Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 5, 1900

Trading Points And Postoffices

THE NAMES OF SOME OF THE FIRST SETTLERS. - POPULATION, BOUNDARIES, AND VOTING PRECINCTS OF THE VARIOUS TOWNSHIPS. - THE TOWNS OF AGENCY, DEKALB, WALLACE, TAOS, WINTHROP, RUSHVILLE, HALLS, EASTON AND ST. GEORGE. - SPARTA, THE FIRST COUNTY SEAT. - TRADING POINTS AND POSTOFFICES.

In this chapter the history and present condition of the various townships of Buchanan County and the towns and trading points therein contained is briefly outlined. The names of only such pioneers as came prior to 1845 are given. Most of these are dead. The boundaries, the date of settlement, present population, location of voting precincts, post offices and trading points are set forth, and also a brief history of the various towns, together with their commercial importance, location and population.

PLATTE TOWNSHIP. - The first settlers came by wagon from Clay County, and Platte Township, which forms the southeast corner of Buchanan County, was the scene of the earliest struggles of the pioneers, though the other southern townships were populated so near the same time that there is little difference as to age. However, the Enyards, the Everetts and the Munkers are among the first who came to the new country, and they settled in Platte Township.

The following are the names of some of the pioneers of Platte Township and the dates of their coming: Absalom Enyard, 1836; Weston J. Everett and Absalom Munkers, February, 1837; David Munkers, first white child born in the township, April, 1838; Jackson Erickson, 1837; James Williams, 1837; John Huntsucker, Tennessee, j837; Peter Bledsoe, 1837; William Cobb, Tennessee, 1837; John Fletcher and Jesse Rockhold, 1837; John Tobin, Kentucky, 1838; John Dryden, Thompson Burnham, Charles Kennaird, Morris Pile, James Anderson, 1838; Dr. Samuel Trower, Kentucky, 1838; Nelson Witt, Kentucky, 1838; John Berryhill, James Courtney, James

The first church in the township was built by Judge Nelson Witt. It was of logs and octagonal in shape, with a considerable seating capacity. It was called the Witt meeting house and was used by the Calvinistic Baptists.

According to the last census Platte Township has a population of 968. The voting precinct is at Burnett school house and the post office is at Platte River, where there is a general store, a mill, and a bridge over the river.

Arnoldsville was at one time a trading point and postoffice. Eli Arnold built a mill there in 1847. Now the people of Jackson, as well as those of Platte, go to Platte River. Matney's mill and store are on the Jackson Township side of the bridge.

CRAWFORD TOWNSHIP. - History has preserved the names of the following early settlers of Crawford Township, the second of the southern tier west of Platte: William Fowler, Delaware, 1837; Wm Harrington, 1837; Caleb Bailey, 1837; Wm. Guinn and Wm. Lockhart, Illinois, 1837; Bartlett Curl. Kentucky, 1837; James B. O'Toole, Illinois, 1837; Harvey Jones, North Carolina, 1837; O. M. Spencer, father of Judge Spencer, Kentucky, 1837; James Curl, William Payne, Guian Brown, Turpin Thomas, Matt Ferril, 1837; Thomas A. Brown, late judge of the county court, Tennessee, 1838; H. W« Baker, Virginia, 1837; John Hickman, St. Louis, 1837; Levi Judah, Indiana, 1837; Columbus Roundtree, Kentucky, 1837; Dr. Silas McDonald, Kentucky, 1838, first physician in the county; Major Sandford Feland, Kentucky, 1839; Guilford Moultrie, 1839; Nathan Turner, 1839.

Crawford Township had, according to the last census, a population of 1,359. There are three voting precincts, Halleck, Wallace and Faucett, and each of these has a postoffice.

Halleck, which is also called "Old Taos/' was originally known as Fancher's Cross Roads. In 1848, a saloon was kept there, in which was sold whisky of so villainous a character that those who had returned from the Mexican war compared it to Taos whisky, which was mescal, and considered the worst in New Mexico; so, when a drunken soldier galloped through the village yelling "Hurrah for Old Taos!" the name was fixed. The place was afterwards called Birming, but during the civil war it was rechristened in honor of General Halleck. It has no railroad. There is a population of about 200. There is a blacksmith shop and a general store. There was formerly a mill and Halleck flour was famous.

Wallace, on the Atchison branch of the Rock Island railroad, is the most important business point in Crawford Township. It was platted .in 1872, and the last census gives the population at 300. There are two general stores, churches, school, blacksmith shop, hotel and livery.

Faucett was platted when the Chicago Great Western railroad extended its line, in 1890, from St. Joseph to Kansas City, and named in honor of Robert Faucett, the miller. There is a population of about 200, a school, depot, two general stores, a church, school and a large grain elevator.

