USA > Missouri > Pettis County > The History of Pettis County, Missouri, including an authentic history of Sedalia, other towns and townships, together with biographical sketches > Part 54
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1868 .- Mayor, Gen. Bacon Montgomery; Aldermen, W. C. Weiler, ยท F. Krieckhaus, C. C. Godman, F. Crandall, (resigned), Wm. Bloess, R. H. Moses, J. D. McGrath, (died), W. F. Boyer, elected to fill vacancy, G. A. Sturges; Marshal and Collector, Wm. P. Jackson; Attorney, W. W. S. Snoddy; Register, A. H. Thompson; Assessor, Ira C. Pierce; Treas- urer, Chan. P. Townsley.
1869 .- Mayor, Albert Parker; Aldermen, Thos. J. Montgomery, Henry Armbrecht, Peter Latsch, G. A. Sturges, Abram Meyer, R. H. Moses, Wm. Beck; Marshal, Wm. P. Jackson, (resigned), P. S. Zellhart, elected to fill vacancy; Attorney, B. G. Wilkerson; Register, Geo. W. Cum- mings; Assessor, H. N. Knapp; Collector, E. P. Kent; Treasurer, Jno. W. Siebe.
1870 .- Mayor, Wm. P. Jackson; Aldermen, C. C. Godman, (resigned), F. Krieckhaus, Theodore Hoberecht, B. F. Dean, Val. Humburg, Jno. Beckley, Henry Boyer, John D. Brown, elected to fill vacancy; Marshal, W. C. Weiler; Attorney, Jas. S. Botsford; Register, J. F. Tobias; Asses- sor, H. N. Knapp; Collector, E. P. Kent; Treasurer, Jno. W. Siebe.
1871 .- Mayor, Thos. J. Montgomery; Aldermen, B. H. Ingram, Jno. L. Hall, Elias Bixby, Chas. G. Taylor, H. Boyer, Wesley Kipp, F.
498
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
Krieckhaus, Theodore Hoberech t; Attorney, Wm. H. H. Hill; Marshal, J. H. Gest; Register, A. H. Thompson; Treasurer, E. Lamy; Collector, I. D. Goodson; Assessor, M. M. Lampton.
1872 .- Mayor, Geo. W. Cummings; Aldermen, Henry Vitt, Joseph Tice, Jno. W. Siebe, Wesley Kipp, B. H. Ingram, Jno. L. Hall, Elias Bixby, Chas. G. Taylor; Attorney, Wm. H. H. Hill; Marshal, Wm. Inch; Register, Thomas Monroe; Treasurer, M. Henoch; Collector, I. D. Good- son; Assessor, Thos. N. Rogers.
1873 .- Mayor, Dr. R. T. Miller; Aldermen, Jno. F. Antes, M. M. Pritchard, J. W. Mills, E. W. Bixby, Henry Vitt, Joseph Tice, John. W. Siebe, Wesley Kipp; Attorney, W. L. Felix; Marshal, Jno. B. Gallie; Register, J. H. Gest; Treasurer, M. Henoch; Collector, John S. Lingle; Assessor, Jno. B. Gallie.
1874 .- Mayor, Wm. H. H. Hill; Aldermen, Geo. R. Smith, Theodore Hoberecht, Peter Latsch, A. P. Morey, Jno. F. Antes, M. M. Pritchard, J. W. Mills, E. W. Bixby; Attorney, Wm. L. Felix (removed); B. G. Wilkerson, elected to fill vacancy; Marshal, Jno. B. Gallie; Register, J. H. Gest; Collector, W. J. Manker; Treasurer, Gabriel Vogler; Assessor, Jno. B. Gallie.
1875 .- Mayor, Norman Maltby; Aldermen, Geo. R. Smith, Theo. Hober- echt, Peter Latsch, A. P. Morey, G. B. Simonds, Henry Suess, Patrick McEnroe, John Newton; Attorney, P. H. Sangree; Marshal, David T. Hartshorn; Register, Geo. W. Cummings; Treasurer, Gabriel Vogler; Collector, W. J. Manker; Assessor, H. N. Knapp.
