USA > Missouri > Pike County > The history of Pike County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 2
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DOVER BAPTIST CHURCH.
Dover Church, which is situated in the northwestern portion of the town- ship, was organized by Revs. J. B. Fuller, A. G. Mitchell, and M. M. Mo- dissett, on September 8th, 1862, in a beautiful grove belonging to the late William C. Goodman. Their house of worship, a large and well constructed frame edifice, was erected at the junction of the Louisiana & Prairieville and the Calumet gravel roads, in the fall and winter of 1863. The constitut- ing members were James A. Sanderson and wife, James Anderson and wife, Nathaniel R. Smith and wife, E. B. and J. R. Smith, H. T. Ogden, and Mary E. Goodman, with Mary, servant of James Anderson, and George, servant of W. C. Goodman. This church has at present ninety-three mem- bers in good standing, conducts a successful and well attended Sunday- school, under the superintendency of W. N. Goodman, and has had for its pastors some of the best pulpit talent in the state. Rev. Dr. J. F. Cook is preacher in charge at this time, and James E. Griffith holds the position of church clerk. This church, like Ramsey, is within the bounds of the Salt River Association, and is one of the most flourishing members of that old and respectable religious body.
CORINTHI C. P. CHURCH.
This church is situated on the Calumet gravel road, about midway be- tween the eastern and western limits of Calumet, and a little north of the center of the township. The house, which is a substantial brick, forty by sixty feet, was erected in the summer of 1867 at a cost of. $4,250. The church was organized on the 20th of February, 1868, by Rev. M. M. Tucker and the venerable and Rev. James W. Campbell. The constituting mem- bers were F. M. Mackey, Lucinda Mackey, John Wilson, Jane Wison, John T. Mackey, Elizabeth Mackey, Elbert Nunn, Elizabeth Watts, Martha Wil- son, Ann M. Kelly, Margaret Mellroy, Mary J. Wilson, Alice F. Mackey,
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
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Sarah MeLoed, Elizabeth Kelley, and Edna Triplett. Rev. Dr. Tucker was the firet pastor in charge and continued until his death to ably and faithfully serve the church which his own efforts had so largely assisted in planting here. The church has a large membership at this time, is both financially and spiritually strong, giving liberally to every canse worthy of Christian support, and living in the bonds of peace and unity with each other. Since their organization the church and Sunday-school have together expended the sum of $4,519.60 in their endeavors to meet their Christian obligations and advance the cause of morality and religion. Rev. Taylor Bernard is the present pastor, S. F. Mackey the efficient superintendent of the sabbath- school, and John T. Mackey the clerk of the church.
CALUMET CHURCH.
This church, named for the township in whose northern extremity it is situated, was organized as a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the year 1867, by Rev. M. M. Tucker, while riding as a missionary within the lim- its of this Presbytery. The original members were John Turner and wife, Warren Griffith and wife, Martha Pharr, Lucinda Butts, Cyrus Mackey and wife, and Rachael Estes. On account of the house having fallen into a low state of repair, and the location being somewhat inaccessible, the church disorganized about the year 1871, and the members attached them- selves to the churches at Buffalo and Corinth. In ISSO the church was re- built, but never reorganized, and although the control of the house is in the hands of the Presbyterians it is to all intents and purposes a free church. The Presbyterians worship here statedly and have a minister. Rev. T. Ber- nard, in charge, although the attendants upon service here belong to the congregation at Corinth. The business of the church is done as though it was a distinct organization, with no connection with nor dependence upon another, and so harmonions have the two congregations been nothing has ever occurred to mar the feelings of either. No regular sabbath-school is kept up at this church. Mr. W. J. Warmsley acts as auxiliary clerk and . reports the proceedings of Calumet, the child, to Corinth, the mother.
SALEM CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
The organization of this church was effected at Kissinger school-house on August the 5th, 1871, by Elder Wm. II. Martin. The original mein- bers were Hendly Kissinger, James H. Kissinger and wife, George Wells and wife, T. B. Amos and wife, B. F. Amos and wife, J. W. Beauchamp and wife, John M. Grimes and wife, Richard Hall and wife, Mordecai
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CITY OF CLARKSVILLE.
