Adair County, Missouri - Chapter 18: The Other Towns of the County, 1911

Brashear ms laid out in 1872, but its history reaches back prior to that date for several years. A mile and a half northeast of Brashear there once stood a prosperous little village called Paulville or Paultown. This place was laid out by Walker Paul some time before the war. probably about 1855. Settlers had l>een coming into this part of the county ever since 1842, the year when William CI. Brashear settled there. According to tradition he was the first white man to settle in that vicinity. That Mr. Paul thought his town would become an important place is evident from his generous plans in laying it out. In tin- center was an o|M>n square which was so located asto he on the crown of a beautiful knoll; around the square the business houses were to be built, ami from it the town would grow. Soon after the town was laid out a few store buildings were erected on the west ami north sides of the square, and the town became a popular trading point for the people in the Salt River region. There was u grist mill in the village, but it was burned during the war, for the purpose, it is said by some, of keeping the Confederate recruits in that section from getting supplies from it.

After the war the prosjHTts for this little villege brightened and it Came to have a population of alnmt two hundred people. But in 1ST J the q. M. & p. R. R. (now the (). K.) was built from Qttincy to Kirksville, and in that year the town of Brashear was laid out. This proved to Im' the end of Paulville. From the time Brashear was laid out people in Paulville began to move it, so that in a year or two practically the rutin- town had been literally moved over. One church building and M-veral residences were put on trucks anil moved over to Brashear, ami some others were torn down in Paulville and reconstructed in Brashear. Brashear was therefore at the outset little more than Paulville transferred.

through Paulvillc. hut it was decided that the grade would be too grea; to make that line advisable. The road was therefore built so as to run a mile or two south of Paulville. Among those greatly interested in the route that was decided on was John Hurd of Knox County. Be owned some land along the western edge of that county ami bestirred himself to get the road I milt through that land. Agreements were made, it is said, between him and the general agent of the road to th< effect that a depot should he established on his laud and be called Hurdland, ami further, that no other depot should be built west - it or east of Salt River. That was to protect the interests of the town as it would compel those who wished to use that railroad in the eastern part of Adair County to go to Hurdland.

Many persons in this county, especially those who lived along the railroad in the eastern part, felt aggrieved at the road for making thk sort of an arrangement. Some objected because of the inconvenient* that would lie entailed upon them in going so far from their homes in order to get needed accommodations from the railroad; others disliked to have a thriving town built up just over the county line which would draw wealth away from the county. The experience with the X<»rtL Missouri Railroad (now the Wabash) had brought its lessons. La Plata, just south of the southern county line, and (ireentop, just north of the northern county line on this road, had precluded the building up of trade centers of any importance within the county on this road outside of Kirksville. It was quite inadvisable to allow the county to lose its hold upon the trade along the new railroad in the eastern par of the county through the building up of Hurdland just across the < -.i--- em lw>rder line, and several persons interested themselves in doing what they could to save the situation.

Among those who took an active interest in the matter, the most aggressive was R. M. Brashear. It was necessary to get funds to induce the railroad to open up a depot in the eastern part of the county It was therefore decided to submit a proposition to the voters of Sslt River township to issue $0,000 in bonds, which should be given to the railroad for opening up a depot in that township. The proposition failed to carry. Rut those living in the eastern part of Salt River township were determined upon having a depot, and prevailed upon the count} court to allow them to vote upon this bond issue by themselves. The court allowed them to do so, and the proposition carried. This, by the way, is the explanation for the so-called Kast and West Salt River townships. There has never been a division of Salt River township into

Meanwhile Mr. Brashear had gotten the railroad authorities to say where they could and would locate a depot if it should be established. Having gotten that information he proceeded to buy thirty acres of land south of the proposed depot site, and laid out this tract into town lots. The railroad authorities accepted the offer of $6,000 Itonds which had been voted by the taxpayers of the east part of Salt River township, and thereupon built the depot where they told Mr. Brashear they would put it.

As soon as the railroad announced where the depot would be, the people of Paulville realized that the end of their village had come, and most of them prepared to move at once to the newly laid out town of Brashear. As has already been said, several buildings were moved on trucks and set down in Brashear.