BLOOMINGTON TOWNSHIP. - Among the first settlers of what is now Bloomington Township was Hiram Roberts, who came in 1836, and who escaped the military raiders. Bloomington is the second township of the southern tier west of the river. The population is about 1,500. Other early settlers were Cornelius Roberts, 1837; Isom Gardner, Amos Horn, John Underwood, Holland Jones. Thomas Hickman, William Hickman, William Ballow, Matt Geer, Hardin Hamilton, Mrs. Sally Davis, F. D. Davis, Thomas Hill, Major Francis Drake Bowen, Stephen Field, James Hamilton and Isaac Van Hoozier, 1837; Zachariah, LTriah, John, William and Lewis Garten 1838; Michael Gabbard, 1838; Benjamin Yocum, Kentucky, 1839; Richard Murphy, 1839; Robert M. Stewart, New York, afterwards governor of Missouri, 1839; Joel Hedgepeth, 1839; James Ellison Wm. Moore, David Brown, William Clasby, Benjamin Sampson Abraham and William Womack, J. P. Pettigrew, Fountain and Rice McCubbin and James G. Finch, 1839.

DeKalb, the postoffice, trading point and voting precinct, is a prosperous town, nicely located on the Atchison branch of the Rock Island railroad, and well equipped with schools, churches, etc. The town was platted by James G. Finch in 1839, and is the oldest in the county, Sparta not having been platted until 1840 and St. Joseph not until 1843. Finch had an idea that the county seat would be located there, and so he laid off his town around a contemplated court house square. When Sparta was chosen as the seat of justice Finch left in disgust. The quarter section containing the town site was afterwards entered by Oliver Norman, who deeded to each settler the lot he occupied.

DeKalb was always a good trading point, and is so to-day. The town is not incorporated, though there is a population of about 600. There is a newspaper (the Record), a bank, two general stores, hotel an extensive hardware and implement house, drug store, blacksmiths, harnessmakers, barbers, etc.

RUSH TOWNSHIP. - This is the extreme southwestern township in the county, and its western boundary is the Missouri River. William Allison, John Allison and James Canter located in 1837; John Seips, Eli Seips, Mitchell Owen, John Utt, Colonel Wells, Henry Haves, Sylvester Hays, Morris Baker, James Carpenter, Anthony Graves, John Flannery, 1839.

There are two postoffices and voting precincts in the township - Rushville and Winthrop - and the population of the township is given in the last census at 1,653.

Rushville was platted in 1847 hy Perman Hudson and James Leachman upon a quarter section that had been entered in 1839 by John Flannery. Five railroads pass through the town - the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, Hannibal & St. Joseph, Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs and Missouri Pacific. There is a population of about 500 and the town is incorporated. There are three general stores, an implement house, drug store, hotel, blacksmith, etc. ; also schools and churches.

W inthrop was once a prosperous place, but the ravages of the river and the departure of the industries that once flourished have reduced it to a comparatively insignificant point. The quarter section upon which Winthrop is located was entered by George Million in 1839. Million operated a ferry across the river to the point where Atchison is now located. The town company was formed in 1857, and Senator Pomeroy of Kansas was one of the incorporators. The place was named in honor of Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts colony. There were at one time two extensive pork packing plants in operation. The larger one was erected by Fowler Brothers in

1879, a cost $i5°>000' and the smaller one by Smith, barlow & Co., of Quincy. The Fowlers moved their plant to Kansas City after operating for something over a year. There were several causes for this ; one that the bridge rates were exorbitant, another the flings of an Atchison newspaper at the peculiarities of the resident Fowler, whose manners were European, and a third that Kansas City offered high inducements. Perhaps all three reasons are entitled to weight, but the last was doubtless the prime cause of the removal Kansas City was making a special offer for packing houses. The Fowlers were offered ground and buildings, and the offer was accepted. The Winthrop house was dismantled and afterward destroyed by the elements. As the Fowlers killed about 3,000 hogs daily, the loss by their departure was great, not only to Winthrop, but to Atchison as well.

The packing house of Smith, Farlow & Co. was built in 1880 at a cost of $60,000, and had a capacity of about 1,000 hogs daily. It was operated for about four years by the builders, and at different times subsequently by other parties. The plant is idle now.

There were stock yards, freight depots, lumber yards, saloons and numerous business houses in those days, and there was quite a speculation in Winthrop town lots in 1879 and 1880.

Prior to the construction of the Atchison bridge, which was opened in September of 1874, there was a steam ferry, the Ida, owned by Dr. Challiss of Atchison, and also a railroad transport boat, the Wm. M. Osborn.

