USA > Missouri > Clinton County > The History of Clinton County, Missouri : containing a history of the County, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Clinton County in the late war, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men etc > Part 26
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The original owners of the land included in the site of the town, when first laid out, in the fall of 1855, were Edward M. Samuels, of Clay County, and Samuel McCorkle, of DeKalb County. This land, which they had entered in an early day, included the west half of the northwest quarter of section 23. township 57, range 30. These gentlemen, with three others-Blair H. Matthews, George M. Smith and Colonel F. M. Tiernan, of St. Joseph-constituted the town company.
The land included in the town site was deeded May 28, 1855, to Wil- liam G. McDaniel and his successors, in trust for said company.
The town was forthwith surveyed by Blair and Matthews, assisted by Colonel M. F. Tiernan. It was then platted and the lots offered for sale.
Immediately after the first sale of lots in the spring of 1856, McDan- iel resigned his trust. Judge A. T. Baubie was appointed his successor, and remained such till the controling interest of the town was sold to Joshua Gentry, President of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Com- pany, who conveyed the same to Forbes, Duff and Brooks, of Boston, Massachusetts, they comprising the Missouri Land Association. This corporation controls all lands immediately along the line of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad owned by said company between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. They, obtaining this controling interest, deeded the town site to John Lathrop, then President of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company in trust, and with him the unsold portion of the town remains vested.
Cameron was laid out in view of the expected completion of the railroad to its limits, a result which its founders lived to see consum- mated in the fall of 1856. The town was named in honor of Colonel Cameron, of Clay County, the father of Mrs. McCorkle, whose husband, with E. Samuels, laid out the town. The first building erected in the town of Cameron was put up by A. T. Baubie. This was a frame store house, which he moved from a point a mile east, called Somerville, at the old Mormon cross roads from Far West to Council Bluffs, where an attempt to start a town, as above stated, had been made about 1855. He located this building on lot one, in block forty-four, on the corner of Walnut and Third Streets. It was afterwards destroyed in the great fire.
The first building constructed in the town, a frame dwelling, was in the spring of 1856, also erected by A. T. Baubie This was on the corner
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of Main and Third Streets. It was a one-story house of four rooms, with twelve foot ceilings. It was subsequently moved several blocks west, and is yet a fair looking building. William G. Elliott, of St. Joseph, and his partner, Taylor, did the work, and thus achieved the distinction of being the first carpenters to pursue their calling in the town of Cameron.
The first house of public entertainment in the town was a boarding house, kept in 1856, by Mrs. Catharine Adams.
The first store opened in Cameron was by A. T. Baubie, in the building above referred to as moved by him to the town site. He con- tinued to sell goods here till the breaking out of the war.
One of the earliest settlers of the town was Colonel F. M. Tiernan, deceased. He took a lively interest and active part in the building of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, being one of the party who made the survey with R. M. Stewart, afterwards governor of the state, M. Jeff. Thompson, and others who subsequently developed celebrity.
The first ehild born within the limits of Cameron, was Mike Adams, in 1851. He is a son of Mrs. Catherine Adams, above referred to. His father joined the army at the breaking out of the war, and, as he never more returned, is supposed to have been killed.
The first physician to settled in Cameron was Dr. John F. King, a native of Tennessee, who has continued, ever since, to remain there in the practice of his profession. Dr. King built the second dwelling erected in Cameron. This was in the fall of 1856.
In the spring of 1857, Obadiah Smith, of Weston, Platte County, opened, in Cameron, the first blacksmith and wagon shop. This was located on Walnut Street between Third and Fourth. He subsequently moved away.
The first to open a saddle and harness shop in the place was C. A. Finley, still a resident of the town.
The first boot and shoemaker to settle in Cameron was Lewis Gunther, who arrived in 1857. Mr. Gunther is a Prussian by birth, and was bred a soldier. On the breaking out of the eivil war he left, in the eapaeity of drill master, with a company of Confederate troops. At the close of the war he was mustered out with the rank of high private. and settled at Carondolet, Missouri. Recently (in the summer of 1881) he returned to his old home in Cameron, where he resumed his quodam occupation of boot and shoe making.
The first tailor to settle in the place was Samuel Barker, who came in 1867. He afterwards moved away.