1876 .- Mayor, David Blocher; Aldermen, G. B. Simonds, Henry Suess, Patrick McEnroe, John Newton, W. F. Ilgenfritz, E. T. Brown, T. . T. Major, Wm. Hill; Attorney, P. H. Sangree; Marshal, John Shanafelt; Register, Geo. W. Cummings; Treasurer, Gabriel Volger; Collector, W. J. Manker; Assessor, H. N. Knapp.
1877 .- Mayor, Logan Clark; Aldermen, W. F. Ilgenfritz, E. T. Brown, T. T. Major, Wm. Hill, P. McEnroe, W. R. Thomas, L. B. Rhodes, E. Lamy, M. O'Reilly, J. F. Antes, M. C. White;last three elected to fill vacan- cies; Attorney, Geo. C. Heard; Marshal, Philip Kelly; Register, Geo. W. Cummings; Treasurer, Jno. W. Burress; Collector, W. J. Manker; Assessor, E. H. James.
1878 .- Mayor, George L .. Faulhaber; Aldermen, E. Lamy, M. O'Reilly, Jno. F. Antes, E. T. Brown, M. C. White, A. H. Holland, Julius Kolbohn, William Latour, Morris Harter; Attorney, P. H. Sangree; Marshal, Alfred Smith; Register, Julius Courath; Treasurer, Jno. W. Burress; Collector, W. J. Manker (removed); J. H. Looney (appointed); Assessor, Wm. Weiler (resigned); E. H. James (appointed).
1879 .- Mayor, Geo. L. Faulhaber; Aldermen, A. H. Holland, Julius Kolbohn, Morris Harter, Jno, F. Antes, E. T. Brown, Wm. Hill, J. B.
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HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
Rickman, elected to fill vacancy; Frank Newton (same), Louis Kumm (same), B. D. Dean, Rod. Gallie; Attorney, Wm. L. Felix; Marshal, Alfred Smith; Register, Julius Conrath; Treasurer, Jno. W. Burress; Collector, Edward Hurley: Assessor, E. H. James.
1880 .- Mayor, E. C. Evans; Aldermen, Wm. Hill, B. D. Dean, Rod Gallie, J. B. Rickman, Louis Kumm, Frank Newton, P. H. Mead, A. S. Fernald; Attorney, Wm. L. Felix; Marshal, Alfred Smith; Register, R. M. Fraker; Treasurer, Jno. W. Burress; Collector, Frank Landmann; Assessor, E. H. James.
1881 .- Mayor, Frank Craycroft; Aldermen, J. B. Rickman, Louis Kumm, Frank Newton, P. H. Mead, A. S. Fernald (resigned), Dennis Golden (elected to fill vacancy), Owen Harrison, D. I. Holcomb, E. W. Sinclair; Attorney, Lucius L. Bridges (resigned); Geo. F. Logan (elected to fill vacancy); Marshal, Robert J. Shy; Register, R. M. Fraker; Treas- urer, W. W. Herold; Collector, Frank Landmann; Assessor, S. W. Maddox.
1882 .- Mayor, Charles E. Messerly; Aldermen, J. B. Rickman, D. I. Holcomb, E. W. Sinclair, Jno. S. Landes, Will D. Ilgenfritz, J. S. Bosser- man, W. R. Thomas, Owen Harrison; Attorney, P. H. Sangree; Marshal, Robt. J. Shy; Register, R. M. Fraker; Treasurer, C. W. Brown; Col- lector, F. Landmann.
For the first three years of her municipal existence there were only two political parties, the " straight-out " Radical and Democratic.
By the provisions of the Drake State Constitution, all men who had been actively engaged in the rebellion, or such as could not take what was commonly called "the iron-clad oath of loyalty," were disfranchised. This placed the city government for the first six years in the hands of Radicals.
In 1868, when Bacon Montgomery ran for Mayor, with Henry Suess for his opponent, there was a little change.
Many Union men and Union soldiers, who were originally Democrats, whose bitter war feelings had died down, united with the ultra Demo- crats, were opposed to the complete and continued disfranchisement of those who had been engaged in the rebellion, and formed a "Fusion " party.
