Adair County, Missouri - Chapter 14: Industries, 1911

Chapter 14: Industries

The chief industry of the county is agriculture and has been from he }>cginning. Prior to the war very few other industries were carried hi. A little coal mining was done in the western part of the county, -'it it was not until rather recently that it was developed to what it ? at the present. Many industries were carried on in the homes such spinning and weaving. A lanyard was conducted from 1840 to lV»o by Watdiiniston and Lewis Conner, on the farm now owned by Ira toilet six miles west of Kirksville. Deer, bear and cattle hides iv* -re tanned here. Inasmuch as farming has been the chief industry >i the county, it will be considered first, and others will be taken up in i\>- order which seems most logical.

-vie- f«>r fanning, though certain portions of the western part are very Mi. for agricultural pur|x>scs. The chief crop is corn, though some RT.eat, oats and hay are raised. The estimated production of these rr-.ps in the county during the year 11)09 is, according to the Bureau

Acres. Average Yield Total Yield Estimated

Total §1,845,763 From this it will be seen that the average yield of wheat is only 17 ; .-hels, of corn 29 bushels, and oats 25 bushels. That the soil of the "unty is capable of a large yield of at least corn and wheat, has been k II demonstrated. In 1884 the Graphic offered a prize of 825 in cash to the one who would raise the best acre of corn. Nine contestants filtered the race. They reported yields ranging from 78 to 149 bushels to the acre. The prize was won by John YY. Parker, who raised 149 bushels on an acre; Win. Conway, who lived two miles south of Bra- -hear. came out second best with a yield of 132 bushels. In 1887 Mr. Salmon < )tto of Sloan's Point, offered a prize of $25 in cash to one who produced the largest yield of wheat to the acre. The prize was won by

These tests show that at the present time with improved facilities ui<i more scientific methods than prevailed in the eighties when the -antests were on, the average yield ought to be more now than it is.

A comparison of the data in the table given above for 1909, with similar data for 1870, shows some interesting facts. For example, in 1ST!) there were over 46,500 bushels of wheat raised in the county as iwinst 36,516 in 1909; of corn there were 216,162 bushels in 1870, and l.m.m in 1909; of hay there were 10,469 tons in 1870, and 80,639 on> in 1909. No report was made for oats in 1870. From these compares it is seen that the yield in wheat has decreased, while that of corn ind hay has increased remarkably. The decrease in the yield of wheat may l*> due, not to a smaller acreage but to a poorer season, but the inin corn and hay is evidently due to a larger acreage as well as perhaps a better season.

Tradition has it that the first crop of timothy grass in the county \ta> grown by Win. Collet in 1838. It was such a curiosity that people tame for miles to see it.

As new farm machinery has been invented it has been brought on ;>y the enterprising farmers of the county. No one implement created *> much interest as the harvester and self-binder. The mower and rvaner had been great inventions, but the harvester and self-binder *vmed to be an impracticable thing. It seems to have been brought int.i the county first in 1883. The Journal for July 12, 1883, gives a "Tig account of the successful demonstration of this machine on the farm of D. L. Conner, ten miles southeast of Kirksville.

The following table taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for U*r2 regarding the number and acreage of farms and the values of -f-rified classes of farm property on June 1, 1900, and the gross pro- <ta-N of 1899, excluding what was fed to stock, is of interest. For sake --I Mjniparison the figures for the state and for Adair County are given:

Values Of Farm Property Gross Income

Practically every farmer in the county produces something in thway of live stock and farm yard and dairy products, and several carry on stock raising extensively. Among the latter are Still & Laughlin. proprietors of the Kinloch Farm, Kirksville, and breeders of Jersey cattl- Novinger & Sons, Kirksville, breeders of shorthorn cattle; John \V Waddill, Brashear, breeder of Jersey cattle; Otto Bros., of Clay Towtjship, breeders of mules; C. A. Robinson, Kirksville, breeders of Jersey cattle; S. J. Miller, Kirksville, importer and breeder of fine hor*^ and H. M. Henley, proprietor of the Henley Ranch, four miles northwest of Stahl, breeder of sheep, mules, horses and cattle. The Henlry Ranch, which embraces 8,000 acres lying in Adair, Sullivan, and Putnam Counties, has just recently been established. It has been particularly successful with Shropshire sheep and Percheron horses. The record for butter-fat is held by one of the cows of the Kinloch herd owned Still & Laughlin. The annual sales in the herds owned by these diftVent proprietors attract buyers from long distances.