This proved not only the end of Paulville, but it checked the progress of Hurdland. Hurdland recovered somewhat from this check by securing the Santa Fe Railroad through it. There are many people in Brashear today who lament that the town did not make a stronger effort to get the Santa Fe; they believe that the town would have grown to be many times what it is now if it had gotten this railroad.

When Brashear was laid out in 1872 there were no county roads leading to it. Mr. Brashear got up petitions for five roads to be built into his new town from various directions. There was a great deal of opposition to these roads at first, but after they were opened there* was no further objection to them, as they proved at once their value.

Among the earliest residents of Brashear were R. M. Brashear, R. F. Prince, and J. X. McCreary, all of whom came from Paulville. Mr. McCreary, who had been the postmaster at Paulville, was the first postmaster at Brashear. When it had become settled that Brashear would be laid out he got the government to transfer the office, and he went with the transfer. He is also said to have been the first man to build a house in the new town. Other early settlers were C. G. Cornell, W. B. Keller, Wm. Hill, John Wyatt, John Young, and Dr. H*. L. Hopkins.

The railroad did not begin to stop its trains at Brashear until after the depot was finished. That did not occur until February, 1873. The first agent was John Kerr, who served from February to October, 1873. He was succeeded by M. F. Strock, who served until 1870. By the time the depot was completed several buildings had been erected in the town.

The original town lay on the southern slope of a hill and extended from Front Street, which was parallel to the railroad track and on the north side of it, north to Chestnut Street, and from Church Street east for six blocks. The town was laid out around a square, which was donated as a park to the town by Mr. Brashcar. In the fall of 1872 about thirty lots were sold and inside a year about forty buildings were erected.

Various additions have been made to the original town, such as Hopkins & McCreary's, McClay's, Myers', Millstead's and Tuttle's south additions. Myers' addition does not lie completely within the town limits; moreover, much of the land lying within the limits is unplatted as yet (1911).

The town remained under the township organization of Salt River township until May 23, 1877. On that day J. N. McCreary and twentythree others filed a petition with the county court asking for incorporation ami for the establishing of police for local government. When the court became satisfied that two thirds of the taxable inhabitants had M<nied the petition, it incorporated the town as a village, and appointed Ruebcn Davidson, S. P. Barnhart, W. B. Keller, W. R. Hopkins, and (i. Cornell as trustees to serve until the first regular election in April, 1*78.

The town has never been able to raise itself to the rank of a city »t the fourth class, inasmuch as its population has never reached the five hundred mark. It is yet governed by a board of trustees elected annually. This board elects its chairman and clerk, the town marsball and other officers. The chairmen of the board since 1897 have Ken as follows:

The records prior to 1899 have been lost, so that this list cannot go hack of that date. It is known through an accidental source of information that B. F. Hall was chairman of the board in 1885.

Brashoar has four churches, each of which has a building of its own. Thoy are the United Brethren, the M. E. Church, the M. E. Church. South, and the Christian. An account of each congregation has already been given in the chapter on churches in the county.

In addition to the public schools of this town there was a private institution called Brashear Academy, which had been started by Prof. J. S. Bailey in September, 1884. This purported to be of high school rank, but it is evident that very little was done beyond the grades. The enrollment ran from 50 to 140, according to newspaper reports. In 1880 the school was comducted by Profs. S. B. and S. P. Barr, but later Prof. Bailey resumed control. The school was conducted in a three-story frame building which had been erected by Prof. Bailey. The third floor was used by the Masons for a lodge room. In the early nineties the academy suspended its sessions, and in 1891 the building was sold to the Christian Church. In the following year the building was remodeled and made into a church building by that congregation, and has been used for such from that time to this.

Mention has been made in the chapter on banks, of the two banks in Brashear. The Masonic, Odd Fellow and G. A. R. organizations of Brashear have been treated in the chapter on Fraternal Organizations.

Brashear has been visited by several fires, the most destructive ln-inp that of 1883, when the west side of the square was burned, and That of 1895, when the north side of the square was destroyed.

In 1849 Nineveh, the most unique settlement in Adair County and one of the unique settlements of Missouri, was founded. It was composed of a small group of German communists who came from Bethel, Shelby County, Missouri. In order to get a proper appreciation of the settlement at Nineveh, it will be necessary to say something aUmt Bethel and its founder, Dr. William Keil.