Amos and wife, Miss E. J. Wells, and others. The first and present elders are T. B. Ainos, John M. Grimes, and James JI. Kissinger. The deacons were William Wells, William Beanchamp, B. F. Ainos, George Wells. and James P. Galloway. Soon after their organization, and in the same year, the members proceeded to build them a church, and an excellent frame building thirty-six by fifty-four feet was put up at a short remove from the school house where they had first worshiped. The church is in a pros- perous condition, gradually extending its borders and widening the cirele of its Christian influence. Elder J. M. Henry was its first pastor, and E !- der J. B. Corwine is the present minister in charge. Mr. George Wells oc- cupies the position of clerk of the church.
CITY OF CLARKSVILLE. .
The history of Clarksville is coeval with the history of Missouri. Even before this then western territory had taken her place in the sisterhood of states, the hardy pioneer had pitched his tent and reared his cabin upon the present site of the city. It is impossible to tell with perfect accuracy who were the earliest settlers, or the exact order in which they came. But from the best data to be had it appears that James Burns and Samuel Ew- ing were the first to locate here, and that the former built his cabin not later than the year 1816, on the lot upon which the Carroll House now stands. Had we time for sentiment it might be pleasant, if not profitable, to contrast the few and meager necessities of that humble hut with the nu- merons and costly luxuries of this splendid hostelry. Following Burns and Ewing, with but a few years intervening, came Capt. John Stark, Warren Swayne, William Simonde, Maj. Jas. W. Boothe, Jeptha Ousley, Ephraim Jenkins, John R. Carter, James McCord, - Music, Llewellen Brown, James C. Fielden, and others, whose names, in the lapse of time, have been forgotten. As early as 1817 this little settlement was known as Clarks- ville, and Music and Brown had engaged in the business of the merchant. For whom the town was named cannot be stated with absolute certainty, some asserting that it was for the first territorial Governor, while others, and with apparently better reason, affirm that it was called after General George Rogers Clark, who was associated with Lewis in the first explora- tion ever made as far westward as the Rocky Mountains. The legend is that betwen 1815 and 1820 General Clark was en ronte from the south to one of the northern forts with a company of soldiers, on a keel boat, and that on account of the heavy ice which met him at this place he was forced to
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
come ashore and winter here. His encampment was near the southern limits of the present city, and lovers of the romantic say that an old and giant sycamore, whose trunk had been hollowed out near the surface of the earth by the action of fire, furnished the few and simple comforts of a sol- dier's bedroom. About 1818 James Fielden engaged here in the mercantile business, and two years thereafter the venerable John R. Carter, now a resi. dent of Monroe county, started a general store on the corner of Front and Howard streets. Mr. Carter's energy gave a new impetus to the business of the place, and the little produce then raised in the country sought its market here, while the simple wants of the early settlers were readily sup- plied. Early in the twenties Mr. Carter took to New Orleans, on a flat- boat, sixty hogsheads of tobacco. a part of which was shipped to Europe, and about the same time the first steamboat that ever came this far north of St. Louis, seeking freight, was loaded from his warehouse. The next ob- ject of interest in the carly history of the town was the Augur Mill, built by Mr. Simonds in 1827, which was succeeded in 1830 by a steam flouring mill, whose owners were Warren Swayne, John R. Carter, Wm. S. Hongh, Samnel Pepper, and Capt. John Mackey. This proved a losing venture, seriously involving its owners, some of whom were ultimately rnined by long and vexations litigation. The mill burned in 1842, and upon its site . was subsequently built the Bluff Mills. One of the earliest enterprises of which the town can boast was the horse ferry, started and operated by War- ren Swayne, between the years 1826 and 1830. After Mr. Swayne's death, Win. Simonds came into possession of its franchises, and long after his death, and when it had passed through many hands, it returned again in the shape of a splendid steamboat to the partial ownership of the heirs of Swayne, and now, after more than fifty years, it is operated again by a son of Simonds. It is possible that it may continne through the amplitude of time to swing from the descendants of one family to those of the other until the last of their almost innumerable progeny shall have been ferried by the spirit boatman across the river Styx.
