USA > Missouri > Johnson County > The history of Johnson County, Missouri : including a reliable history of the townships, cities, and towns, together with a map of the county; a condensed history of Missouri; the state constitution; an abstract of the most important laws etc > Part 33
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and in all the ramifications of science, since the year 1830, when steam locomotion, for the first time in the history of the world, was made a verit- able fact. It need not be claimed that this degree of advancement is due alone to the great advantages brought on by railroads, but it may be shown that they have contributed to these results more than any other factor; nay, perhaps, more than all the other factors that make up the civilization, refinement, and prosperity of the present day. All the world have become neighbors. The wealthy merchant in New York can spend his summer vacations with his relatives or friends on the distant shores of the Pacific, surrounded by all the beauties and delicacies of a tropical clime. The northern citizen may spend the day with his southern neigh- bor, and return to his home in the same length of time. All civilized nations are brought into close connection with one another in the various relations of business and pleasure.
Time is almost annihilated, and space made as naught by the grand and mighty railroad and her attendant luminary, or satellite, the telegraph.
By these rapid means of inter-communication and exchange of products, all the learning, discoveries and inventions of the world are brought together, as one vast motive power to lift up the world and make it what it is. It is thus by the united effort of mankind, brought on by our grand systems of railroads and telegraphs, that such an impetus has been given to every department of human activity, destined, perhaps, to continue to elevate and ennoble the human race for coming ages, until they shall have risen to a height so grand, so lofty, and so transcendant in all its aspects, as would cast in the dark shades of barbarism, the boasted civilization of to-day.
The Pacific railroad was the first important railroad projected in the county. The question of its location began to agitate the people as early as 1850. There was a fierce struggle, involving much animosity and bitterness, carried on in the state legislature, as to whether the road should be located on its present route, called the inland route, or along the river counties.
The man who contributed more than any other to bring this road through the county, was Col. B. W. Grover. And as the history of the early struggles in regard to this location is given in a speech made by Col. Grover, we give it in full with the attendant circumstances.
Among the many tokens of high regard paid Col. B. W. Grover, was the presentation of a fine silver pitcher in the court house, February, 1866, by a committee, selected by the citizens, and consisting of W. H. Anderson, W. S. Hume, W. C. Mitchell, and John L. Rogers. The chairman, W. H. Anderson, presented the "beautiful and elegant gift," and made the following short, but pithy speech:
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Mr. Grover :- In the name, and in the behalf of the friends of internal improvement of this county, we present you this pitcher, as we know of no better way to express our feelings towards you, in this presentation, than to read the sentiment that we have engraved thereon, as follows: "Presented to Hon. B. W. Grover, by his fellow citizens, of Johnson county, as a testimony of their affection for him as a man, and particularly as an evidence of their appreciation of the services zealously and judiciously rendered by him in the state senate and elsewhere, in maintaining and advancing the interests of our county, and induc- ing a healthy internal improvement system for the state at large, A. D. 1856." This, sir, in part, expresses the sentiment of those whom we represent in this matter, and although our county and this senatorial district, as well as the state at large, are at the present time deprived of your valuable services, in the state senate, we are glad to know that it is not the will of the people of your county, and we believe may add of this senatorial district, that it should be so. Allow us to add, sir, and we do it without the design to refer to politics or to flatter vou, that we believe that could your name have been brought before the people of this senatorial district, in a proper manner, for the last August election, that you, sir, was the choice of the people of this district, for the state senate.
Receive this token, of our regard, sir, and place it in your family, and when you have passed away, and the iron horse snorts through our town, bearing off the produce of our rich soil, and bringing in return therefor, all the comforts and luxuries of life; when our country and our posterity are prosperous and happy, then your children with pride, may point to that pitcher, as an evidence that their father acted an important part in bringing about these results.
From the same pitcher, wine was poured at the laying of the corner stone of the normal school building, at Warrensburg, 1871.