Dr. Keil was born in Prussia in 1811. He grew up to young manhood in his native country and became a man milliner. He came to America in 1835 or 1836, and after living a while in New York he went to Pittsburgh. He practiced medicine in both of these places with *ome degree of success, though it is not certain he ever attended a medical school. Shortly after he reached Pittsburgh he was converted in a revival held by the German Methodists and he joined their church. In 1839 he was licensed as a local preacher; his success and enthusiasm as a class leader had recommended him as a suitable candidate for this higher rank. Very shortly, however, he broke with this church. During the absence of the regular pastor he is said to have ascended the pul- pit one Sunday and preached for two hours. In this sermon he alt: the ministry very severely for their acceptance of salaries. At close of his sermon he asked all those who believed in the truth of his statements and who believed in his inspiration, to rise to their im Many arose. This marked the beginning of his following, and for i thirty years he maintained a strong hold over a considerable group*'' people.

and so he joined the Protestant Methodists. Later he was excludi from this church because he would not obey his ecclesiastical superi The group that had withdrawn with him from the German Methodi* anil had gone with him into the Protestant Methodist church, also windrew with him from this latter church. He then began to send enti.isiastic young men as representatives of his ideas into other part* Pennsylvania and into Ohio. West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, an-i Iowa. Their efforts were not without some results. Many accepts! his ideas and believed in him as an inspired leader and teacher.

It was not until he had reached this stage that he In-gan to thin*, of establishing a communistic colony somewhere. When his plans Wfl announced, many of his followers sold their property and made prcparv tion to join his colony. An attempt was made to put the colony on Ik basis of a constitution which had been drafted by some of those who tad joined in the movement, but this was rejected by Keil, and his own mperious will became the law to which all pave a willing and an enthuiastic obedience. The society which was organized remained unin- unto the day of its dissolution.

In 1844 a committee of three called "spies" was sent to Missouri o find a suitable site for the colony. They came by boat down the )hio and up the Mississippi to St. Louis. It had been intended to inotijjate the region along the Mississippi north of the mouth of the JisM»uri, but on arriving in this district they found the land all under rater from recent spring rains, so that they did not land until they ;ot to Hannibal. At this place they met a man who interested them ti tome land in Shelby County. This land pleased them very much ml they recommended it as the best site for the colony. Dr. Keil jul a few of the colonists came in the autumn of 1844, and others came m as they could make arrangements. One group purchased a boat it Pittsburgh and used it in transporting themselves and their goods o Hannibal, where the boat was disposed of, and they moved their :<mm!s overland to the site of the colony. Frederick Stahl, the father of udge S. F. Stahl of Kirksville, was the engineer of this boat.

The main settlement of this colony was called Bethel. Others rinn near it were called Klim, Mamri, and Hebron. All these names rerc taken from the Bible. Later the Adair County brunch colony ra> also given a Biblical name, Nineveh, hut the other brunch in Oregon M named Aurora after one of Dr. Keil's daughters.

Inasmuch as the colony had a peculiar religious basis, we are inerested at the outset in its religious institutions. An elegant church aiilding was erected at Bethel, which was tin- pride of the colony and n object of attraction for miles around. Every two weeks the colons gathered in this church to hear Dr. Keil preach. His sermons b not seem to have been doctrinal, but to have been exhortations to BdlKtry, moral living, and ol>edienee to his authority. Baptism was liwarded, and the regular method of observing the Lord's Supper also, f it was observed at all, it was by way of a general meal at the house of onic meml>er. The festivals were nearly all of them religious in charter. Dr. Keil's birthday, Easter, Pentecost. May feast, and the Har- >-t feast \ven> the occasions of feasting and rejoicing. The first three fere celebrated at Elim, where Dr. Keil resided, the others at Bethel, rtie May festival was perhaps the biggest of the feasts. At Christinas ime the church was decorated with two large trees, and the people gathered at four o'clock on Christmas morning, and after listening to a

The chief industrial activity of the colony was agriculture, but a great deal of manufacturing, on a small scale to be sure, was carried on A flour mill, a saw mill, a woolen mill, a distillery, a tannery, lime and brick kilns, and a glue plant were built. The motive power of the millwas furnished by a steam engine. Boots, shoes, hats, gloves, wagon*, plows, woolen and linen goods, liquors, and linseed oil were among thr many things which they manufactured for sale. Some of their products, especially the gloves, were much sought for in markets as far distant as New York.

