, Kansas. The school had twenty-seven pupils in 1835, and the church had a membership of seventy-four Shawnee Indians. The mission was removed to the location three miles from Westport in 1839 where the government had given a grant of 2,240 acres. Large buildings were erected on the new site and a manual training school established that continued in operation until 1862.
O. K. creek in the early days of Westport was known as McGee creek. Preston Hamilton, owner of a store and feed yard at one of the principal crossings, is responsible for the change of name. On the entrance to the wagon yard Hamilton displayed this sign, O. K., Drive In. From this legend the freighters called the stream O. K. creek.
Francis Parkman, the historian, came to Jackson county in May, 1846,
OLD WESTPORT CITY HALL.
-
63
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY
and went to Westport to equip an outfit for a western journey. He gave this description of Westport in his book, The Oregon Trail :
"Westport was full of Indians, whose little shaggy ponies were tied by dozens along the houses and fences. Sacs and Foxes, with shaved heads and painted faces, Shawanoes and Delawares, fluttering in calico frocks and tur- bans, Wyandots dressed like white men, and a few wretched Kansans wrapped in old blankets, were strolling about the streets, or lounging in and out of the shops and houses. And later the historian observed: 'Whiskey, by the way, circulates more freely in Westport than is altogether safe in a place where every man carries a loaded pistol in his pocket.'"
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.