USA > Missouri > Jackson County > The History of Jackson county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Jackson county in the late warhistory of Missouri, map of Jackson county > Part 42
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Major W. Hudspeth came from Kentucky, and settled in the west part of the Six Mile District. He was a prominent man in the county and lived there many years, where he reared a large family, and died at the old homestead.
Ebenezer Dixon came and settled in the eastern portion of the Six Mile District, where he still lives.
Samuel Kimsey was one of the very earliest settlers in the county, and es- pecially in Fort Osage township. He lived in the western portion of the town- ship. He was a good farmer and lived there till about the year 1876, when he died at the old homestead.
Col. John Hambright was an early settler about two and a half miles south- east of Sibley. He lived on the State road and kept a stage station. till there was no more use for stages. He died there about six years ago.
Joseph St. Clair lived here in an early day, having settled on a farm about one mile northwest of Buckner Station. He is still living on the same farm, being a man of about seventy-five years of age.
Jacob Drake setttled in the western end of the township in an early day and still lives there.
James T. Brown came from Kentucky, and settled in Sibley in 1852, and there lived till he removed to Independence. He practiced medicine there about ten years.
Joseph Willis came from Kentucky, and settled about three miles south west of Sibley in 1851-2. He now lives in Kansas City.
W. H. Hughes came from Kentucky in 1853, and settled one and a quarter miles south of Sibley, where he lived till 1865, when he came to Independence, and is now engaged in the banking business.
Col. A. G. Steele came in 1854, and settled one mile east of Sibley, where he still resides. Samuel Johnson, William Sailors, James Johnson, Nathaniel Teaugus, Lewis Jones, Joseph R. Walker, Joel P. Walker, Ex-Governor Boggs, and others were among the prominent early settlers.
When General Sibley came he built a large frame house about half a mile west of the old Fort. The house contained twenty doors and windows, and was consid- ered a large house for those times. In this house the family of Gen. Sibley lived
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while he continued in command of the fort. Remnants of the old chimney of this house are still seen.
Mrs. Gen. Sibley had a piano which was brought from St. Louis and used in this house, and it is said to have been the first piano brought west of St. Louis. The house was gone many years ago, and it was said by some to have been burned. That old house was the first one built in Sibley, as also in the township of Fort Osage. The next house was built by Abraham McClellan, about one and a quarter miles southwest of the old Fort, on a farm now owned by A. G. Steele. A portion of the house still stands. It was an old log house built about the year 1822, one and a half story double house. It will be remembered that Abraham McClellan was one of the prominent men of Jackson county in its pioneer days.
FORT SIBLEY.
This fort was established by the United States Government, and built on the brow of the hill overlooking the river to the north and east, about one mile north of the present site of the town of the same name. The indications are that it was about ten rods long and eight or ten rods wide, with a ditch around the whole inclosure, also a kind of stockade so built as to make it extremely difficult or en- tirely impossible to get into the fort except through the gate. There are still pits or holes where the old fort stood, for a distance of about two rods on the brow of the hill there are these marks which can be distinctly seen. The fort was estab- lished as an Indian trading post, garrisoned by a company of soldiers. The fort was abandoned in 1825, and soon fell into disuse and decay. The fort was named from the commander, General George C. Sibley, and the township derived its name from the fact of there being a fort here and the Osage Indians having occupied the land. Sibley was thereafter the name of the village which was built near the site of the old fort.
SIBLEY.
The town of Sibley, situated near the center of the southern limits of Tp. 5r, R. 30, on the south bank of the Missouri River, Sec. 34, and 35. The fol- lowing is the conclusive record :
"The plat of the town of Sibley was laid out by the undersigned proprietor, in the year 1836, and I acknowledge this plat filed in the Recorder's office to be my act, and at the same time I do reserve to myself or my heirs or assigns the rights of ferry to and from said town within the limits thereof.
Independence, June 4, 1836.
ARCHIBALD GAMBLE.
The first lots sold in the town were lots Nos. 7 and 8, block No. 14, by Archibald Gamble to Michael S. Corre. The next lots were sold to Thomas G. Settle, these were lots 9 in block 10, and 2 and 9 in block 14, and 3 and 8 in block 28. The next were sold to Albert Cushing and were in lot ro block 14. The next were sold to Frederick Biltzhoover, lot 7 block 10, lot 2 block 16, lot 3 block 23, and lot 10 block 40. After this the one-third of the town lots were sold to Josiah Spaulding and one-third to George Collier, together with a large tract of land.