Each industry had a superintendent who arranged the detail* m his particular department. The net proceeds realized from the salr of the products of these various industries, including the farms, why put in a general fund. This fund grew to be considerable in time. No dividends were declared, but the surplus earnings were used in enlarging the various enterprises of the colony. Each member of the colon) was a stockholder in every concern.

Common places were provided for the protection of live stock. A large barn for the horses was built at Bethel, and another for the stock cattle and cows at Hebron. There was also a common, barn for t lit work cattle, and a common pig sty. The men who had families lived in separate houses, but the unmarried men lived in 4 'the large house." which was also used as a hotel and as the colony store.

From the colony store each family would draw each week its share of provisions, the share of each family being determined by the number in it. There was no choice of articles or goods. Every family got the same kind of provisions; the difference was in the amount only. The clothing was made from cloth made by the colony and every one got hi? share of that. Special purchases could be made only by those who hail realized something from the sale of such commodities as butter and eggs. These commodities were about the only things that could be sold a> private property. The proceeds from the sale of other things went into the general fund. It will be readily seen how little private pocbt change any individual had and how restricted his special purchase must have been.

The colony maintained a school in which the elementary branch^ were taught. German was, of course, the language of the school, but English was also taught.

leaving Bethel for Aurora, Oregon, in 1855, he left the management of affairs in the hands of a deputy president appointed by him. As Dr. Keil never returned from Oregon, the management passed from one deputy president to another as occasion required new appointments. These deputy presidents did all that Dr. Keil had done, and though they never made personal reports to him, they remained loyal to him.

This long account of the Bethel colony has been given in order that the branch at Xineveh may be understood. In many respects the branch and the mother colony were alike, and yet owing to disparity in size there were differences. The similarities and differences will be made apparent as this account now proceeds.

In 1849, after the Bethel colony had been in operation alx>ut four years, it was decided to establish a branch colony. Dr. Keil and Mr. Adam Scheulie came to Adair County and selected the farm of David A. Ely on the Chariton River, as the most suitable site for the branch colony. Mr. Ely had built a mill which was run by water power furnished by a dam which he had constructed in the river. Moreover, it was known that coal abounded in this vicinity. These were the things, therefore, that interested Dr. Keil and Mr. Scheulie in this particular place.

One hundred and sixty acres were bought from Mr. Ely and a town laid off, which was called Nineveh. Later a great deal more land was taught, until there were in all 2,100 acres owned by the colony. In the spring of 1850 about twenty-five people came from Bethel and began the work of founding the branch colony, which was to be a reproduction as tar as possible of Bethel.

The mill was converted from a water to a steam mill, the first in the county. It was quite a novelty at that time, and men came from ten to twenty miles, and sometimes as far as sixty miles, to have their wheat, corn, and other grain ground. A saw mill was also installed, and much lumber was gotten out. A tannery, shoe shop, blacksmithing and wagon shops and a carpenter shop were also erected and put in operation. But the industries of Nineveh were never as extensive as those at Bethel, and very little in the way of manufactured products, aside from flour and meal, was put upon the market. As at Bethel, farming was the chief industry at Nineveh. Some coal was mined, but the work was done by hired labor. A store was maintained, from which the colonists drew their weekly supplies.

ever, he managed to keep his hand upon affairs through a lioani three elders. After he left Missouri and went to Aurora, Oregon, tta elders were under the deputy president left behind at Bethel.

There was no church building at Nineveh, but there wa> a hig house in which the head elder and his family and the unmarried mei the colony lived. Religious services were held every Sunday in ' hall upstairs in this building. These services were more in the onirf of prayer meetings. If, however. Dr. Keil or some of the >o-calW elders of Bethel were present, they would preach.

Very few of the festivals celebrated at Bethel were celebrated it Nineveh. The colonists were too few in number to make elaU>rai> celebrations possible. There were never more than loO in the colony nor more than thirteen dwellings. Life was somewhat more moBtH - nous at Nineveh than at Bethel.

The colony maintained a school for four months in the year. TV teacher was ( has. Knight, who came from Bethel. As far as is kn<>wi. he was the only teacher the Nineveh branch ever had.