As the assessed value is about one-fourth of the actual value th< above table will have to be multiplied by four. When that is done it iseen that the live stock of the county is worth about $3,000,000.

The pioneers in the poultry business as a separate business in th< county were* Holebrooke, Pierce & Wilkes. They began business in Kirksville in 1885. After several changes in the firm the business wa* sold to R. C. Combs of Memphis, who later sold out to Chas. Coif In August, 1895, Cole disposed of his business to J. Selby of Quimy A little later the firm became Selby & Brother, and in 1901 it was incorporated under the name of Selby Poultry Company. This company has branches at Edina, Hannibal, and Quincy, with headquarter* at Kirksville. Eggs, butter and poultry are the chief products that ar< bought and shipped to market; in addition, hides, furs, pelts, tallow and feathers are purchased in varying quantities. In 1886 the firm paid to the people of the county $40,000 for produce, and in 1910 about $7">,000. The chief market for produce bought here is New York.

Besides the Selby Company there are the Jonas Produce Company of Kirksville and Joe Tavlor of Brashear, both of whom deal in farmyard, dairy and packing-house products somewhat extensively; many merchants at other points in the county do the same on a smaller scale. The value of the farmyard, dairy and packing-house products shipped out of the county in 1909 by dealers of all kinds amounted to over SHM).(MH). according to the last report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of Missouri.

One of the most recent industries in the county is the Burk Brothers Packing Plant. For almost twelve years Burk Brothers have been carrying on a wholesale business in meats which has increased year by year. Seeing the possibilities for a profitable business done on a large scale these men organized the Burk Brothers Packing Plant Company in 1909 which was incorporated for §70,000. In the spring and summer of 1910 a plant costing §50,000 was erected in the northwest part of Kirksville on the "O. K." railroad. It has been in operation since September and its products have found ready sale not only in near by towns but in many of our large eastern cities. It employs from twentyfive to fifty men regularly and slaughters from two hundred to six hun- drcd head of hogs, sheep and cattle per week. A government inspector is retained at the plant and nothing is allowed to be offered for sale which does not bear his stamp.

The officers of the company are A. J. Burk, President; L. J. Burk. Vice-President; Hiram Selby, Secretary. The stockholders are from all parts of the county.

In the seventies several cheese factories were operated. The first as far as is known was established by Montgomery & Hooper in Kirksville in 1873. This was maintained only a year or two. Mr. Hooper then established one near Millard in 1875 and kept it going for three vears. At the same time D. A. Elv started one at Sublette.

The first creamery in Kirksville was started by Blaekman & Wilkes in 1883. This they maintained until about 1890. For fourteen year* thereafter the city was without a creamery. In 1904 a stock company was formed and the creamery now in operation was built. J. F. Foncannon was manager until 1908, when the company sold out to Logan & Edwards, who are the present proprietors. Statistics arc wanting as to the amount of business of this industry year by year, but it iknown that $28,000 was paid for cream in 1*885, and $50,000 in 1910

The reports of surplus products of Missouri Counties, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics have published from 1890 to the present, contain much of interest relative the products of various industries oi the county. The following compilation from these reports shows what have been some of the surplus products of Adair County from year t<» year. In the table certain years are omitted because no statistics wer. given for those years. Surplus products, it should be said are tho* that are shipped out of the county and do not include what is used in home consumption.