From this we may see that it was largely by the vigorous efforts of two of Johnson county's men, Col. B. W. Grover in the state senate, and Major N. B. Holden in the lower house, that this railroad received its present location. Among the gentlemen of Warrensburg, whose labors in this enterprise must not pass by unnoticed, are Col. James McCown, Henry Coleman, Charles O. Silliman and W. H. Anderson. The latter of these gentlemen was mainly instrumental in getting Col. Grover elected as a director in the new railroad; besides, he did many other things in behalf of his county to bring the road here, going to St. Louis several times in the interest of " the inland route." It may be important and interesting to the reader to see the different orders of the county court on this subject, especially as they contain the conditions of the grant and many other im- portant circumstances.
Johnson county court, June-adjourned term, A. D., 1851, 2d day, (17).
Ordered, That a poll be opened at the next August election, at the different precincts in the county of Johnson, to ascertain the wishes of the voters of said county in regard to the county subscribing fifty thousand dollars stock in the Pacific Railroad bonds, for said amount, to be issued by the county, bearing six per cent interest from date, to be received by the company at par, and to be redeemable, one-third in ten years, one-third in fifteen years, and one third in twenty years, and the sum subscribed to be expended within the limits of said county, on the line of said road, to aid in its construction.
WILLIAM TRAPP, President of Johnson County Court.
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This is the order as filed in the clerk's office, but as we are informed by some of the leading men of those times, the citizens of the county were influenced to believe that a subscription of one hundred thousand would be more effective in bringing the road to this county, and hence they sub- scribed that amount instead of the sum ordered by the court. This one hundred thousand dollars completed the one million to be subscribed by those counties of the state through which the road was to run.
This road has a branch running out two miles north of Warrensburg to the great sandstone quarries, and does all their immense shipping with remarkable facility, the track being so built that the cars may be run under the rock as held up by the machinery they have at work there. This subject will again be treated under the head of "Rock Quarries."
The only other road in the county is the St. Louis and Sante Fe road, running from Holden, where it makes connection with the Missouri Pacific, southwest through part of Madison, Kingsville, and Rose Hill townships, and passing through Harrisonville, Cass county, and on to Paola, Kansas. This road was built in 1870, and the following is the order of the court relative thereto:
Johnson county court, May term, 5th day-May 14th, A. D., 1869.
Now at this day comes J. C. Richards and presents to the court here a peti- tion with thirty signers, tax-payers of Madison township, asking the county court to order an election to be held in the municipal township of Madison, to obtain the voice of the people in regard to said township subscribing sixty thou- sand dollars to the capital stock of the St. Louis and Santa Fe Railroad Com- pany. Wbereupon, it is ordered by the court that an election be held in said township on the 8th day of June, 1869, to ascertain the sense of the quali- fied voters of said township upon said proposition, and that the ballot used at said election have the words for the subscription,, " yes," or for the subscription, " no," either written or printed upon them.
G. WILL HOUTS, President County Court.
There was a project as early as 1870 to build a railroad from Warrens- burg to Marshall, Saline county, and the county voted one hundred thous- and dollars to be expended on the road.
Before the entire subscription required for building the road was raised, the money voted by the county was used in working on the road. This road was graded from Warrensburg northeast to the distance of 13 miles, when it was found that the rest of the money necessary for the completion of the road could not be raised, and hence the project had to be abandoned. The county lost her hundred thousand dollars, but many persons have refused to pay interest on these bonds. The question was brought before the courts and decided against the bondholders in the state courts, but the supreme court reversed the decision, and it is thought that all the bonds will have to be paid. There were also forty thousand dollars private subscription raised in the county, which was all lost. There is no doubt
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but that in a few years other railroads will be built in the county, and Warrensburg may become a railroad center.
Highways .- Long before the county was settled with many inhabitants, there was a passway through here going west, but there was little need of the county court making any public roads, as the entire country was open. But when the people began to improve their farms, it became necessary to establish, by law, certain roads needed for public transporta- tion, since otherwise they would be changed from time to time, as the land was taken up by the settlers.