The strict Radicals continued to hold the power until 1871-2, when the fight began over the repeal of the "Disfranchisement Clause." During these years there was some " fusion," but the only real division between the two parties was the Drake Constitution. Washburn, Parker, Philips, Suess and Montgomery were all Union soldiers, and the first four mayors after Gen. Smith. Jackson and A. Parker, the next two mayors, were Union men and ex-soldiers. T. J. Montgomery, the mayor in 1871, was a Union man and soldier, but an original Democrat. The subordinate
500
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
offices were pretty evenly divided between Union-Democrats and Repub- licans up to 1872.
For the first four years the register was simply the clerk of the council and up to about 1872 the mayor was also the police magistrate.
In 1865 the office of marshal and collector was one office, and the holder of it was appointed by the mayor with the concurrence of the council.
In 1867 the office of city treasurer was created.
In 1870 the office of city collector became separate from that of mar- shal.
In 1873 all the city offices became elective and the register became the police magistrate as well as the clerk of the council.
From the year 1872 up to the present time the city has been pretty evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, both in the city council and in the other city offices. During the past four or five years, or since the origin of the Greenback-Labor party, an occasional alder- man has been elected on that ticket. Once in a while there has been a short-lived " Liberal " or " Independent" movement; and on one or two occasions the Prohibitionists, without ever nominating a ticket, have made convulsive efforts to elect some special candidate.
Every year the parties are becoming more evenly divided, and at the present time the voters are chiefly Republicans and Democrats.
One of the best means of understanding the general nature of a city government outside of the body of laws themselves, is the character of some of the special laws on specific subjects.
An ordinance on the books of the city forbids the opening of saloons on Sunday. When a man desires to get a license to run a saloon, among other things which he has to do is to have his petition to the county court signed by a majority of all the property holders, residents and those doing business in the said block.
Another important point regarding the nature of a city government, and one that shows at once the character of a town, the extent of its business, the means by which it raises its revenues, and the portion of revenue paid by certain classes, outside of the regular personal and real estate tax, are the laws concerning special licenses.
There can be no better means of giving the reader a clear idea of the whole subject of special license provisions than by the following digest of facts and figures. The statement below is from the city books and has been prepared with much care. It shows what branches of business pay a special license, how many there are of each, how much each pay, and the sum total:
501
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
MUNICIPAL STATISTICS-1SS1.
Total number of merchant's licenses issued
16S
Revenue from same per annum . $ 1,814.20
Revenue per annum from merchant's advalorem tax. $ 3,987.06
Number of hotels S
Amount of licenses 369.00
Number of livery stables
7
Amount of license. $ 120.00
Number licensed wagons, drays and carriages 43
Yearly revenue from same. 258.00
$
Number licensed boarding houses 24
Annual revenue from same.
$ 240.00
Number of dram shops with city license. 32
Annual revenue from same.
$ 3,840.00 Licensed billiard tables 25
Revenue from same. $ 250.00
Number of wood and coal yards
6
Amount of revenue from same $ 120.00
10
Revenue from same. $
200.00
Number of licensed boot-blacks 13
Revenue from same.
$ 73.00
Revenue from shows and peddlers in 1881 .
431.50
Total city revenue from merchants and special licenses in 1881.
$11,732.76
ITEMIZED STATEMENT OF SAME FOR ISSO.
Dramshops $ 3,383.35
Wagons and drays 252.00
Livery and feed stables 100.00
Hotels and runners. 327.30
Boarding houses . 200.00
120.00
Wood and coal yards
120.00
Pawnbrokers 50.00
Shows and exhibitions
367.00
Peddlers and hawkers
117.90
Billiard and pool tables
150.00
Merchant's special license
1,854.80
Merchant's advalorem license 3,451.84
Total
$10,304.39
Number of butchers
Butcher shops.
502
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
All the officers of the city are elected to hold office for one year. The Mayor nominates the candidates for the position of Water Commissioner, City Fire Engineer, City Weigher, members of the Board of Health, and members of the police force. These nominees must be confirmed by a majority of the votes of the board of aldermen.