The nursery industry was at one time fairly extensive. The Patterson Nursery, which was in operation from about 1870 to some t infill the nineties, was a well ordered and successful plant. It was loeatt one-half mile northwest of Kirksville. Since its discontinuance thenhas been no well developed industry of the kind in the county. T\n Pattersons were during their time instrumental in stirring up an activinterest in horticulture in the county. During the eighties a large horticultural society was organized and meetings were held once a niontL

During the early nineties the drying of fruit was a paying busing During 1890 Trescott Brothers are reported as having dried 29.272 bushels of apples. After 1894, however, no mention has been fouri«i of the business having continued.

The milling industry has never been very extensive in the county, but the history of the industry reaches back into the early years of the county. The first mills were water mills and were generally located on the Chariton. Mention has been found of two such mills on the Chariton, one called the Ely Mill at what is now Connelsville, and the other Hargrave's Mill. These two are said to have been built in 1842 and probably Ely's mill was built first.

The Ely mill was transformed into a steam mill by the German communists who came into that neighborhood in 1850 and founded the town of Nineveh, now Connelsville. This was the first steam mill in the county and for that matter, it was the only one for a radius of perhaps fifty miles or more. Men came for miles and miles to get their grain ground. This mill ground both corn and wheat. With the dissolution of the colony, the mill was discontinued.

The first flour mill in Kirksville seems to have been built in 186S. It was owned by Hoag, Swigert <& Company, and stood in the northern part of town. It was thoroughly remodeled in 1880. but was burne«i to the ground on July 8, 1883. It was then owned by Sam Swigert.

The people of Kirksville were greatly distressed over this loss, especially the merchants. Frequent mass meetings were held in 1885 and 1886 to consider plans to get another mill. It seems that at that time there were no flour mills in the county at all, and it was frequently remarked that 60,000 bushels of wheat were raised in the count v even year but there was no mill to grind it up.

The desire for a mill was realized in 1887 or early in 1888, when Russell & Rurklin built one on the site of the present mill off the north- west corner of the square. It was scarcely finished when it was burn^; to the ground. This occurred in June, 1888. Work was begun on i;« reconstruction at once and was finished by September of that year. In 1891 Millbank & Son purchased the mill, and in 1894 Charles Milibank became the sole owner and has remained so to the present.

One or two other flour mills on a small scale have been started in ihcounty, but they have not succeeded. Corn meal mills have abounds: at all times and have been successful.

For many years sufficient wool was raised in the county to furnw raw material for one or two woolen mills or factories. Mention has bevr found of two woolen mills in 1868. One was the Buckhorn Woolen Mill* near Sharr's Mill on the Chariton, which was operated by Pannahak-r <fc Company. The other was the Troy Mills, four miles south of Kirk*- ville, which was operated by Caldwell & Hall. By 1873 there was onmill in Kirksville operated by T. C. Harris. By 1883 Edgar Bigsl-v was proprietor of a woolen mill in the northern part of town. Whether this is the same one which had been operated by Harris in 1873 or net is not known. Several different kinds of woolen goods were produce.! by these mills, such as cassimeres, flannels, jeans, satinettes, blanket* linsy, plain and fancy yarn, and the like. By 1893 Kirksville was without a woolen mill. Scarcity of raw materials was responsible for thi* The sheep industry has never been sufficiently revived and developed since then to call forth woolen mills.

The planing mill industry has been carried on for thirty-five year^ or more in the county by different firms. The first to undertake it on a large scale was A. L. Holmes. He came to Kirksville in 1870 and began taking contracts to erect buildings about 1875 and continued in that work until his death in November, 1910. He began with a j-nwL horse power saw and planing mill near the northeast corner of the square. In 188o he bought a hoop pole factory building beyond injunction of the two railroads, and in 1887 moved it to where it now stands and considerably enlarged it. Mr. Holmes was the most extensive contractor Kirksville has ever had. Among the public building* erected by him are the Baptist church, Christian church, Cumberland Presbyterian church, M. E. Church, South, A. S. O. Hospital, County Jail, and Science Hall of the Normal School. He built very many of the business houses and dwellings of the town. The most notable of th»" latter is the residence of W. T. Baird.

ibout 1890. He shortly disposed of this business but started up again n 1895 and continued in it until his death in 1909. His most notable instructions in Kirksville are the Court House and Dr. A. T. Still's

\V. S. Murphy began in the planing mill business in 1895, and has n the sixteen years since then built a great many private dwellings n the county.