As early as 1836 we had three roads laid out in the county running from Warrensburg. One running north from Main street, in Old Town, and crossing the Blackwater at Grindstone ford, went thence to Lexing- ton.
At the May term of court, 1837, a road was laid out from the farm of James Green, near the line of Lafayette, and passing by Warrensburg extended to Clinton, the county seat of Henry.
In February, 1837, we have the order of the county court to lay out a road from Warrensburg, running by way of J. A. Gallaher's mill, and on to the county line between Johnson and Saline, and thence to Jonesbor- ough.
These were the principal roads in the county at that time, and were called the Lexington road, the Independence road, the Georgetown road, and so on, according to the leading city on their route.
In the early days the roads, of course, did not need so much work as at present, but the neighbors had to get together and work the roads when- ever necessary.
The road system in this county is about like that of all other counties, and is very simple. The county contains 90 road districts of irregular size, and distributed among the townships as follows: Jackson 6,. Col- umbus 5, Hazel Hill. 6, Simpson 5, Grover 6, Kingsville 4, Madison 7, Centerview 6, Warrensburg 7, Washington 9, Rose Hill 8, Chilhowee 9,- Post Oak 6, Jefferson 5, and one district, taking in portions of Warrens- burg, Centerview and Chilhowee townships. These road districts are laid out by the court of the county to suit the convenience of the people, without reference to any general principle. Road overseers are elected once a year by the people of the district in which they reside. A road overseer gets no fixed salary for his term of office, but he is paid $1.50 per day for each day he has hands at work on the road. All able-bodied citizens of the county, between the ages of twenty-one and fifty years are. expected to pay a poll tax of, generally, about $3.00, and this sum they generally pay by working the roads at the rate of $1.00 per day. It has been the custom of farmers for many years to pay their poll tax in this
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way, though when the overseer neglects his duty, the sum often goes unpaid.
Road overseers are often guilty of much negligence and sometimes of partiality. In some communities the roads are neglected till it is extremely dangerous to travel over them.
On the Georgetown and Lexington road, near the present site of Dunks- burg, formerly there was a ferry across Blackwater, and the following will show the schedule of rates:
Ordered by the county court, May 25, 1868, That Noah Bides have ferry license granted to him, to run a ferry across Blackwater, on the Georgetown and Lexington road, to be dated to cover the time from April 10, 1867, to April 10, 1869, he to give bond with approved security, at the following rates: state tax, two dollars; county tax, two dollars. The price of ferryage to be as fol- lows: for man and horse, twenty-five cents, (25 cents); for two horses and wagon, fifty cents, (50 cents); four horses' and wagon, seventy-five cents, (75 cents); for horse and buggy, thirty-five cents, (35 cents); for one footman, ten cents, (10 cents); and for loose stock, per head, five cents, (5 cents) each.
The subject of bridges will be more particularly mentioned in the his- tory of the township.
CHAPTER XI .- EDUCATIONAL.
Introductory-Early Education-First Systems -- Log Houses-Branches Taught-Teach- ers' Salaries-Z. T. Davis Elected School Commissioner in 1860-School Suspended During War-Teachers' Institutes-First Teachers' Report of County Schools in 1867-Text Books-Old Teachers-Colored Children-Superintendents and Commis- sioners -- Etc., Etc.