In 1884, the northern portion of Winthrop went into the river, and the ravages of the flood were so great as to necessitate the abandonment of a railroad station between Winthrop and Rushvillc, called "Paw-Paw." For over three years trains were run to Sugar Lake, where Armour station was erected, and thence to Atchison. Last year, however, the Rock Island and Santa Fe companies built tracks along the old route and their trains no longer go to Armour.

The census of 1890 shows a population of 490 for Winthrop, but there are not that number now by half. The postoffice is called East Atchison. There are two general stores, blacksmiths, saloon and drug store.

LAKE TOWNSHIP. - This is the smallest township in the county. It lies north of Rush and west of Wayne, and has the Missouri River for its western boundary. The earliest settlers were from Bartholomew County, Indiana, and the following came in 1841 : Wil-

The population of Lake Township is about 300. The voting precinct is at Wilson's school house, and the postoffice at Hall's, in Wayne Township.

WAYNE TOWNSHIP. - Peter Price was among the first settlers, coming in 1837, and Isaac Lower of Tennessee came at about the same time. Samuel Hawley and Jesse Hawley of Indiana came in 1839; William Dunning, North Carolina, 1839; Daniel Devorss, Ohio, 1839.

Wayne Township is bounded on the west by Lake Township and the river, on the south by Bloomington, on the east by Center and on the north by Washington. There are three voting precincts - Hall's, Lake Station and Yeakley's school house. The population of the township is about 1,200.

Hall's, the principal trading point in the township, is about midway between St. Joseph and Atchison. There are two railroad depots, two general stores, postoffice, church, blacksmith, etc. The place was formerly called Eveline. The population is about 100.

Kenmoor is a small point of the Rock Island road, two miles northeast of Hall's. It was founded by Warren Samuel of St. Joseph. There is a depot and general store.

Lake Station, about four miles south of St. Joseph, was formerly a flourishing trading point, but since the extension of business to St. George there is little doing at the Station.

CENTER TOWNSHIP. - This was at one time the most promising township in the county, for within its confines were located the first seat of justice and court house. Among the early settlers were Richard Hill, Jesse Reames, Zachariah Waller, Elijah W. Smith, Thomas More, Lucas Dawson and John Martin, who located in 1837. Robert Duncan, William Hunter, Andrew J. Hunter, John Ritchie, James Donovan, John, Samuel and Joseph Hill came in 1839; William C. Connett, Kentucky, 1839; William Farris, Indiana, 1840; Samuel McCauley, Pennsylvania, 1840; H. G. Gordon, James Woodward, Evan Jordan, Ransom Ridge, Robert W. Donnell, James Woodward, Martin Hirsch, Samuel and Elbert Gann, John Copeland, 1842.

Center Township is bounded by Wayne, Washington, Agency and Crawford, and has a population of about 1,200. The voting precinct and postoffice, called Adams, is about eight miles southeast of St. Joseph.

Sparta, which was the name of the first county seat, exists on the map only, the ground being now a part of the McCauley farm. Sparta had a brief existence of six years. It was platted in 1840 and its streets were named Hazel, Prune, Olive, Vine, Market, Chestnut, Cedar, Cherry, Walnut, Main and Harrison. There was the log court house, a tavern, kept by Robert Duncan, several general stores, a saloon and wagon and blacksmith shops. It was only a small town when at the height of its prosperity. During the struggle between Sparta and St. Joseph over the county seat, a newspaper called The Rooster, was published at Sparta. When the county seat was moved to St. Joseph Sparta faded out of existence.

Bee Creek is a point about nine miles southeast of St. Joseph, where the Santa Fe and Chicago Great Western railroads join, both using the same track from St. Joseph to this point.

Willow Brook is a station on the Chicago Great Western about twelve miles from St. Joseph. A general store and postoffice existed there for some time prior to the coming of the railroad.

AGENCY TOWNSHIP. - The population of this township is about 1,000. It is bounded by Washington, Center, Jackson and Tremont, the latter being divided by Platte River. James and Robert Gilmore, Samuel Poteet and Wm. McDowell settled in 1837; James J. Reynolds, 1838; Jacob Reese, North Carolina, 1838; Benjamin Moore, Virginia, 1838; Littleberry Estes and Bright Martin, 1838; John Lamb, Robert Gilmore and Richard Fulton, 1839.

In the early days there was a road from Clay County to the Blacksnake Hills which crossed the Platte River where the town of Agency now stands. The river was shallow here and could be forded by teams. The agency of the Sac and Fox Indians was located on the west side of the Platte, about where the town now stands, and the point became known as Agency Ford. In 1839, Robert Gilmore established a ferry, which was afterwards operated by William B. Smith, and continued until the county built a wagon bridge, in 1868.