For several years the town maintained a wagon factory and a handle factory. Grasslc Brothers started a wagon factory in 1887, which was maintained by one firm or another until about 1909. The handle factory was started by Mr. Storm about 1893 and was maintained for about ten years. No efforts have been made to revive these fart ones since their suspension.

A foundry and machine shop has been one of the industries of Kirksville for years. Ixwmis's foundry was in operation in 1886. In recent years Mr. Sherwood has maintained one.

The manufacture of building brick has been carried on by several Afferent parties at different times in and around Kirksville. In 1907 J. M. Ivie & Son made an effort to organize a company to make paving < .-rick on their land just west of town. In 1908 the Adair Brick & Coal ( unipany was organized, and the land and machinery of Ivie & Son were temporarily leased. One kiln of paving brick was burnt with excellent results. The company plans to conduct the business on a large tfale as soon as a switch can be laid out to the plant.

The largest manufacturing establishment in the county is the shoe factor}- of the Friedman-Shelby Shoe Company of St. Louis. This one of the several branch factories which this company has in different parts of the state.

Early in April, 1907, the Business Men's League of Kirksville revived un inquiry from this company as to whether the town would be Titerested in raising a bonus to secure a shoe factory. The league *>nt a committee composed of Dr. H. M. Still and J. E. Goodwin to *t. Ix)uis to investigate the matter and an executive committee of twelve was appointed to act upon the report of the other committee and carry »ut the matter if the proposition should be accepted.

The investigating committee reported that the company wanted a Wus of $60,000, a free site for the factory, and free water for five .wars. They proposed to erect a brick building 60x300, four stories high, and to employ 300 hands at the start with an output of 1800 pi of shoes per day, and to increase the force later to 600 hands and output to 4000 pairs per day; they further proposed to bring not «> 25 per cent of their employes with them and to secure the rest fr Kirksville and nearby towns.

Many diverse views were expressed regarding the propositi but it was finally decided to accept it. F. J. Grassle was made Pn dent of the executive committee, and while the credit for the succ of the scheme belongs to a score or more of men, no small part of tl credit belongs to him.

It was decided to get options on different tracts of land ami raise $80,000 in subscriptions. Of this amount $60,000 was to go the company and the rest was to be put into the site and tracts of la adjoining the site. These tracts of land were to be divided into 350 400 different lots and every one who subscribed $200 was to get one these lots in return for his subscription. The site was donated by I H. M. Still and Will Reid, and the land adjoining it on both sides the Wabash railroad was bought from different parties. This grow was platted into town lots, and committees were appointed to sell t lots. By strenuous efforts by way of personal solicitations and pub! meetings, the amount was finally raised. In order that the compai might be guaranteed the prompt payment of the amounts subscribe one hundred citizens signed a guaranty for the entire amount. Tl executive committee was authorized to act as the board of trusts for the subscribers to the fund. C. S. Sands was made President < this board, and F. J. Grassle, Secretary.

The contract between the trustees for the subscribers and the *hi: company was signed May 7, 1907, and as soon as the word was brough back the next day from St. Louis by the committee that it had Ixv signed, preparations were made for a big celebration that evening i honor of the event. A big bonfire was built on the southeast corner < the square. Noise was furnished by all the steam whistles of the cit\ the firing of anvils and giant fire crackers. The band added to th occasion with several lively selections.