The police force at present, consists of one detective, seven white officers and one colored officer, and they are under the command of the city marshal. The force for 1882 is as follows: Robt. J. Shy, Marshal; Alfred Smith, Special Officer and Detective; Philip Kelly, Joel A. Gossage Chas. Wentzelman, Matthew Meyers, Chas. Barnett, Jas. Gossage George Pfeiffer, and G. W. Hogan, colored.
The salaries of those who serve the city are as follows: Mayor, $500 per annum; Collector, $900; Recorder, $1,200; Marshal, $800; Water Commissioner, $300: Assessor, $300; Attorney, $600; Treasurer, $300; Alderman, $200; Policeman, $55 per month; City Engineer, $25.
The City Hall is a spacious building situated on the City Square, on the southwest corner of Second and Osage. The main building is of brick, two stories high, sixty-eight feet long, thirty-five feet wide; has lofty ceilings and large windows. It was erected in the year 1877, and cost about $15,000. This building contains the council rooms, the offices of city officers, the caliboose, the police headquarters, the steam fire engine room. In the rear of the main building is the market house. It is seventy- five feet long, thirty-five feet wide, and contains room for ten butcher's stalls.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
The fire company contains ten men who are paid $150 per annum. The chief, $200. It is under command of chief, who has full control. The department has a fine steam fire engine, which cost about $7,000; a set of patent extension ladders which can be made to reach to the top of the highest house in the city, and a fine two-horse hose wagon and one thousand and five hundred feet of the best hose. The department has four horses, which cost $200 each. A driver is employed to care for the horses, and the engine is in charge of a competent engineer.
The Water Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor, with the con- currence of the city council. He collects the water rates and has a general supervision of the works under the direction of the committee on water works.
The Water Works Engineer is also nominated by the Mayor, and must be confirmed by the council. He has full charge of the machinery at the water works, and is under the supervision of the water works com- mittee.
503
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
EAST SEDALIA.
Perhaps there is no part of the city more deserving of special mention than East Sedalia. In it are situated the Missouri Pacific and K. & T. Railroad shops and car factories, the railroad hospital and freight depots, Brunkhorst's large saw mill and hard wood lumber yard, D. C. Paullin's lumber yard, and a number of stores and meat markets. It has two churches and two public schools, and about 3,000 inhabitants, mostly rail- road men. It is situated on high and beautiful prairie land, and is one of the healthiest and most pleasant parts of the city.
Its growth first began in 1866, on the property of Parson E. T. Brown, of imperishable memory. Mr. Brown was assigned to Missouri by the association, and came to Sedalia in 1865, soon after the close of the war, for the purpose of building up and establishing the interests of the Baptist Church. Being a man of means, he purchased the forty acres upon which the main portion of East Sedalia now stands, making of it a farm.
An earnest and philanthropic man by nature, and an active minister of twenty-five years' experience, he was not long in discovering that a most promising and much-neglected field for successful labor was to be found among the brave and hardy western railroad men, if some means could . be found by which to collect and centralize them in some permanent loca- tion, and that Sedalia was a town likely to offer the most favorable point, for such a purpose, in the State. The idea, once conceived, with him became an immediate and pressing duty, and with all the earnest and unostentatious zeal which was the most striking characteristic of his nature, he entered upon its fulfillment. For this purpose he subdivided his property into lots, and induced railroad men to purchase by selling upon the most favorable terms, and advancing money in many instances to build them residences.
In this manner he consumed all his available means, over $15,000, before realizing one dollar, and found himself reduced to the same straits as the humblest of his patrons. However, the object had been attained, the location was established, and nothing remained to be done but the building of a church. But whence were the means to be obtained? For- tunately for Mr. Brown, he was possessed of a wife as noble, as generous, and as self-sacrificing as himself, who had effectively seconded his efforts thus far, and who now displayed that superior tact in an emergency so peculiar to her sex. Though raised in ease and affluence, labor bore for her no horrors, and with womanly devotion she called to her aid its magic power. Opening her fine residence as a boarding house, she soon aided her husband in obtaining sufficient means to erect the Baptist Church, at a cost of about $3,000, and Mr. Brown assumed its pastorate in 1875, which he continued with wonderful success for three years, without any
504
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
compensation whatever. His sudden death is a matter of too recent date not to be familiar to all. Stricken down in the midst of his usefulness, but not until his dream had become an accomplished fact, he left to his wife and son Bryson, the little that remained to be done, the settlement of his estate and sales of the remaining property, which at present consists of some forty lots, in various parts of the corporation, which their circum- stances make them willing and anxious to dispose of.