The town of Clarksville was laid out by Governor Jolin Miller on land which was patented to him by President James Monroe. Gov. Miller soon after disposed of a portion of his interest to Richard Graham, Judge Wash and others, and they subsequently sold it in lots to the early settlers, the first sale reported to have taken place in 1818. The town was incorporated in 1847 by the county court, when Perry Johnston, H. T. Kent, and an- other, unknown, were selected as trustees. Emanuel Block was the first clerk of the town, and John M. Clifford its first treasurer.
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CITY OF CLARKSVILLE.
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INCIDENTS.
Under the board of trustees the taxes were not met very promptly, and in the year 1848, when the incorporation was abont twelve months old, the clerk and treasurer proceeded in a somewhat sminmary manner to gather in the outstanding revenue which amounted to nearly thirty dollars, and after selling out not less than half of the town, the exchequer of the corporation was increased to about twenty-five dollars, and the reputation of Messrs. Block and Clifford as successful public financiers rose to a level with that of the old and historic Necker.
A short time after the above occurrence Mr. H. S. Elgin was.employed to grade a road to the river for a consideration of twenty-five dollars, and when the work was done and he applied for his money, the trustees having no funds with which to meet their obligation, and to avoid the annoyance of being "dunned," dissolved the town board and lost the books.
CHARTER. .
In 1850 or 1851 the legislature of the state granted a charter to the town of Clarksville, and the legislation of the place assumed a character commen- snrate with its growing interests. No attempt at the improvement of the streets was made until 185S when John O. Roberts introduced an ordinance for the improvement of Front street from Missouri street to Howard street; and from this commencement the grading and rocking of the principal thoroughfares have been successfully continued. The town continued to grow and her business interests to prosper nntil 18 -- , when having the requisite population, the legislature, in answer to the prayer of her citizens, recognized the place as a city of the fourth class. Few towns of like size have been more enterprising than Clarksville. Anx- ious to advance her own interests she has contributed liberally to every measure likely to accomplish the desired end. Inviting the trade of the township, she invested $80,000 in the splendid roads that center here, that the produce of the country might find easy transit to its natural mar. ket; reaching out for the large and desirable trade of Illinois, the city ap- propriated $15,000 to the construction of the Clarksville and Pleasant Hill Graded Road. While seeking a market for the product of her own mann- factories she lent her credit to the extent of $18,000 to the building of the Clarksville & Western Railroad. But from the Clarksville of the past with its miserable huts, its business shanties and its circumscribed trade, let us turn to the Clarksville of the present, with its magnificent residences, its deep and tall and well filled stores, and its far reaching trade, for articles
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
manufactured here are sold from Butte City to Baltimore and Boston, from the lakes to the gulf, and from Montreal in Canada to Glasgow in Scotland.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS --- IMPERIAL MILL COMPANY.
This mill was built in 1836, principally by E. B. Carroll, B. P. Clifford, and John O. Roberts. It was put in operation in 1857 by G. W. Wells & Co., burned in 1860, was immediately rebuilt by Wells & Co., who continued to control it until 1862, when it was repurchased by the old firm of E. B. Carroll & Co., who remained in possession until 1876, when Mr. Carroll retiring, the firm name was changed to Clifford, Roberts & Co. This com- pany successfully conducted the business until 1880, when Capt. Clifford having died, it was incorporated under the laws of the state as the Imperial Mill Company, with John O. Roberts, president, and Henry S. Carroll. secretary and treasurer. The company has & cash capital of thirty thous- and dollars. all paid in, while the mill itself is one of the best to be found in the state, having in place all the best and newest machinery known to the business, including the novel and costly attachments necessary to the pro- dnetion of four in accordance with what is known as the "new process." This mill handles substantially all the wheat grown on either side of the river contiguous to Clarksville, embracing a radius of nearly fifteen miles, besides drawing a part of their supply from abroad, aggregating in their purchases from two hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred and seventy- five thousand bushels per annum. The capacity of the mill is sixty thous- and barrels a year and the largest market for the flour is the New England States, though much is sold along the upper Mississippi, embracing the states of Illinois, Iowa. Wisconsin, and Minnesota, while a good market for the surplus is found in Chicago. Some of the product of this mill is also exported, going to Liverpool and other cities of England, and the company is just now engaged in loading five hundred and seventy barrels for Glasgow in Scotland. The standard brand of this mill is "Imperial," though several others are made and extensively handled. Concord, Portland, and other seaboard cities purchase most of the bran and shipstuff produced by the mill, while the demand from other sections is greater than its capacity to supply. No proper estimate of the advantages of this enterprise to the peo- ple of the city or the farmers of the country ean be made. Year after year the mill is constantly and successfully operated, furnishing a home market. at St. Louis prices, for all the wheat delivered at its doors, and paying cash on receipt of the same. The economy or addition made to the wheat crop will aggregate near twenty per cent more than it would be if sold out of the
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CITY OF CLARKSVILLE.