On January 9, 1908, the subscribers drew for their lots to whicl they were entitled. The lot numbers were put in one box and the name of the subscribers in another, and each subscriber got the lot which wa drawn at the same time his name was called. There was one \mn lot, the one on which were a house and barn. This fell to D. C. Rat liff, J. F. Waddill, H. M. Adams, and Reese Frankum, who had com bined to subscribe for one lot.

The contract for the building was let to Hanlin & Garner of HawtL for $53,820 on July 11, 1907. The building was completed in A:-. 1908, and operations were begun on a small scale early in May.

The factory employs 300 people, to whom arc paid $2,500 a w ri in wages. The daily output is 1200 pairs of shoes. Men's boy? il; youths' medium priced welt shoes constitute the class of goods tint ufactured. The factory here is one of several factories owned by - j firm in the state.

The manufacture of railroad ties was for a long time one of ti important industries of the county. Most of the timber of the west-- part of the county was cut down and made into railroad ties. {)± walnut, sycamore, locust, cherry, and mulberry trees were used I; fact, whole sections were denuded of trees, much to the detriment the land. This industry dates back into the seventies, but it wa> s its height from about 1885 to 1900. Novinger, especially after 6 extension of the O. K. railroad from Kirksville to that place, and Tr Mills were important tie stations. Millions of ties were made an shipped out of the county. They were used by the "O. K." railrvi in its extension from Kirksville westward, by the Chicago, Milwaiiv and St. Paul when it was built from Kansas City to Chicago, an<i !, many other railroads. Many different men and firms engaged in ti. business. Among them were McDaniels & Bancroft, Pickler & Crtb? Aaron Kinyon, Wm. Van Cleave, John L. Porter, and P. C. Midsection III - Coal Mining.

The industry of the county which gives it high rank among ti! counties of the state is the coal industry. Because of its importiii it is well to give it some considerable attention.

Just when coal began to be mined in the county, is impossible ' say. Owing to the fact that in the northwestern part of the coun' the coal veins crop out on the hillsides, and hence more an easily acee^i: i< it may be that some mining was done in a desultory way prior to IS* But the sparsity of population, the great difficulties of transportati^ and the cheapness of wood fuel made the demand for coal, howevt easily it might be gotten out, very light. The earliest instance of m digging in the county that has come to the knowledge of the authi is that by J. W. Madden, who worked a strip pit near Nineveh in and who operated the Beeman bank near Stahl in 1858.

?reby the coal fields of the county were penetrated, whatever coal * produced in the county was used in home consumption only. The ension of the railroad west of Kirksville in 1878 marked the beging of the use of coal by the railroads that run through the county, that year coal began to be shipped to markets outside the county, the Quniey Herald during the latter part of November, 1878, it was lounced that the first train load of coal from the Adair County mines I recently arrived over the Q. M. <& P. Railroad, and that a train d would be received every day. But the eastern market did not >ve as good a one as it was hoped it would be, because of the heavy npetition with the coal mines in Illinois. It would probably be not from the truth to say that not until 1897, when the Q. M. & P. R. R. s extended from Trenton to Kansas City and also made direct conations with Omaha, over one-half of the entire output of the mines the county was used in the county by railroads or the local trade.

The coal fields of the county lie for the most part in the western d northwestern parts of the county. The chief centers are Stahl, ninger. Connelsville, and Kirksville. Counting the small mines crated by individuals and scattered throughout the coal fields, as -11 as the large mines operated by firms of large resources, there are least twenty-five mines in the county.

The annual reports of the State Mine Inspector, which began in 87 and continue down to the present, give a great deal of informa- >n concerning the coal industry of the state by counties. From these ve been compiled the statistical tables which are included in this -tion. While it may be possible that the Inspector in his trips through e coal counties has not always inspected the little mines and those out of way places, yet it is more than likely that he has inspected cry year all the larger mines, and his statistics concerning them will ' fairly indicative of the actual state of the industry.