The people of the county should feel proud of their progress in educa- tion and its advantages since the time when the schools were taught in log .cabins until the present day of handsome school buildings and school appli- ances. The history of education here is only a miniature production of what has actually occurred everywhere among civilized nations. The edu- cational advances of this county have kept pace with the times. There is nothing more remarkable in our time than the improved methods of teaching. These new modes of mental culture have placed within the reach of the teacher new material to aid him in securing better results. Prominent among the changes which this new theory of education has wrought is the recognition of philosophical facts in the training of children, the importance of due attention to the hygiene of school-room life and study, and the place of new studies of practical bearing in life, in the course of study in the common schools. Farther, that the child should be trained in the line of his own mental activities, cultivating the good, and
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
restraining the evil propensities. The time was, not far back, when only a limited knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic were the only studies of the common schools. In those days to write a fair hand, spell orally all the words in the speller, and solve mathematic puzzles was the highest aim of the youth in the country school. We are now moving in a better educational sphere. The change came gradully. It was a long struggle of ignorance against education, in which the latter is to be crowned the victor. But few teachers now cling to the old-fangled theories, many of which originated in the New England states. Preju- dices often die with the generations in which they were born. This has been a struggle for a practical result. However, this struggle comes to us laden with the accumulated facts of ages, although heavy with years, yet beneficent in influence. This was a struggle in which opinions cov- ered with honors have been marched off the stage of human action and supplanted by facts and principles, which it has cost years of toil to dis- cover, and more years to establish. To the close student and observer this theory is only new in its application in the schools. It is the normal or natural method. The ancients taught by objects when none but the few wealthy could afford books. At first the teacher taught his class orally. In course of time books were printed, and brought within the reach of all, so that now we can converse with the good of past ages, although they are now in the grave. Now it is required that every teacher be so well trained in his profession that he is independent of text books. To meet this demand normal schools have been established, and the Teachers' Institute is also the outgrowth of this demand for better qualified teachers. Now true education is found to be the drawing out and developing of that which the child already possesses, instead of the old cramming process of our father's day. The teacher has complete living in view as the end to be attained in this life and eternity in the un- seen world. In a county there is probably no question which so directly interests the people as that of teachers-of teachers of known and tried ability. In the early settlement of the county almost anyone could teach. That time, with the years in which it existed, has rolled away. The claims of to-day can no longer be met by appliances of even a decade ago, for experience is beginning to show that teaching, like every other depart- ment of human thought and activity, must change with the onward move- ments of society, or it will fall in the rear of civilization and become an ob- stacle to improvement. The educational problem of to-day is to obtain useful knowledge-to secure the practical before the ornamental part of education, and in obtaining this in the shortest possible time. An intel- lectual life of the highest culture is what is called for in a free country like ours. An intelligent man is better qualified for any of the duties of
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life than an uneducated person. In truth, a free nation's safety is wrapped in the intelligence of its people. Only an educated people can long sustain a free republic; therefore it is the duty of the state to educate, that her free institutions may stand through all ages as sacred and endeared institutions of the people. As education made strides westward, the wild man, the savage ruffian, with their common weapons, the scalping-knife of the In- dian, and the bowie-knife and pistol of the ruffians gave way to the peace- ful influence of culture and refinement.
Education sweetens and hedges in the family circle; it drives frivolity and gossip from a community, and binds a nation of 50,000,000 of people together for advancement that she may shine in the near future, the bright- est star in the constellation of governments. The field of improvement is yet boundless, and the work of education must still go on and make perhaps greater changes than those from the time when,
" The sacred seer with scientific truth, In Grecian temples taught the attentive youth, With ceaseless change, how restless atoms pass From life to life, a transmigrating mass, "
to that of to-day, when men's thoughts are directed to the investigation of what they see around them.
The early education in Johnson county was very limited indeed. At first a few small private schools were started in the settlements by sub- scription, which finally as the demand for education, grew into the present public free schools. Some of these early schools were opened with the advent of the settlements. The teacher lived upon a meager salary and was content with any sort of building. An old log cabin would answer the purpose of school room, and very often this was a dirt or puncheon floor, and without windows, except the chink holes. In such rude struc- tures many of the parents and grand parents of the present generation took their first lessons of school life.
At the regular election in August 1860, Z. T. Davis, democrat, and J. M. Shepherd, unionist, were the competing candidates for county school commissioner. Davis received 1172 votes and was elected, and was the only legal commissioner until 1866.
During the five years of civil strife the public schools, like every other public enterprise, were suspended, and only now and then a female taught the little ones in some private school. The war was a stunning blow to the educational interests in the county of Johnson, and although repeated efforts are made, yet the schools are not now in as flourishing condition as when the commissioner was empowered to closely look after the interests of the schools.