During the present year the Union Depot of the various lines centering, and likely to center, in Sedalia will be built in East Sedalia. Also the large new machine and car shops of the Pacific combination.
CHAPTER VI .- PUBLIC ENTERPRISES.
The Gas Works-Water Works-Street Railway-Telephone Exchange-Sicher's Park- Opera House-City Cemetery-R. R. General Hospital-Library Association and Free Reading Room-Working Woman's Home-Wool Grower's Association.
THE GAS WORKS.
The Sedalia Gas Works is the most important enterprise in the city after the machine shops and the water works. 'In 1867 the people began to talk of the need of gas in Sedalia. After the usual amount of prelim- inary agitation, in the summer of 1868 the Missouri Gas Works Building Co., of St. Louis, was granted the right to construct and operate gas works in Sedalia for the period of thirty years.
The first works were erected on their present site, and were completed so that the city was first lighted by gas Jan. 23, 1868. The gas was made chiefly of kerosene for the first three years and a half.
In 1872 there was a general reorganization and a new board of directors chosen by the stockholders. By this time a large amount of the stock was controlled by Sedalia parties. John F. Antes was chosen Pres- ident of the new board, and James C. Thompson, Secretary. It was deter- mined to make gas out of coal. The necessary changes were made in the machinery and new stock issued to the amount of $28,000.
The works continued under the second management until about 1879. By this time the town had increased beyond their capacity.
In 1879 the works were sold to Louis C. Nelson, of St. Louis, and associates in Sedalia, who afterwards bought it. The Sedalia owners were J. C. Thompson and John Montgomery, Jr. The new management began an almost complete rebuilding of the works piece by piece. In 1880-81, a complete new set of retorts and a handsome fire proof building was erected, a new brick coal house, a new reservoir, a brick office, the yard was graded and a new brick and stone wall put around it. e works are now an ornament to the city and fully up to all demands. In 1881-82 the new gasometer was completed.
505
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
To show the increase and the amount of business, the following state- ment in figures is given:
GAS COMPANY'S STATEMENT.
Total cubic feet of gas made and consumed in 1880 3,900,000.
Total cubic feet made and consumed in 1881 5,700,000.
Value of gas consumed in 1880 $ 13,000.
Same in 1881. 19,000.
Length of mains laid in 1880, about 4 miles.
The same in 1881
67 "
Amount of new mains laid in 1881
21
Capacity of old gasometer in cubic feet in 1880
8,000.
The new gasometer in 1881
35,000.
Original value of works. $ 27,000.
Present value. $ 75,000.
Amount expended in 1880-81 on new buildings, furnaces, mains, etc .$ 48,500.
These works are as well equipped and managed as any in the United States.
The officers: John Montgomery, Jr., Pres .; James C. Thompson, Sec. and Treas .; James Montgomery, Supt.
THE WATER WORKS.
On March 3, 1871, the following resolution was brought up before the Library Association:
Resolved, That a committee of five, of which the President of the Board shall be Chairman, be appointed to confer with the City Council in regard to the most feasible plan of supplying the City of Sedalia with water.
The following gentlemen were appointed on the committee: Geo. G. Vest, Col. R. S. Stevens, Abram Meyer and James O. Ives. These gen- tlemen presented the matter to the City Council in such a favorable light that the plan at once secured the approval of the Council. Mayor Thos. J. Montgomery, B. H. Ingram, C. G. Taylor and Wesley Kipp were appointed a committee to confer with the Library Committee.
The result of these conferences was that on May 12, 1871, a delega- tion of the most prominent citizens, accompanied by Mr. Keep, the Chief Engineer of the Holly Water Works Co., of Lockport, N. Y., visited Flat Creek, three miles south of town to examine its facilities for furnish- ing water.