In 1858, D. W. Matthis, now (1881) proprietor of the Cameron Hotel, started the first livery stable in the town. It was located on Main Street, between Second and Third streets. The first to work at the carpenter business there, were Taylor & Elliott, of St. Joseph, who built Major Baubie's first residence in the town of Cameron, as above
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stated. They afterwards built several other houses in the place. A man by the name of Neff started, in 1867, the first bakery in the town. He afterwards moved away. The first druggists established in Cameron were H. F. and J. A. Conway, above referred to. Their store, on Walnut Street, north of Third, was destroyed in the great fire of 1871. It was a frame building. They subsequently erected, on the site of this structure, a brick building, twenty-two and a half by eighty feet. In this, H. F. Conway, the surviving brother, is now (1881) carrying on a large business in drugs, hardware and queensware. On its establishment, in 1857, the style, of the firm was Conway & Edgar. The latter entered the Federal service and subsequently died from the effects of wounds received in the civil war. The style of the firm then changed to the above first men- tioned. Of the original settlers of the town of Cameron, the only sur- vivors now (1881) resident in the town, are Major Baubie and wife, Dr. J. F. King and wife, and Mrs. Catharine Adams.
The first attorney at law to locate in Cameron was Col. F. M. Tier- nan (since deceased), one of the first settlers of the town. The first law office built in the town was put up by Capt. C. C. Bassett, in 1859. It was a neat, frame building, on Walnut Street. Captain Basset, at one time, practiced law in St. Joseph. At the close of the war, he settled in Butler, in Bates County, where he soon acquired a large and lucrative practice, and where he was recognized as one of the leaders of the bar. He was one of the original founders of the rapidly developed town of Rich Hill, the great coal center of that region of country, and in 1881, established himself in Kansas City.
In 1857, there was a post office three miles north of the site of the present town of Cameron, and another three miles south. In view of the prospective importance of the new town, these were abolished, and Cameron post office was established in their stead, with A. T. Baubie as first postmaster. Major Baubie served till 1867, when he resigned in favor of Thomas Hambaugh. During the period of his absence with his command during the civil war the duties of the office were discharged by his deputy. Thomas Hambaugh, his successor, remained in office till August 20, 1870, when he was succeeded by Thomas Doak, the present (1881) postmaster.
We have referred to the first boarding house opened in Cameron as having been kept by a lady. In 1858, the first hotel proper in the town, a frame building, was put up at the foot of Walnut Street, near the railroad depot. It was first kept by Charles Marsh. In 1862, Watt Matthis took possession of this house and continued to keep it as a hotel till November 24, 1872, when he moved into the new and spacious brick building which he had just completed, on the corner of Third and Walnut Streets. The old hotel was subsequently reopened as the West- ern House. It had, together with the American House, kept by Judge
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Stokes, on Walnut below Fourth Street, from 1862 till 1871, answered the demands of the place for many years, for at the period of the com- pletion of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad in 1859, Cameron had not above one hundred inhabitants. On the completion of the Kansas City branch of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad the town had attained a population of about six hundred. From that period onward the growth of the place has been steady and rapid. The first two-story residence erected in the place was built by R. C. Packard in 1866, on South Walnut Street near the site of his mill. The house is now (1881) standing, in a good state of repair.
The first exclusive clothing house in Cameron was opened in 1868, by a Jew of the name of Miller. He afterwards moved away.
In the same year, an attempt to establish a woolen factory, in Cam- eron, was made, but the enterprise failed of success.
The first saloon opened in Cameron was kept by A. J. Adams, on Walnut Street, between Second and Third Streets. This was in 1858.
A short time after, in the same year, John Shirts opened on the opposite side of the street a saloon, which he called Marble Hall. It was a frame building, directly opposite the old hotel, at the Walnut Street depot. This saloon was kept by him till 1868.
The first millinery establishment, in Cameron, was opened by Mrs. Leffingwell, in October, 1867
Though there were many large and well stocked business houses in the place, carrying a more or less miscellaneous stock, there was no house devoted exclusively to the sale of dry goods, till the year 1872, when Eppler & Weir opened their stock of that class of merchandise in Baubie's Block, on Third Street. They afterwards moved their busi- ness to Bedford, Iowa.