The three proprietors, Archibald Gamble, Josiah Spalding and George Collier, owned all of the town lots except the few lots above mentioned and several sold subsequently to other parties, till October 9, 1880, when the interest of the three original proprietors above named was sold for taxes, and bought by Dr. J. C. Page, of St. Louis. Dr. Page has since sold lots to Wm. Teegardin, Benjamin Johnson, Charles McMillan, P. H. Cook and Albert Robertson. A petition to the County Court in February, 188r, for the purpose of vacating the streets and alleys of the original town was granted, and a copy is herewith given :
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
NOTICE OF APPLICATION
For Vacation of Parts of Certain Streets and Alleys in the Unincorporated Town of Sibley, Mo.
Notice is hereby given that the undersigned petitioners will make application to the County Court of Jackson county, Missouri, at the February term thereof, 1881, to be held on the first Monday in February, 1881, in Kansas City, Mo., for the vacation of the following described parts of the following streets and alleys in the unincorporated town of Sibley in said Jackson county, Missouri, as laid out in the plat of said town, executed by Archibald Gamble, June 4; 1836, and recorded in Plat Book I, on page 60, in the recorders office of said Jackson county at Independence, Missouri, to-wit :
Comanche street from the south line of said town of Sibley to the south line of Second street; Mandan street from the south line of said town of Sibley to the south line of Second street; Otto street from the south line of said town of Sibley to the south line of Second street; Kansas street from the south line of said town of Sibley to the south line of Second street; Comanche street from the north line of Second street to North street; Otto street from the north line of First street to North street; Kansas street from the north line of First street to North street; Eighth street from the west line of Santa Fe street to the west line of said town of Sibley ; Seventh street from the east line of Kansas street to the west line of said town of Sibley; Sixth street from the west line of Santa Fe street to the west line of said town of Sibley ; Fifth street from the east line of Kansas street to the west line of said town of Sibley; Fourth street from the east line of Kansas street to the west line of said town of Sibley ; Third street from the east line of Kansas street to the west line of said town of Sibley ; all of North street, all of that part of Water street that lies north and west of a line extended eastward from the southeast corner of Block one (1) to the river, all the alleys in blocks fifty-three (53), fifty-two (52), fifty-one (51), fifty (50), forty- nine (49), forty-eight (48), thirty-eight (38), thirty-seven (37), thirty-six (36), thirty-five (35), thirty-four (34), thirty-three (33), thirty two (32), twenty-one (21), twenty (20), nineteen (19), eighteen (18), seventeen (17), sixteen (16), two (2), three (3), four (4), and five (5).
That said application will be made by the undersigned as owners of the grounds and lots lying on both sides of and fronting on the parts of streets and alleys above described, and for the reason that the same are no longer needed for public use.
JAMES C. PAGE, trustee of Mary E. Page, MARY E. PAGE, W. H. TEEGARDIN.
Jackson County, Mo., May 20, 1881.
The remainder of the streets and alleys in the old town except Santa Fe street, running north and south, Fourth and Fifth streets extending from Santa Fe street to the eastern limits of the town, were vacated on petition of the following persons : W. H. Teegardin, Benjamin Johnson, Albert Robertson, John Baker, P. H. Cook, J. A. Martin, George D. Cole, Wm. T. Neill, C. B. Thompson.
Most of the town was burned by the Federal soldiers during the Civil War. It was said that Federal boats passing on the river were fired upon by bush-whack- ers and others, from this point, and the soldiers taking it for granted that this was the headquarters of rebels and enemies of the government, hence the destruction of the town. Only eighteen houses were spared, more than twice that number having been reduced to ashes. The town has never recovered from this.
During the great flood of 1844 several hemp warehouses were swept away by the river overflowing the northern portion of the town, the water rising to the depth of twelve feet in the streets of the village. When the people saw the
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
water overflowing its banks, and apprehending a damage, removed the contents from the warehouses and chained them with long cables and rope to cottonwood trees, but the flood broke the cables and swept the buildings away.