The examination was so satisfactory that a special committee consisting of Col. Stevens, J. O. Ives, C. M. Walker, A. Y. Hull and D. H. Smith were appointed to submit a report to the Council and Library Associa- tion.
506
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
The report was made and was eminently satisfactory.
Col. A. D. Jaynes was then appointed to visit the principal cities which had the Holly Water Works system, and to report on its practical work- ings. During the summer Col. Jaynes performed this duty with rare judgment and promptness. His report was so favorable that the City Council at once expressed a desire to confer with the heads of the company.
On Sept. 15, 1871, Holly and Keef, representing the Holly System, appeared before the City Council and explained their whole system and the probable cost of erecting suitable works for Sedalia.
A proposition to subscribe $100,000 to build the works was submitted to a vote of the people. It was carried, and on Oct. 2, 1871, an ordinance authorizing the issue of $100,000 in city bonds was passed. Oct. 11, 1871, the contract for digging trenches for the mains was let to Wm. Russell and C. M. A. Chaney. Twenty acres of land on Flat Creek was purchased by the city for the site of the works. All necessary contracts were made and the work pushed with rapidity. In August, 1872, the water works machinery was received. In September, 1872, they were up and ready to be tested. The works were put to a very severe trial. About the middle of September there was a grand demonstration in honor of the completion of the works. By Jan. 1, 1873, there were three miles of main pipe and five miles of street pipe furnishing water to the city. From that time on, foot after foot has been laid, month by month, and year after year, until now the water mains extend from Sicher's Park on the west to the Missouri Pacific Round-house on the east, a distance of nearly two miles, and for a mile through the city from north to south. In 1880 a reserve reservoir was erected at the foot of Ohio street near Seventeenth, with a capacity of 200,000 gallons. It cost $5,000.
In the fall of 1SS1 the work of constructing a dam of solid masonry across Flat Creek to make a larger reservoir of water was begun. The dam was completed and tested on May 27, 1882. The closing of the sluice gates of the dam caused the bed of the stream to fill with water of an average depth of six feet to a point nearly two miles above the dam. The dam will cost when fully completed about $10,000. The city now has a certain supply of water large enough for a place of 50,000 inhabitants.
THE STREET RAILWAY.
In 1876 a charter was granted to the Street Railway Company. This charter, owing to the inactivity of those to whom it was granted, expired in 1881.
In 1881 the right of way over all the streets and a new charter was granted to a new company. It now consisted of Joseph D. Sicher, Frank E. Sicher, A. D. Jaynes and R. T. Gentry. This company showed by
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HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM M. GENTRY, NEAR SEDALIA, MO.
508
HISTORY OF SEDALIA.
their actions that they meant to build a road. In the fall of 1881 the first section of the road was completed, being built on Third street westward to Sicher's Park, a distance of three-quarters of a mile. The first regular passenger traffic was done over it during fair week in the early part of September, 1881. By the 1st day of March, 1882, the other section of the road from Ohio street eastward to Engineer street was completed and cars running. The whole length of the road on Third street is about two miles. The road is equipped with cars of the very best make and the latest and most approved construction. Two fine additions to the city, on the east and the west ends, are now growing up because of its construction and completion. Thus far the company have already expended about $20,000 upon the construction and equipment of the road. The officers of the road under whose administration it was built were: J. D. Sicher, President; F. E. Sicher, Secretary; C. W. Brown, Treas- urer; C. Newkirk, C. H. Gauss and A. D. Jaynes, Directors. The road is now in constant operation and it is only a matter of time as to its exten- sion in other directions.
THE TELEPHONE COMPANY.
In the summer of 1880, T. B. Anderson secured the right to establish a telephone exchange in Sedalia. In August, 1880, the first telephone was put into operation. In an incredibly short time a sufficient number of persons agreed to take instruments to warrant the proprietor and man- ager in erecting wires and poles throughout the city. A very few words will tell how popular and useful the telephone became in less than eighteen months time. In the year 1881 the Sedalia Telephone Company put up wires throughout the entire city, some of them extending into the extreme suburbs. They have 225 instruments, which belong to the general com- pany. Outside of these, they have expended in the city $6,000.
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