In 1859, the first lumber yard in Cameron was opened by A. T. Baubie, the father of the town. There are now (1881) three large yards there. As stated in our reference to the several leading interests of the place, Major Baubie was the active initial factor in most of them. At the close of the civil war, in 1865, he was one of the five officers of each military district recommended by the general of the same, on the score of meritorious conduct, for positions in the regular army. He passed with credit his examination before the board in St. Louis, and was duly awarded the position of assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain in the regular service. He was further notified by Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, to report at Washington for orders. The major, how- ever, in his four years of campaigning, had seen enough of the attrac- tions of military life, and respectfully declining the proffered honors, he returned to his home in Cameron, where he has since continued to reside, devoting his time to his large interests in the town and vicinity.
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The first mill built in Cameron, the same which now 1881, stands on Walnut Street south of the railroad, was erected in 1868, at a cost of $12,000, by H. Lyon and R. C. Packard. It then operated two run of burrs. March 23, 1869, the style of the firm changed to Lyon, Packard & Co., a one-third interest having been sold to O. B. and E. Y. Lingle, who thus constituted the company of the concern. In 1871, another change in the ownership occurred by the sale on the part of Lyon of his third interest to O. B. and E. Y. Lingle. The firm then became known by the name and style of Packard & Lingle Brothers. March 1, 1875, R. C. Packard sold his interest in the mill to K. D. Cline. The firm then became Lingle Brothers & Co., and remained so till July 14, 1879, when the style of the concern again changed, becoming Lingle, Cline & Co. Several changes in the ownership of the mill have since occurred, but the firm name has continued unchanged. In 1879, a third run of burrs was added, and new machinery to the value of $3,000. The grinding capacity of the mill is 200 bushels per day of wheat, and an equal quan- tity of corn. Two large unfailing ponds of water afford an ample supply for the demands of the mill.
Oliver Oleson started a foundry in Cameron in 1874. The enter- prise proved a failure and was soon abandoned. Mr. Oleson moved to Iowa, where he was accidentally killed, by being crushed beneath a boulder.
In 1877, W. T. Richardson moved from Kidder a foundry, which he had been operating there, and established it in Cameron. This, like its predecessor, was unproductive of substantial results, and, after being run about a year or two, was abandoned.
Howenstein & Tilley who opened, in 1869, the first furniture store in Cameron, established, in the spring of 1880, a furniture factory in the town, in which they employ six or eight operators.
Adam Schlemmer established, in 1875, a cooper shop on Walnut Street, south of the railroad. The enterprise proved a success, and now (1881) affords employment for a number of hands varying, in proportion to the demand, from fifteen to twenty workmen. In 1879, John Brussler started a well tubing factory ; and, in 1881, Steven Emery inaugurated a similar enterprise. Both are said to be meeting with excellent success.
The first resident insurance agent in Cameron was Major A. T. Baubie. He opened his office after the first great fire, in 1870, repre- senting the Phoenix, of Hartford, and the St. Joseph Fire and Marine. He afterward added nine other companies to his list. He paid three- fourths of the losses sustained in the great fire of October 19, 1871, without any litigation and to the satisfaction of all parties.
BURNING OF CAMERON.
In October, 1871. there were forty-five buildings destroyed in the town of Cameron, Clinton County, by fire. The estimated loss at the
12
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time was about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which was a great detriment to the young and growing city. We here give the par- ticulars of that fire, as published in one of the county papers at the time, including a list of the business houses which were damaged and destroyed : " Horrors succeed horrors so fast of late that we fain would like some respite from the recording of them. Scarce had the thrill of anguish spent itself in reading and pondering over the sad calamity at Chicago than upon its heels came the sad news of the devastation of hundreds of miles of country by the fiery demon, the laying in ashes of the homes of thousands of farmers throughout the west, and the total destruction of their crops, they being left without food, raiment, or a house in which to rest their weary limbs. We should think that this was enough and to spare of the fiery fiend, and that its insatiable thirst had been for a time appeased, and that for a short while at least we would be free from fires. But such has not proved to be the case, and in this instance the fire has occurred quite near to us, almost, we might say, at our very doors, and the cries of the destitute and suffering within our county are now mingled with those of Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other places, and the wails of the homeless and friendless can be heard resounding on all hands, their little subsistence having been swept away in a few short hours on Friday morning last at Cameron. Cameron is in ashes ; at least one-half of that town is now nothing but a blackened and shapeless mass of burnt brick and rubbish, and one- ' third of its citizens are homeless and friendless-no, not friendless, for noble-hearted, generous citizens have come to their aid, and are doing all they can to alleviate their sufferings. In our extra in regard to the fire in Cameron we stated that some forty buildings in that city had been destroyed ; that the greater part of the business portion of the city had been laid in ruins, and that the loss was fully $100,000. Some of our citizens thought that the report was exaggerated, and that our neighboring city of Cameron had not suffered to so great an extent as stated. We were in hopes that their views would prove correct, and that the report given us in regard to the fire was immensely exagger- ated. We are sorry to state that such does not prove true, that the loss of the citizens of Cameron is by far greater than represented by us. The Observer extra, which is now before us, states that the loss is estimated at $160,000 -- $60,000 more than stated by us. It also states that forty- five buildings were destroyed and eighteen of the finest horses in the county burned. The fire occurred at I o'clock in the morning, in the livery stable of Watt Matthis, about three-quarters of an hour after the train on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad passed by, and is thought to have been the work of an incendiary, as a Mr. Bell had visited and locked the stable but a few moments after the train had passed, and no light or fire was to be seen in or around the stable.