The town of Agency was platted in 1865 by William B. Smith, and the building of the railroad from St. Joseph to Lexington, now a part of the Santa Fe system, gave an impetus to business. Agency is now incorporated, and is in a flourishing condition, the population

TREMONT TOWNSHIP. - One of the first settlers of Tremont Township was Ishmael Davis, father of the late R. T. Davis, who located in the spring of 1837 at the edge of Rock House Prairie. The late R. T. Davis is said to have been the first white child born in the county. The following are mentioned as having located prior to 1840: Ambrose McDaniel, George Jeffers, Harold Miller, Robert Irwin, Samuel D. Gilmore, Stephen Bedford, Daniel McCreary, Jacob Schultz, Henry Jones, Creed Herring, M. D. Finch and William P. Mudgett, who was the first postmaster in the township.

The Rock House Prairie, in the southern part of this township, was so named from the following circumstances : While the Indians still occupied the county, the route traveled between Clay County and the Indian agency, near Agency Ford, after crossing the Platte River, led over the prairie. On a rocky point of ground, near the residence of Ransom Ridge, the Indians had erected a huge pile of stones, shaped as much as possible in the form of a house. This was known as the Rock House. It stood directly on the road traveled from Agency Ford to Liberty, Clay County, and attracted the attention of every white man who traversed that region, and from this fact, at an early date, the prairie came to be called the Rock House Prairie.

Tremont is the extreme eastern of the center tier of townships, and is bounded by Platte, Agency and Marion. Its population is about 1,300. There are two voting precincts - Garretsburg and Frazer - both of which have postoffices. Garretsburg is on a wagon read from St. Joseph, and there is a general store. Frazer is a station on the Lexington branch of the Santa Fe railroad, and also has a general store.

MARION TOWNSHIP. - This township forms the northeastern portion of the county. It is separated from Washington Township by the Platte River and bounded on the south by Tremont.

Calvin James, of barbecue fame, was one of the first settlers of Marion, locating near the present town of Easton in 1837. Benjamin Cornelius, Peter Boyer, James Blakely, Thomas McGowan, Jesse Clark and Barnes Clark came in 1837 and 1838; Caleb Hasenmeyer and the Markers came in 1838; Nicholas Roberts, James Roberts, James McCorkle, 1838; Jacob Kessler, Jacob Wiedmayer, John Wunderlich, Wolfgang Beck, John Slaybaugh, David Davis, Dr. John

Easton, which is one of the three incorporated towns of the county, is located about twelve miles from St. Joseph on the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad. The town was platted in 1854 by E. Don Mc- Crary, who owned four hundred acres of land and who had for some time been operating a general store. The present population is about 400, and there is a mill, several general stores, drug store, Catholic and Protestant churches, school and other conveniences.

San Antonio is an old trading point near the central portion of the township. There is a general store and church, and there was formerly a postoffice.

New Hurlingen is the trading point of a thriving German community, located in the northeastern portion of the township. There is a general store, postoffice and Catholic church.

Platte River bridge and Stockbridge are points on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, the latter being a postoffice. Clair is at the Platte River crossing of the St. Joseph & Des Moines railroad, there being a general store and siding.

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. - Some of the early farms in Washington Township now form a part of the city of St. Joseph. The following persons are mentioned in history as having settled prior to 1840: John H. Whitehead, Wm. Whitehead, Henry W. Hanson, James Cochran, Frederick Waymire, William Pugh, Clayborne F. Palmer, A. C. Hyde, Thomas, John and Elisha Sollars, Stephen Parker, Isaac and Michael Miller, James G. Karnes, Alexander Fudge, Leroy Kauffman, Benjamin Williams, Jacob Groschon, Logan Jones, Edward Maxwell, John H. Cox, David Ewing, Wm. Sallee, Joseph Davis, George Coughern, Michael Rogers, F. B. Kercheval, Simeon Kemper, Frederick W. Smith, Dr. Daniel Keedy, Bela M. Hughes, Robert I. Boyd, Wm. T. Harris, Joseph Gladden. Samuel C. Hall, John B. Hundley, Richard Gilmore, William P. Richardson and Isadore Poulin..

Washington Township has three justices of the peace and one constable, who are stationed at St. Joseph. There are three postoffices besides St. Joseph - Vories (South Park), St. George and Saxton.

When the stock yards were opened the St. George town property was placed upon the market. There are a number of stores, hotels, and a good school. The town is not incorporated and the peace is preserved by deputy constables and sheriffs. The county court appointed Wm. R. Hoffman as justice of the peace in December of 1897.

Saxton is located six miles east of St. Joseph on the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad. It was named after the late Albe M. Saxton, who donated the ground for a railroad station. A depot, general store and postoffice, church and school are the equipments*

There are seven voting precincts in the township : Felling, near the mouth of Roy's Branch ; New Ulm school house, Woodbine school house, east of the asylum ; Oak Hill school house, Saxton station, St. George and Parnell.