There have been severe fires since the burning in the civil war, but the one which destroyed some of the old landmarks occurred on February 26, 1878, when a building belonging to W. B. Cobb, and one belonging to T. J. Anderson ; these two the only remaining business houses in the town. The one belonging to Mr. Cobb was one of the first houses built in the town. It was put up by
George Harra about the year 1840. The fire is supposed to have originated by accident in the flue. The Bryant Bros., who had rented the building from Mr. Cobb, and carrying on a drug business, lost their entire stock. Mr. Charles S. McMillan and James R. Pollard were carrying on a dry goods trade in Ander- son's building, and succeeded in saving their entire stock. After the fire the Bryant Bros. engaged in farming, and McMillan & Pollard sold goods from the school-house, being the only accessible building in the town. These young men have built a new store near the site of the old building, and intend there to carry on a general merchandising business.
The post-office was established here in about the year 1840. Among those who have served as post-master are John S. Pryor and the present incumbent, S. S. Neely. Mr. Neely was commissioned post-master in the spring of 1878. Mails from Independence twice a week.
The Christian church, a frame building about 60x40 feet, was built in the year 1871, and cost about $4,000. It is well seated. The present pastor is Elder D. M. Granfield. There is a membership of about one hundred. A Sabbath- school is maintained, with an average of about fifty scholars.
The school-house is situated on the bluff, in the eastern part of the town, and will seat about sixty pupils. It is a one-story brick. A. W. Mann is the present teacher. This school-house was partially destroyed by a cyclone, April 18, 1880. The cyclone also demolished a brick storehouse in the center of the town, and also blew down a frame house in the southern part of the town. The cyclone appeared to come from the southwest, and did no great damage except in the town of Sibley.
A large flouring mill, owned by M. P. Embree & Co., was destroyed by fire in 1878. The mill was built in 1868 by the Embrees and James Proctor at a cost of about $1,800, and did a large merchant and custom trade till it was burned. It has not been definitely known whether the fire caught from a hot bearing or a spark from the smoke stack. A mill, while in progress of comple- tion soon after the war, was burned. It was being built by Mr. Chiles. It would seem that Sibley has experienced more than its share of destructive fires.
There is a blacksmith shop operated by George D. Cole.
That portion of the town which has been vacated will be devoted to the cul- tivation of crops.
This town, though the oldest in Jackson county, is at the present time one of the smallest, though its site is on a high and healthy bluff overlooking the Missouri River and surrounded by one of the richest agricultural districts in the county. Good farms are on both sides of the river, both in Jackson and Ray counties. Sibley was at one time the only shipping point west of Lexington. Sibley now contains a population of 120. The physician is James Gilbert ; the attorney-at-law, S. S. Neely; constable, John Thompson; Justices of the Peace, William C. Harrelson and S. S. Neely.
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
BUCKNER.
This growing town, named in honor of Mr. Buckner, who lived on a hill not far distant, is situated fifteen miles east of Independence, near the center of Fort Osage township. It was laid out by Thomas Monroe, in the spring of 1875, on the Kansas City & Eastern Railroad. The present population is 80. The first house built on the present site of Buckner was by John T. Cobb, in which he kept a general country store. This was in the year 1871. He continued in bus- iness here till 1877, and then removed to Independence, and soon after to Blue Springs, where he is engaged in merchandising. The next store in Buckner was built by R. Wallace & Co., in the spring of 1877. It was a brick house, in which they are still engaged in a general merchandising. The religious people are building a church for Union services, under the control of the Methodists. The church will cost $700.
It is supposed, and there is most satisfactory evidence, that the Missouri River once came through this valley, and pursued about the same course as is now pursued by Fire Prairie Creek. The bayou, or portion of the river which flowed here, came into the land at or near the mouth of Little Blue, and contin- uing in a southerly direction, along the course of Little Blue, to near the south- east corner of Tp. 50, R. 31, thence east near the present site of Lake City, and thence following the course of Fire Prairie Creek, uniting again with the main current in Lafayette county. Large cottonwood trees have been found in the sand and earth twenty feet below the surface, about one-half mile northwest of Buckner station. When boring a well near the same place, cockle burs, in a good state of preservation, have been taken out eighteen or twenty feet below the surface ; also, butternut hulls were found at the same depth. Other wells dug in the ancient bed of the great river, show layers of river sand in the exact position left by the flowing current. All things show most conclusively that. nearly all of the Six Mile District was once an island in the Missouri River-the main branch on the north side, where it now flows past Sibley, and the south branch taking the course above mentioned.