In 1877 Dr. Keil died. This meant the rapid dissolution of tb» colony, for no one was at hand to rule with the same iron hand a- h< had ruled. Even he had found some difficulty in retaining COOtfd toward the last. Many of the people in the various colonies began to see that they did not possess as much property as their non-comniuiiK neighbors, and many of them withdrew. Among those who withdraw from the colony at Nineveh were Jacob Culler and family. Hennai.r Behrens and family, Michael Snyder and family, and S. F. Stahl. Vthese persons withdrew, all of them except Mr. Stahl. received tfaftt share of the property of the colony. The reason why Mr. Stahl did n»' get anything was he withdrew just before he was twenty-one, and though he had kept the colony's store he was not entitled to anything. He « given S2.V00. however, as a kind of gift for his services in the rtof After he withdrew he engaged in mercantile business in Nineveh, runring a store in competition with the colony store. His partner wa- J. I). Miller, who had likewise withdrawn from the Aurora colony ar.'. had returned to Nineveh. These men maintained their store in Nineveh until it was burned in November, 1873, whereupon Mr. Stud went into business at Shibley's Point.

Under the circumstances it was deemed advisable after Dr. Keil - death, to make a complete division of the property. Legal proceedingwere thereupon begun. In inventory was made of all the pro|xrt' owned by the society at Bethel, Nineveh and Aurora, and the varum? items were as follows:

A division was then made between the Bethel colony, which included Nineveh, and the Aurora colony. To the Bethel colony was aligned $47,214.25; to the Aurora colony, $62,592.10. After the division had been thus made between the two colonies, the next step was to divide the property of each colony between the members. This was done without much delay.

It is not clear why the property Adair County property of the Nineveh branch should be estimated at so low a figure as $2,790. The withdrawal of a goodly number had cut down the property considerably, but this is not sufficient explanation. Perhaps the low figure is due to the fact that the claims of J. D. Miller to all the land which had ixen deeded in the name of his father should go to him, had been excluded. All the real estate of the colonies at Bethel, Nineveh and Aurora was originally deeded to individuals and not to the society. J. D. Miller claimed what had been deeded in his father's name, and after some time the colony deferred to his claims rather than go into court.

The following men were among those who made up the colony at Nineveh: Geo. Bauer, Herman Behrens, Henry Beek, Jacob Culler, August Culler, Win. Culler, Peter Erich, Peter Felker, Henry Felker, Henry Frey, George Feller, Tobias Feller, Jacob Findling, J. T. Gall, Henry Howard, J. M. Miller, Geo. Miller, Frederick Miley, John Miley, Peter Pfeiffer, Freeman Pfeiffer, Michael Snyder, Geo. Steinbach, S. F. Stahl, and John Yoght. There were others but their names were not ascertained. Of those named above August Culler, Wm. Culler, Peter Felker, Freeman Pfeiffer, John Miley, and S. F. Stahl withdrew from the colony before its dissolution.

In politics the members of the colony were all Democrats before tlie war. During Lincoln's administration they all returned Republican and have generally remained so to the present.

After the dissolution of the colony the members joined different churches, most of them, however, going into the Presbyterian or the Cumberland Presbyterian churches.

From the dissolution of the German eolony in 1870. until the building of the Iowa and St. Ixniis Railroad in 1901, Nineveh remained a country Cross-road village. Shortly after the building of this ratfaosd certain promoters became interested in booming the place. In Augu«t 1902, the Missouri and Iowa Townsite Company purchased 124 arm adjoining Nineveh ami laid out a new town which they culled Conn - villc, presumably after the famous coal and coke town of that namin Pennsylvania.

The Manufacturers' Coal and Coke Company opened up several mines in and around Connelsville ami thus began to operate the . industry of that vicinity on a large scale for the first time. Dunne 190243 twelve brick store buildings and a hundred or more dwelling were built. The present town includes old Nineveh, and has a jx>pubtion, according to the census of 1010, of 052. The future growth oftb town will depend u|M»n the development of the coal industry.

The town was incorporated as a city of the fourth class on Apr 1, 1904. The officers appointed by the county court at the time of incorporation were: S. G. Wright, Mayor; Kmmett Raugh, Collector Simeon Tallahcy, Marshall; S. F. Shumate, Edward ECitts, Fred Snoop, and N. B. Wethnan, Aldermen.