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The following are the names of the parties burned out, and the amount of their losses : Watt Matthis, livery stable and contents ; loss, $12,000; no insurance. Lawrence Forrest, saloon ; loss, $2,000 ; insured. John Shirts, old Masonic Hall; loss, $3,000 ; no insurance. Store and residence of Peter Fisher & Son ; loss, $15,000 ; no insurance. M. L. Walker, dry goods ; loss, $12,000; insured for $3,000 in Fire and Marine, of St. Joseph. Samuel Matthis, two stores and dwelling ; loss, $10,000; no insurance. H. E. Ford, harnessmaker, building and contents ; loss, $1,200; insured for $900 in the Chouteau, of St. Louis, and State, of Hannibal. Schaffer's bakery and eating rooms ; loss, $100; no insurance. Steve Herriman, goods; loss, $2,000; no insurance. J. H. Hoysea, groceries ; loss, $1,500; insured for $600 in State, of Hannibal, Missouri. Thomas Calder, building; loss, $3,500; insured. Mrs. Cottington, two dwellings ; loss, $1,000; no insurance. A. T. Baubie, building ; loss, $1,000; no insurance. J. Havenor, groceries ; loss, $1,500; insured. A. F. & A. M. Fraternity; loss, $3,000; insured in North Missouri, of Macon, and in a Cleveland, Ohio, company, for $2,000. A. F. & A. M. and I. O. O. F., furniture, fixtures, etc .; loss, $1,200; insured for $1,000. A. Fist, stock ; loss, $15,000; insured for $8,500. Black & Bar- rett, stock ; loss, $1,500; insured for $600 in State, of Hannibal, Mis- souri. F. M. Kimball, building; loss, $1,500; no insurance. Doctor Liebrandt, office and small building ; loss, $600; no insurance. Conway Brothers, hardware ; loss, $4,000; insured in . Etna for $3.500. Andrew Dun, blacksmith shop ; loss, $500; no insurance. Collin's carpenter shop; loss, $250; no insurance. A. B. Benjamin, house ; loss, $1,500; no insurance. Doctor King, office and residence; loss, $1,000. J. R. Boockman, post office and book store; loss, $1,500; insured for $1,000. Post office building not insured ; loss, $1,000. W. D. Corn, building; loss, $1,500; no insurance. R. W. Rigg, hardware; loss, $2,500; insured for $1,000 in North Missouri, of Macon. C. J. Stevens, druggist; loss on store and stock, $2,300; insured for $1,000 in North Missouri. Gantz, grocery; loss, $1,000. Unknown, building; loss, $1,000. McKillip's building and contents ; loss, $2,500; insured for $1,000. J. M. Handy, hotel ; loss, $3,000. E. Smithers, proprietor ; loss, $1,000. Miss Emma Culver, millinery ; loss, $700; insured in Phoenix, of Connecticut, for $600. Thomas Leonard, boots and shoes ; loss, $500; insured for $300 in Security, of New York. Bullard's Panorama of New York City, which was in the hall over Matthis' livery stable, and had been exhibited on the night of the fire, was entirely consumed ; estimated loss, $ 16,000; no insurance. No buildings on the south side of the railroad were burned.