Buckner is situated on a broad and level plain, averaging two miles wide north and south, and following the course of Fire Prairie Creek east and west. This valley is extremely fertile, and the alluvial deposit produces crops of corn, wheat, potatoes, and other products in great abundance. The Narrow Gauge Railroad, running from Lexington to Kansas City, was built through Fort Osage township in the fall of 1875, and finished in the spring of 1876. The road was first called the " Wyandotte, Kansas City & Northwestern," and in 1877 its name was changed to the " Kansas City & Eastern," and in 1880 the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company bought it, and now it is called the " Missouri Pacific, Kansas City & Eastern Division, Narrow Gauge Railroad."
BUSINESS DIRECTORY-BUCKNER.
General store, H. L. Hewit. Noah Vest. Jacob Martin.
Drug store, John J. Mann.
Harness shop, James Duffield. J. C. Edgar.
Post-office, E. R. Henthorn, P. M.
Cabinet store, E. R. Henthorn.
Mo. Pacific depot, Miss A. Chiles, agt. Blacksmith, Adolphus Fry. Luther Simmons.
Corn mill, W. B. Vest.
Stock and grain buyer, W. B. Vest. Lumber yard, Jacob Martin.
Carpenter, Garrison Rainboldt.
Ernest Henthorn.
Coal dealer, John S. Pryor. Bridge builder, A. A. G. Stayton.
Physician, L. G. Hollingsworth.
J. F. Locke. J. S. James. Attorney-at-law, James Adams.
Teacher, J. D. Mershon.
Minister-Baptist, William Leonard.
Hotel, William Radcliff.
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
LEVASY.
This little village is about a mile west of the Lafayette county line, on the Narrow Gauge Railroad. George Ward built the first business house in the town, and commenced merchandising in 1876. The next store was built by James Wasson, in 1877. The third store about the year 1877.
At the present time there are the following business firms :
General store, J. G. Ward.
Grocery " John Hightower.
Drug store, John Suddeth.
Blacksmith, Peter Rife.
Physician, C. A. Paxton. W. J. Gardner.
Physician, Dr. Henderson.
Teacher, C. C. Lattimer.
Mo. Pacific depot, J. G. Ward.
Post-office, J. G. Ward, P. M.
Justice of Peace, N. N. Burnley.
LAKE CITY.
This town was laid out in the northeast quarter of Tp. 50, R. 30, by Robert Hudspeth, April 17, A. D. 1876, and located on the Kansas City & Eastern Railroad, about eleven miles east of Independence. The following persons are at present engaged in business here :
Post-office, S. T. Harris, P. M. Physician, William Surface. General store, White & Van Cleve. Drug S. T. Harris. Attorney-at-law, John W. Clements. Teacher, Jesse W. Clements.
Mo. Pacific depot, S. T. Harris, agt.
The little settlement called Blue Mills, is in the western part of Fort Osage township, and contains :
General store, Richard Powell. Washington Dixon.
Post-office, Richard Powell, P. M. Physicians, L. W. Twyman & Son.
CHAPTER XVII.
SNI-A-BAR TOWNSHIP.
Geographical Position and Population-The Name-Physical Features-Early Settlers- Blue Springs- Churches -- Business Directory-Oak Grove-Incorporation of the Town-Business Enterprises-Grain Valley-Pink Hill-What Jacob Gregg has to say About u J. P .- Incidents by Daniel Joyce- The Sni Hill Rangers.
Sni-a-bar or "Shnee-a-bar " township, as it occurs in some old records, was first organized May 5, 1834, but has undergone many changes since that date. Sni-a-bar township is bounded north by Fort Osage, east by Lafayette county, south by Van Buren and Prairie, and west by Prairie and Blue townships. It is the central eastern township, and enjoys as great a variety of surface and soil as any in Jackson county. The population is between 4, 350 and 5,000, and the agri- cultural resources are very superior especially in the western portion. The town- ship contains 600 farms under cultivation, averaging 100 acres each, and these farms are valued at from $20 to $35 per acre, depending on location and improve- ments. The Chicago & Alton Railroad runs through the township in an easterly and westerly direction, and upon this line Blue Springs, Grain Valley and Oak Grove, three little villages within its borders are located. Pink Hill, another little post village, is situated about four miles north of the Chicago & Alton Railroad.
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HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
The township is somewhat broader from east to west than from north to south, being thirteen miles in the former direction and nine in the latter direction.
THE NAME.