county, for the reason that the wood which supplies the fuel is furnished by the people of the country; the barrels which contain the flour are maqu- factured here and by home labor, while the fifteen to twenty-five men em- ployed in the mill are also deriving their support from this thriving busi- ness enterprise.
VINEGAR FACTORY, ETC.
The manufacture of vinegar was first undertaken in Clarksville, when in 1866, H. S. Carroll and Fred Haywood formed a co-partnership for that purpose, and erected a small building, thirty-three by forty- five feet, two stories high. For one year these parties continued to- gether, and in 1867 John M. Clifford purchased Mr. Haywood's interest. when the firm name of Carroll & Haywood was changed to II. S. Carroll & Co. In 1868 John Simonds bought out Mr. Clifford, and in 1869 John A. Wirick was admitted as a member of the firm, and it was at this time that the business began to assume shape and to take on the semblance of its present success. In 1870 an addition of thirty-four by forty-five feet, three and four stories high was built, and in 1872 another addition, sixty by forty- five feet, three and four stories high, added and the first building of 1866 raised one story higher. In 1873 two large Alden evaporators for evaporating fruit were put in, and in 1879 two more were added. In 18S1 Carrol & Wirick bought Mr. Simonds' entire interest, also his beautiful private residence, sit- uated near the bank of the river and known as "Bluff Dale." The style of the firmn was then changed to Carroll, Wirick & Co., and in 1882 they in- creased their tankage capacity to one hundred thousand gallons. Many thousand barrels of cider and vinegar are made and shipped yearly by this company to all parts of the United States, as is also their popular evaporated fruits. In 1860 two additional evaporators were put into the fruit drying department and not less than fifty tons of evaporated apples were made and shipped. In 1882 this firm bought and shipped thirty thousand barrels of green apples, some of which went north to the British possessions, some south to Georgia, others east to Europe, and one car west to Butte City in Arizona, the company preparing the freight at a cost of $630. The cider capacity of this factory is two hundred barrels per day, which like the fruit is sold throughout the length and breadth of the country. For cider apples alone this firm has paid to the farmers of the county hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is almost a clear gain, as apart from the vinegar mill there is no one who could afford to purchase them, and the grower would be forced to sustain the loss. About fifty hands, men, women, and boys are now em-
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
ployed by this company, while the constantly increasing demand for their goods gives ample evidence that both the capacity and the labor must ere long be largely increased.
STAVE AND BARREL FACTORY.
This factory was established in 1856 by L. W. Haywood and T. C. Kel- sey. When it had been operated but a few years Mr. Kelsey sold out and the style of the firm was changed to L. W. Haywood & Co., under which namne it continues to do business. Mr. Haywood has had several partners, the last being Dr. C. W. Pharr. who bought an interest in the establish- ment in 1870, and who is still the owner of one-half of the entire interest. At the time that Dr. Pharr became a partner the property, including the buildings, machinery, and real estate, inventoried about six thousand dol- lars, while the stock on hand swelled the amount to more than eight thous- and dollars. Since then not less than six thousand dollars more have been invested in realty, additional machinery, and general improvements, and the factory has grown into one of the most extensive and successful of the many manufacturing enterprises of the place. The factory is devoted almost exclusively to the manufacture of flour and apple barrels. for which there is an immense demand, the Imperial Mill Company alone nsing about two hundred barrels per day. During the present season the company has been unable to supply the demand for apple barrels, and often their surplus stock of staves for lime and other barrels have been exhausted by the demands made upon it by dealers from abroad. They also mannfacture headings, which, with the staves, are shipped both up and down the river and along the line of the railroad from Quincy to St. Charles, as also westward over the Chi- cago & Alton to Bowling Green, Mexico, Tarleton, and other railroad towns. These parties draw their stave timber in large measure from points along the line of railroad south of Clarksville, while many of their logs are rafted down the river from points near to and south of Hannibal. This firm has recently built a branch establishment at Ellsberry, with the special view of supplying the mill at that place with barrels, as well as to meet the growing demand of the Lincoln orchards. When their time will permit the company also mannfactures flat hoops, having provided for this purpose some very ingenious and costly machinery. This factory has a capacity of twenty thousand staves per day, employs in both factory and cooper shops fitty- two men, and is usually kept running from about the first of March to the mid- dle of December. Mr. L. W. Haywood, the originator of the business in the town, is the sole supervisor and efficient manager of the entire estab- lishment.