Let us all thank the Divine Ruler that we are not as they-our homes laid in ashes, all we possess swept away by the fiery fiend, and we left destitute and homeless at this season of the year, with the cold, bleak
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winds of November chilling us through, and at the same time that we are raising our eyes toward the throne of grace let us remember those that are so situated, and extend to them a helping hand. Show by your gifts that you pity them ; by your self-sacrificing efforts in their behalf, that you feel for them. Let all in the county who can possibly do so, con- tribute toward alleviating the distress of the many sufferers by this fire. Did words of sympathy through the columns of our paper avail anything, we would continue to pen them until the crack o' doom. Suffice it to say that the sufferers need help, and we hope our citizens will generously respond to the cry."
PUBLIC HALLS.
The first public hall in Cameron was a frame bullding on Walnut Street, between Second and Third. It was built by D. Watt Matthis, who had also, as above stated, put up the first livery stable in the town. They were both destroyed in the great fire of 1871. In the fall of 1872, Major Baubie erected on Third, between Main and Chestnut Streets, a block of brick buildings, the second floor of which is occupied as a public hall, forty by eighty feet in the clear, with elevated stage flanked by dressing rooms on each side. The hall is well lighted, easy of access, and in a point of acoustic excellence, has no superior anywhere. The block cost completed, about eight thousand dollars, and the lots on which it stands, two thousand. The seating capacity of Baubie Hall is five hundred.
The Combs House, a frame building on the southeast corner of Pine and Third Streets, was erected by Chester D. Combs, formerly of New York, but late of Wisconsin, in the spring of 1870. The structure, with outbuildings, etc., cost nine thousand dollars. For a period of eight and a half years, up to February, 1880, when the Union Depot was completed, this was the regular eating station for the east and west bound trains of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. January 25, 1881, C. D. Combs retired and was succeeded by A. D. Stevens, who has continued to sustain the reputation of this popular house.
The Cameron House, on the southeast corner of Third and Walnut Streets, and fronting on the latter, is a handsome three-story brick struc- ture. It was built by the venerable Samuel Matthis, an enterprising citizen of the town, and present owner of the structure. The building was erected during the summer and fall of 1872, and opened on the 24th of November, of the same year, by his son, D. Watt Matthis, the present (1881) proprietor. The original dimensions of the building were forty- five by one hundred and thirty feet. It included thirty-six rooms, and was completed at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. It has always been a popular house. The rapidly increasing demands of travel have forced the addition to this building, at a cost of four thousand dollars, of a three-
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story extension twenty-two by eighty feet, affording twelve large extra rooms. This addition is being rapidly completed. Mr. Samuel Matthis, who erected and still owns the building, was born in Bardstown, Ken- tucky, in 1804. He moved to Missouri in November, 1856, two years after the arrival of his son, D. W. Matthis, who had built the first livery stable in the town, as before stated.
TOWN INCORPORATED.
In 1867, the town of Cameron was incorporated, under the village act, with five directors. Of these, Major A. T. Baubie was chosen mayor, and continued to fill the office till 1868, when he became dis- qualified for the position, in consequence of the removal of his residence beyond the city limits.
OFFICIAL DIRECTORY.
The town board in 1869, included H. S. Beery, president ; Crocker, Shaw, Smithers, and Milt Helwig.
The board elected in April, 1870, included B. C. Stokes, chairman ; T. Crocker, Abraham Auter, Richard Riggs, and John H. Shirts. J. E. Goldsworthy was town attorney.
The election of April, 1871, resulted as follows: B. C. Stokes, chairman or mayor ; C. D. Combs, Z. Provolt, John H. Shirts, and J. J. Tipton. J. L. Harwood was elected town attorney.
April 1872: B. C. Stokes was again chosen chairman of the board, of whom the other members were : Z. Provolt, John H. Shirts, J. J. Tip- ton, and C. D. Combs. N. Chalker became town attorney, and on his resignation before the expiration of his term of office, was succeeded by Colonel F. M. Tiernan.
The record of 1873 is lost.
April, 1874: The town board elected were H. C. Culver, chairman ; J. J. Osborn, J. N. Strotz, T. Crocker, and A. A. Goff. E. J. Smith was chosen town attorney.
April, 1875 : J. J. Tipton became chairman of the board, with E. T. Walker, A. A. Goff, J. Shirts, and J. N. Strotz. Hiram Smith, Jr., became town attorney.
April, 1876: The board elected was composed of J. J. Tipton, re-elected chairman ; A. A. Goff, J. N. Strotz, J. H. Shirts, and E. T. Walker. Zachary Provolt, town attorney.
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