The first permanent white settlement in the county was made in 18.10 within three or four miles of what is now the town of Noving-r It seems, however, that it was about ten years In'fore settlers l>egan t< occupy the land in and around Novinger. By 1800 this part of the county was fairly well settled by a class of hard working and thrifty farmers who scarcely dreamed of the vast mineral wealth that underlay their lands. They were accustomed to go to Kirksville for some their trading, but their post office and their chief trading and milling point was Nineveh, a settlement which had been founded by a colony <-: German communists about 1850.

The first stej) towards the making of the present town of NovingH was taken after the IJ. M. *.V 1*. R. R. (now the O. K.) was extoii<l><: west from Kirksville in 1878. In that year, or at least the next. John C. Novinger laid out on bis land a village which bore his name anil whirl constitutes today the original town of Novinger. Two different industries were l>cginning to be developed by that time in the western par of the county, the tie and the coal industries, and the advantage in having a railroad run through the timber and coal regions was something that both the company anil the community realized. At the time when the railroad was projected west from Kirksville, the tie industry was leading the coal industry by long odds. Novinger station became the most important tie settlement in the county, and several individuals and firms made it their shipping point from which ties by the hundreds of thousands \\' !v -hipped to different parts of the country. Notwithstanding the fact that so much traffic went on through Novinger, this industry contributed nothing of permanence to the place. A few little shanties were put up in the town for the temporary use of the tie workers, but when the timber around the place had been cleared off and the tie business was closed up, the tie workers left and their shanties were torn down or converted to other uses. This industry was at its height from about 1885 to 1895.

But just as the tie business began to enter its decline in the county and particularly around Novinger, the second industry of that part of the county, the coal industry, began to take on new life and to expand Ix vond what it had ever been in the past. This industry has been the means of making the town what it is today, with its nearly 2,(X)0 popu-

In another chapter the development of the eoal industry in the county received special treatment, so that it is necessary to speak h<r> only briefly of its rise and growth in Novinger.

In and around Stahl the eoal veins have appeared quite MM the surface, so that by a little stripping or scraping off of the dirt th coal could be easily gotten out, or the coal has cropixnl out on the hillsides and has been brought out by digging into the hills. Since surii veins were easily discovered it is readily seen why the coal industry began in and around Stahl earlier than it did at Novinger and vicinity, where the coal veins are all well below the surface of the earth and hav> to be reached by shafts.

The first effort to open a mine at Novinger was made by John L Porter of Kirksville in 1883, along what "is how Front Street. HcsjL'j. an air shaft preparatory to sinking a main shaft, but the railroad <-"] pany with whom he had made a contract had meanwhile l>ecome insolvent, so that his contract became valueless. He thereupon abandoned the project. The air shaft then filled up with water and »nused for years as a public well.

For many years after Mr. Porter's efforts, several small mines wen opened up in and around the place, but none of them amounted to mud until the Rombauer Coal Company bought out the (). K. Coal Company in 1898 and began to operate on a large scale. The conditions that made the expansion of the coal industry possible in Novinger and the county in general, was the extension of the 0. K. Railroad «res» from Trenton in 1897. This extension opened up the Kansas City an Omaha markets directly to those who would engage in the coal busin»- on a large scale. Major Rombauer readily saw what possibilities tl.. : were in the coal business at Novinger, and the success he has had in hiextensive operations there since he began in 1K9S, has proved his i<>r-- sightedness and business ability.

In a year or two after Major Rombauer began his extensive operations, a few business men began to show their faith in the future oi the town by putting (heir money into business houses and into dwellings. Among them were J. V. and C. V. Miller of Kirksville. ThtJ began erecting business houses along Frankford Avenue in 1900, ami in three years they erected twenty-one buildings, mostly brick, alont this street, which with six other buildings belonging to other parti<- occupy four blocks on both sides of the street. In addition to tho< business houses, the Miller Brothers erected over twenty residence

After the Rombauer Company was organized, other large companies have opened mines in and around Novinger. In 1910 there were four large companies operating eight mines in or near the town. The pay-roll of these companies amounted to about $50,000 a month in 1909, when the mines were being operated steadily.

The expansion of the coal industry has produced a great increase in the population of the town. In 1900 there were less than 100 people there. In 1910 there were 1711. Coal has been the making of Novinger and from the present prospects will continue to make it a still more im{x)rtant industrial center in the near future.