attract his attention. In the second annual report, the one for 1888, ention is made of only two mines which had an output of only 8,000 ns, and the county was ranked sixteenth in the state with only one unty producing less than it did. In 1889 the output was doubled, it no further marked increase occurs until 1893. In that year thounds of acres of coal lands were bought or leased by those who felt that there was room for a more extended development of the industry and the prediction was made by the State Inspector in his report for 1894 that Adair County would soon become one of the large coal pr> during counties of the state. The output had been raised in 1SU3 * 20,957 tons, but the county still ranked only sixteenth in the .<Ta-» and no marked increase in the output occurred until 1898. In tiis year it reached 62,215 tons and the county ranked eleventh in the *tat- The extension of the (). K. railroad from Trenton to Kansas City a*. Omaha in 1897, as has already been remarked, contributed consi-Kably to this increase, inasmuch as there were opened up new mark.;* which raised the demand for more coal.

The years 1899 and 1900 showed a still greater output than t)- year 1898, but it was not until 1901 that the county began to take rvt among the great coal producing counties of the state. In that \*v the output from fourteen mines was 347,047 tons, and the county advanced to fourth rank.

The great growth of the coal industry of the county which mark'1-: the year 1901 is due in part at least, to the interest which certain Chicago capitalists and railroad magnates took in the coal fields of t> county. These men felt that the coal fields of the Chariton River vailey had not been worked as fully as they might be. Their plan ws? organize a large coal mining company to operate along the Charit r River north of Xovinger and near Nineveh, and to build a railrn»i which should run along the river and thus afford adequate transmutation facilities for the coal mined in this river valley.

Before their plans could be put fully into operation, a railroad company had been formed by H. F. Reddig and others, and a railroad bepir. extending northward from Novinger. This was the. Iowa and St. Lcu> Railroad, a full account of which will be given in the next chapter These Chicago capitalists took over the railroad which had just bepn. to be built and made Reddig president of it. They also made him pn~ ident of the Manufacturers' Coal and Coke Company which secun-i control over 50,000 acres of land in the neighborhood of Connelsvil! He remained in these two positions only a little over a year. This railroad, which was soon extended north to Centerville, Iowa, and souii to Elmer, Mo., undoubtedly helped to increase the output d coal in the county. Up to the time when it was built, the railroad which operated through the Chariton River coal fields either skirted :1 or crossed it at right angles, and the mines operated on a large seaihad been confined to certain centers. But this new railroad runniLi along the river and connecting with two other roads running east ami

Besides tbe Manufacturers' Coal and Coke Company, several other tympanies were organized between 1901 and 1903, some of them having ar^e capitalization. Among them were the Kansas City Midland, he Great Northern Fuel Company, Chariton Coal Company, and Kirksville Coal and Construction Company. These new companies mmediately raised the output to about double what it had been before.

The year 1 902 showed a slight decrease in the output in the county is compared with the preceding year, but the years 1903 to 1905 were :haracterized by large increases. The banner year was 1905, in which there were mined from the twenty-two mines 708,388 tons. The county took second rank in the state, Macon County ranking first.

The banner year was followed by one in which the output dropped to almost one-half of what it had been the year before. This was due to the suspension of all work for about three months. This prolonged suspension was due to the inability of operators and miners to agree upon a new contract for the coming biennial period. Whenever the hirnnial contracts expire all work is suspended by the miners until new contracts are made; if there is no difficulty the suspension does not laM long; if there is difficulty the suspension is prolonged. In 1906 he difficulty was unusually great and hence many months passed before -he biennial contracts were agreed upon. This prolonged suspension, which amounted to almost six months, and the failure of several operators to renew work during the year at all, cut down the output of the Adair Count v mines so that it amounted to only 428,057 tons in that year, whereas it had been, as it has already been seen, 708,388 tons in the year before.

During the years 1907, 1908 and 1909 the output was greater than it had l>cen in 190fi. and at the end of the year 1909 the county stood third in the state in the production of coal, but the output was yet nearly 150,000 tons less than it had been in the banner year. It is ronfidently asserted by men who are in the coal business in the county that the day is not far distant when the county will rank first.