In an early day, when a Frenchman by the name of Abar was ascending the Missouri River in a Canadian boat, called a Mackinaw boat, he conceived that Sni-a-bar creek was a slough which would conduct him out a little distance and then back into the river, but after going up the little creek the distance of a mile he found it was not a slough or sni, as he had supposed, but a creek flowing into the Missouri River. From this circumstance the creek was called Sni-Abar, from the name of the above named Frenchman; the township was afterward called Sni-a-bar from the name of its principal stream. The boat in which this Frenchman navigated the river was a curiously constructed craft. It was pro- pelled by oars, setting poles or cordelles. The oars were manned by about ten persons, five on a side, being long, with a wide blade, and used almost exclusively in descending the stream and in crossing from one side of the river to the other. The poles were used in propelling the boat up stream ; also the cordelles were brought into use while ascending One man stood upon the boat and with a pole kept the boat from the shore, while several men with a rope or cordelle attached to the bow would haul it along. The poles for propelling the boat could not be used when the water was deep.
Any person who visits Sni-a-bar township in the spring or summer would be struck with the peculiar beauty and attractiveness of the undulating surface, adorned with fine oak timber, well cultivated fields and running streams of living water. For miles around, as far as the eye can reach, these gently undulating lands, reminding one of the succession of waves to be seen upon the ocean when subsiding from the effects of a storm, meet the view of the beholder on every hand. One of the admirers of this section says that "after God had created the world and pronounced all that he had made 'good', he certainly must have gazed upon this section with supreme satisfaction that he had fashioned it more especially for agriculture, fruit growing and stock raising than any other section of his moral vineyard." He proceeds to say that "notwithstanding this section of Jackson county has been overlooked by the eastern and western immi- grant in his haste to reach Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado to secure cheap lands and a cheap home, the far-seeing Kentuckian and the sober calculating Virginian concluded to stop and look at Sni-a-bar township, where, after a careful examina- tion of the rich lands to be seen upon every side, concluded here was the spot where the raising of stock, grain, grasses and fruits could be done more success- fully and profitably than in his native State ; and lands here 'were cheap enough for him.' Hence a large per cent of this township has been settled by the most intelligent and enterprising class of farmers for which Kentucky, the home of Clay, and Virginia, the land of Presidents, has commanded such high respect and consideration ever since the organization of the Government."
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
The principal streams are Little Blue and Sni-a-bar, the former flows north along the western border, and the latter rising in Van Buren and Prairie town- ships flows in a northeasterly course through the township. The banks of Little Blue are somewhat precipitous, though not seriously broken, it has a deep chan- nel and generally fringed with timber ; in many places the timber extends out into the prairie the distance of a mile or more. As a general rule the bed of the stream is of a clay sub-soil, but near their sources some rock is found. The stream was called " Blue" because of the color of water. In the fall of the year before the islands were much cultivated, the water assumed a bluish hue prob- ably from having filtered through the green herbage as it left the prairie to mingle
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HISTORY OF JACKSON. COUNTY.
in the channel of the stream. The pioneers first called it "Blue," then all who succeeded used this most appropriate name, till now it is known in records and in history as Little Blue.
Sni-a-bar Creek after leaving this township flows into Lafayette county, thence continuing northeast discharges its waters into the Missouri near Wellington. The channel is more shallow than that of the Little Blue as a general thing, banks more sloping, and timber sometimes growing near the water's edge, also the water is more muddy and has fewer good fords than Little Blue. Stock can go down and drink without danger of miring, nearly all along its course, though in places when wet, teams would not undertake to cross. On this stream there is much timber-oak, hickory, walnut, elm, hackberry, ash, persimmon, syca- more, cottonwood, maple, buckeye, box elder, linden, and other species abound. The undergrowth consists of papaw sumach, hazel and willow. There are. numerous small tributaries watering a large section of country commonly called " Sni Hills." The "Sni Hills" are now densely covered with different species of oak with some hickory; but in early days before the country was fully set- tled, these hills were nearly destitute of trees except, perhaps, one years growth of shrubbery, and here and there a large tree, the fire usually sweeping over once a year and killing the small growth, till by the cultivation of the prairies and using other means to prevent the fire, a growth of timber was allowed to come up. There was, however, a section of about four miles north and south along the county line, by two miles east and west called "White Oak Woods," which seemed to escape the destructive influence of fire. In this section stock men find an excellent place to breed and fatten stock, being well watered and protected from the weather in winter. The central portion of the township has the most prairie land, and is gently undulating, all susceptible of high cultivation ; the eastern and western being more broken though equally susceptible to cultivation.
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