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CITY OF CLARKSVILLE.
. PAPER MILL.
The building of a paper mill at Clarksville was first talked of early in 1876, by J. G. Anderson, then editor of the Sentinel, and Henry S. Carroll, cashier of the Clifford Banking Company. The latter gentleman, while at the centennial exhibition later in the same year, gave the matter his es- pecial attention, and arrived at the conclusion that a mill for the manufac- ture of straw wrapping-paper. from wheat straw, might be built with reas- onable prospects of success. During this period considerable correspond- ence was had with various parties East in reference to the matter, and also with the owners of the Morean Paper Mill, at California, Missouri, a finely built and thoroughly equipped mill, erected and started at a cost of over 840,000, which had proved a losing venture from the first, owing, doubtless, to bad location for procuring the raw material and the high freights de- manded for the shipment of the manufactured product. The result was an offer by the parties owning the mill to sell out the entire machinery at a low figure, and a personal examination of the condition of the same was made in 1877 by H. S. Carroll and Capt. B. G. Read, of Pulaski, New York, and all the machinery was found to be first class, of modern build and al- most entirely uninjured. Owing to the strike in July of that year and the partial suspension of business, the matter was for the time being given up. In June, 1850, it was again revived, and on the arrival of Capt. Read steps were immediately taken to set the enterprise actively on foot. ; The owners of the machinery, by this time, owing to a failure to realize on it, were very anxious to close ont, and proposed to sell the entire outfit for the astonish- ing low price of $1,850, which offer was soon afterwards accepted. A stock company, with a paid up capital of $15,000, was organized in the month of August, 1880, and work immediately commenced on the building, while the machinery was carefully taken down and shipped to this point. . Under the supervision of Capt. Read, who was made superintendent, a corps of skilled workmen was put on the job, and every part was carefully put to- gether and arranged with a view of making a first-class wrapping-paper mill in every particular. New boilers and engines of the most approved pat- terns were put in, and some parts of the machinery rebuilt with great care and the closest attention given to even the minutest details. By March, 1881, the mill was ready to start, when there occurred a sad and fatal accident, Capt. Read having been instantly killed by being caught in some part of the machinery. The company had now lost their only practical man and it almost seemed that the enterprise inust fail, but the projectors pushed
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HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY.
ahead and were, after some delay, again well under way with new and practical men to operate the difficult parts of the machinery, and by the middle of April the mill was running full time, day and night, turning out an article of paper of high grade, which was soon sought after by dealers and the general trade. It was thought at the time the mill was being built that it would have a capacity of two and a-half tons of paper each twenty- four hours, or from twelve to fifteen tons per week, but soon under good management it made an average of eighteen tons. A steady run was made until the first of December, when a stoppage was ordered to add some mna- chinery, when it was again started and continued running until June, 1SS2. It now became apparent to the stockholders that by the introduction of some forther machinery its capacity could be increased several tons per week, and the additions were ordered to be made, which was accordingly done abont the 20th of July of this year. Since this time the mill has lost no time, and to the great satisfaction of the stockholders and the astonish- ment of mill owners everywhere, has made from twenty- four to twenty-seven tons of paper each week of six full days running, when working on light weights, and a greater quantity on heavy or ham paper, the largest yield of any known forty-two inch mill. €
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