Statistics are not yet available for 1910, but when they come out it will show a much smaller production for that year than for many }>ar> previous, as will likely be the case for all other coal producing rounties. The biennial suspension in 1910 was six months long, lasting from April until October. Moreover, disaster overtook the Great Aorthern Fuel Company, and it suspended operations late in Novcm-

In order that the growth of the industry may be readily grasped, the following table showing the output by years and the rank of the county in the state in the production of coal, is presented:

The coal fields of the county, as has been said, lie for the m&i part, in the western and northwestern parts of the county. As far as is known no coal has been discovered east of a line drawn north and south through Kirksville, though there were newspaper rumors in 1886 of coal having been discovered near Brashear.

There are at least three veins of coal deposit in the county. Tltf first one crops out in the hills in and around Stahl, and seems to be confined to that part of the county altogether. The second vein extent pretty generally throughout the coal fields of the county, and is found at a depth varying from fifty to seventy-five feet. The third vein underlies the second at a depth of about 150 feet, and has been found at Stahi. Connelsville, Novinger, and perhaps at other places.

These veins vary in thickness from 24 to 44 inches. All thre* them are found at Stahl. The first is 42 inches thick, the second :>2 inches, and the third 24 inches. An effort was made to work out tinsecond vein, but it was not thick enough to be profitable. The thin: has never been worked. At Novinger and Connelsville the mines ar» working the second vein, but it is fully 42 inches thick and sometimes * little thicker, being therefore from ten to twelve inches thicker than the sume vein at Stahl. The Kirksville mines are working this saintvein. As yet the third has not been operated, as it is too far below th» surface and is not thick enough to pay.

In 1908 there were, according to the State Mine Inspector. sixUrr, mines in operation, of which ten were shaft, four were slope and two wen drift mines. There are more slope and drift mines at Stahl than at any other place in the county. After having dug far back into the hi I',*, the operators at Stahl constructed shafts on the brows of the hills ovtr the place of operation, but it was found cheaper to haul the coal out of the original openings on the hillsides than to lift it to the top of 1 1 itshaft, so the shafts were abandoned.

Most of the mines are constructed on the pillar and room plai. there being in 1908 fourteen mines of that type and only three of tinlong wall plan.

Prior to 1907 mining was done in all the mines of the county by hand, but in that year the mines at Stahl installed mining machine*. The Manufacturers' Coke and Coal Company installed machinery in 1900, but the miners objected to it, so it was never put into operation In 1910 the Rombauer Company installed machinery also, so that m' present there are only two mines in which the work of mining i> donby machinery.

The following table compiled from the Reports of the State Mm. Inspector regarding the condition of the mines in the county may b of interest :

The coal industry of the county has given rise to several Uwt> and increased the size of others. Stahl, Novinger and Oonnelsvilkowe their existence to the fact that under and around them lie great beds of coal which have been operated to a great extent. Novinger the most striking example of rapid growth through the coal industry. Ten years ago it was a struggling little village of a dozen houses or but it has become a town of 2,000 population and has just begun itgrowth. It is asserted that more coal is loaded on the cars of the 0. h railroad at Novinger than at all points put together on that road, including Quincy and Kansas City. Connelsville grew wonderfully fi<: a few years after the I. & St. L. road was built to it, and it may contini> to grow. The opening of the Star Coal Company mine in the recent h discovered vein west of Kirksville has contributed something to tlu wealth and growth of that place.

Before closing this chapter it will be well to say something concerning the men who have expended their money in the development of this industry in the county. A great number of different individu^ and companies have at different times operated mines. At first it seems that the operations were carried on by individuals, and it donot appear that companies representing large capital were organize until long after coal began to be mined for commercial purposes.