From 1866 to 1874, the efficient work of the county superintendents did much to arouse a deep interest in the cause of education. It was just
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
what the times demanded. Hundreds yearly came to the county from states with different school codes, who felt embarrassed without a leading spirit in education. Schools in the county have not done so well in pro- portion, as when under a superintendency. It is now recognized that a system of public schools needs some responsible head to direct its course. This is found in the highest school office in the county, the superintendent of public schools. The very nature of his task and the duties of his office, imply that he is a man of large experience in the school room. It is an office indispensable to the working of the public school system. To insure efficiency in the office, men of sterling worth tried in school methods and able to direct, should be elected, and the choice ought to be unani- mous, and made with a view to the highest good of the. patrons of the schools, and future welfare of the children. Questions of a political or a religious nature should be banished. The candidate should be a scholar, and a christian of the highest type, and no voter who loves the school interest and children of the county should support him for his political . principles.
We have but few professional teachers. Many teach, as a stepping- stone to some other avocation. £ Good teachers' institutes are needed in the county, but it has appeared that the county wants more good, live, whole-souled workers in the cause of education, to conduct the institute work. Teachers are needed, and there is ever a place for those who are competent to teach with honor and usefulness. Away with pretenders, with those who are not alive to the grand opportunities of the school room, and do not love their profession.
The first teachers' institute was organized here Thursday, February 28, 1867. Each session consisted of five days' institute work.
The third session was held, in Warrensburg, on the 20th of October, 1868; A. L. Pierce, president. The following is a list of the teachers in attendance: M. H. Smith, James H. Reed, W. G. McMahan, J. W. McGivens, W. C. Granger, V. C. Randolph, M. M. Dass, T. C. Connor, M. Bigley, J. Gilfillan, A. W. McCoy, G. W. Swan, H. C. Russell, H. C. Younglove, J. E. Pollock, J. F. Conner, Mrs. M. Brown, Mrs. M. J. Byers, Mrs. Annie Welsh, Misses M. J. Ridley, Annie G. Grover, Sue Ogle, Ellen Sutter, Augusta Gilmore, America Brown, Mary. Thompson, Jennie Wilson, Ella Kellogg, M. E. Andrews, Harriet Collins, Lizzie E Wilson and Sue Brown.
Prof. A. L. Pierce died in the city of Warrensburg, March 23, 1869. He was a native of Hinsdal, Massachusetts. In his death the school lost one of the best school men of the county .. The school board report for that year contained the following tribute: "As an accomplished scholar and Christian gentleman, he will long be remembered."
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY.
The teachers' institute for the 5th congressional district was held in Warrensburg, October 2d-7th, 1867. To show the interest the people felt in education, at that time, we give a paragraph of their invitation as published the week previous:
Our citizens extend to those friends a hearty welcome. The teachers of fif- teen counties will assemble to do them honor, to strike hands in fellowship, form new ties of friendship with each other, and the people of Warrensburg. Let there be a large attendance.
Wm. P. Baker, county superintendent of common school, in 1867, took steps to enlist teachers in the institute work.
The following report shows the condition of the public schools in Feb- ruary, 1867, as reported to the county court by the superintendent of Johnson county :
Townships organized 15; sub-districts organized 42; sub-districts unorganized 6; townships unreported 11; public school buildings 32; rented 6; number of scholars in school 1,350; teachers engaged 36; amount paid for tuition per month $1,302.50; average monthly wages of teachers $49.
About 600 pupils in private schools, not reported above. The superin- tendent, W. P. Baker, reported fourteen days of service in visiting the schools, and said that he had found a growing interest among the people on the subject of education, teachers generally disposed to be faithful and scholars studious and orderly, but the school houses are, as a general thing, very much dilapidated, poorly ventilated and too small for the num- ber of scholars attending. Soon after this new school buildings went up all over the county, till now the number is 130.
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