Up to April 5, 1901, Novinger remained, as far as local government was concerned,a part of the municipal township of Nineveh. It appears never to have been incorporated as a village. But on April 5, 1901. the county court of Adair County, in answer to a petition presented to it, incorporated the town as a city of the fourth class. The court also appointed the following officers to serve until the following election: Mayor, J. F. Novinger; Collector, F. A. Stroup; Marshall, Frank W. Closs; Aldermen, first ward, Henry Truitt and Martin Rabhitt; Aldermen, second ward, Emmanuel Sharp and VV. P. Pierson.

It is hoped by many of the leading people of the town that the population will increase soon to 2,500, so that the town may take rank as a city of the third class. It has been thought that if the ten mining c:imps around Novinger were incorporated in the town, the number necessary to secure the change from fourth to third class would be had. This will enable the town to arrange for certain local affairs which* the cities of the fourth class do not enjoy.

The town election for Mavor and other elective officers occurs every two years, in April. The Mayors have been as follows, the date indicating the year in which they were elected:

Prior to the building of the Santa Fe Railroad through the southeastern corner of the county in 1887, the little village called Wilsontown gave some promise of continued existence. Rut as the railr>m : left it to one side, it was at once apparent that its future was threatened, just as was Paulville when the Q. M. & P. R. R. was built and left it to one side. The successor to \\ ilsontown is (jibbs, just a> Brashear is the successor to Paulville.

A good deal of business is done at (Jibbs. It is situated so that it draws from three counties. Much grain and stock are shipped to market from this point. The grain elevator owned by Perrin & Company, of Chicago, and operated by Ihe Meredith Lumber Company, ha- 1 capacity of lO.(KM) bushels.

The town was incorporated as a village on February 9, 18t>4. The county court appointed Sherman Brown, Jas. L. (Jlasgow, Olden Pierce. I). C. (Jibbs, and Win. McVey as the trustees at the time of incorporation.

Besides the towns mentioned in the foregoing pages of this chapter, therr are several unincorporated villages in the county, some account of which will here be given.

Stahl. - This coal mining town is located on the (). K. Railroad, fourteen miles northwest of Kirksville. It was laid out in June, 1882, l»y S. F. Stahl, who was at that time engaged in the coal mining business at that place. All the mines and practically all the town property arc now owned by H. C McCahan. The town has not grown as the other coal mining towns of the county have grown.

Shibley's Point. - This little village is seventeen miles northwest of Kirksville and three miles northeast of Stahl. It was named after the Shiblcys who settled in that vicinity in the early days of the county. It was a trading point for that section of the county, especially after the decline of Nineveh in the late seventies.

Adair. - This village is fifteen miles north of Brashear. It was platted in April, 1879 for M. C. and Mary E. Cody. It has always been a Catholic settlement. Many facts concerning the place may be found in the sketch of the Catholic church at that place.

Wilmathsville. - This village is in Clay Township, eighteen miles northeast of Kirksville, and nine miles southeast of Cireentop, Schuyler County, its m-iin shipping point. It was surveyed and platted for W. B. Reynolds, who had moved from La Grange to that part of the county in 1856. He afterwards opened up a store on his farm and put a man by the name of McLean in charge of it. The village which grew up around this store was named after Mrs. McLean, whose given name was Wilmoth. The correct way of spelling the name of the town is Wilmothsville, though it has generally come to be spelled Wilmathsville.

Sublette - This village is eight miles north of Kirksville on the Wabash Railroad. It was platted in 1809 for P. J. and Sarah R. Subl«tte. It is located in the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 34, township 64, range 15, Polk Township. It has been a convenient shipping point for the farmers of that section of the county.

Millard. - This village is eight miles south of Kirksville on the Wabash Railroad. It was surveyed and platted for S. F. and Matxi' A. Miller in May, 1872. The location is in the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 11, township 61, range 15, Pettis Township. It is surrounded on all sides by excellent fanning land. A k>»»1 deal of shipping has been done at that place ever since it was laid out.

Besides the places named in this section there are Danfortb in Nineveh township, Youngstown in Liberty township, Nind and Yarro* in Walnut township and Wilsontown in Wilson township. Danforth ion the O. K. railroad and Youngstown and Yarrow are on th<- I. & St. L. railroad.