Among the individuals who operated different mines in the seventies were Messrs. Stout, Porter. Besanko, and Godfrey. The rir-v three named worked mines on Hazel Creek, an eastern tributary the Chariton; the last had a mine west of the Chariton. Mr. John L Porter was probably more extensively engaged in coal mining than any other one person in the county prior to 1890. In 1880 S. F. Stahl !*- gan to operate a mine at Stahl. For years coal had been mined in tha* vicinity, but it could not be mined on a large scale until the railroad unbuilt through. This was done in 1878, and in 1880 Mr. Stahl laid oi.< the town which bears his name and began to get out coal for shipment in car load lots. He continued for two or three years when he sold out to S. M. Pickler. At the same time Mr. Stahl was running at Stahi. J. B. Novinger was engaged in the same business near him.

The first company representing considerable capital was the Peim-( sylvania Coal Company, which was composed of John Whitehead A Sons of Pennsylvania. This company purchased the mines at St&k and Danforth in 1887, and operated them both. Mr. H. C. McCab.t: as early connected with this company and in 1889 became sole prorietor. The name of the company has been changed several times, Lit with the exception of a very short time, Mr. McCahan has had some >nnection with it. The style of the company at present is the Stahl oal Company. The company abandoned the mines at Danforth bout 1895 on account of the great amount of water.

Mining at Novinger began with the effort made by Mr. John L. ortrr to open up a mine on what is now Front street in that town in The project was abandoned very shortly after it was started, othing further seems to have been done at this place until the O. K. lining Company was organized about 1890. This company was com- of I. F. Stroup, Noah St roup, B. Stroup, Evans, and Radky. hose men opened up the mine known afterwards as Rombauer No. 1. a 1897 they sold out to the Rombauer Coal Company, of which lajor R. (I. Rombauer was President. This company was the first of if big companies that have operated at Novinger; it has opened up l four mines, one of them having been exhausted, however, some ears ago.

The other big companies at Novinger are the Kansas City Miduid Company, the ^Manufacturers' Coke and Coal Company, and the ireat Northern Fuel Company.

As far as is known, there have been no serious clashes between perators and miners. There have been the biennial suspensions of il*>r for some time, but no violence has been offered by either party, n June, 1894, when a big strike was on, about eighty miners came from tli-miota. Iowa, to Stahl to persuade the Stahl miners to strike. They k> not seem to have succeeded, as the Stahl miners had no grievance m*i did not care to strike.

As far as is known, the county had no fair organization until after ft? war. A law was passed by the State legislature on March 15, S»il. incorporating the Adair County Agricultural and Mechanical U<ociation, but the war prevented this association from ever doing mything. until I860. In that year the Legislature amended the act of VjI. and a fair was held that fall. The grounds lay a quarter of a mile rmthwest of the town. Fairs were held annually each fall until 1882 r 1883. when they were discontinued. Complaint had been made in 880 in the newspapers, of the lack of facilities and the indifference of he management as to the matter. Special efforts were made in 1883 to prevent the disbandment of the organization, but sufficient finan«-.£ support could not be secured. The business of the association was th^»- fore wound up and the grounds sold in November, 1883.

For a few years the county was without a fair, and no one secm^l think it worth while organizing one. In 1886, however, a special fort was made towards getting a new fair association started, hut th were not successful. However, in 1889, the Adair County Fair A>sciation had been organized, and its first fair was held in the fall of ths* year. This association continued to hold annual fairs for a!>out five i: six years whereupon they were discontinued.

The fairs were like the ordinary county fairs. Agricultural an stock exhibits, floral hall exhibits, racing, and the usual side-show amuxments made up the features which furnished diversion for the crowuthat attended.

A movement is now on foot to revive the county fair. It has ari*: from the success which attended a stock and corn show held in Kirkville in September, 1910. The plan is to make the fair a strictly livstock and agricultural exhibition and not a race meet nor a series ; side-shows. The capital stock will be $50,000, and no one person will be allowed more than ten shares at $10 each. The principal officrr* are H. C. MeCahan, President; S. J. Miller, Vice-President: H. Bainburg, Secretary; John Propst, Treasurer; W. A. Lewis. Superintends* . It is planned to hold the first fair in the fall of 191 1.