Grundy County, Missouri - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read), 1908

Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read)

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP was one of the first seven townships organized in 1 84 1. It was probably inhabited temporarily by a few Mormon families before 1838. James Weldon, the first _^__^^ permanent settler, came in 1838. Garrison Carmine and Joseph Mendenhall came the same year, and Andrew Weldon in 1839. In 1 84 1 Wm. Schooler, David Ashbrook and Wm. Fitzpatrick were chosen justices of the peace for Franklin township. The present officials are J. G. Nichols, trustee;. C. B.Cook, collector; John B. Keith, Jr., clerk and assessor; James T. Boatman, constable; L. D. Cornwell and W. H. Newton, members of board; H. Montgomery and W. H. Newton, justices of the peace.

Spickard is located on the Rock Island, thirteen miles north of Trenton, on the land of G. A. Spickard, for whom the town. was named. It grew cjuickly, and was incorporated in 1873. James D. VVamsley, C. E. Wilkerson, James M. Cooper, David G. Pug'h, and Milo Robertson was its first trustees. Being in a good trade district, the town has grown steadily and permanently. In 1880 the population was 330, in 1908 it is about 800. The business firms of Spickard, or Spickardsville, as it was formerly called in 1881, were E. A. Cook, general merchandise; W. H. Brewer, drugs and groceries; George M. Brown & Co., drugs; Samuel Benner, groceries; H. Montgomery, wagon shop ; Burkeybile & Wyatt, blacksmiths; A. Burkeybile, blacksmith; R. M. Crocket, shoe shop; I. J. Godfrey, harness shop; Coon Bros. & Co., millers; D. W. Stapp, saw mill; F. A. Bonner and N. F. Munn, boarding house; Mary E. Taylor, telegraph operator; O. G. Bain, notary and law^yer ; C. E. \^'ilkerson, physician.

Spickard suffered a $15,000 fire November 8, 1906. The heaviest losers were Guy A. Thompson, The Farmers' Store, and R. S. Neil. Since that time the city has established a very creditable system of water works.

Harrison township was organized in 1872. It is irregular in shape, lying between Washington and Lincoln townships on the north and east and Grand river on the south and west, containing 13,423 acres. Charles W\ Scott settled here in 1834 and

John McHargue and Alvin Johnson in 1837. While the township is small and not thickly populated it contains some of the richest farms in the county. Its officials are D. C. Marrs, trustee; J. P. Pryor, collector; E. C. Wilson, clerk and assessor; J. M. Renfro, constable; J. E. Maxson and Dennis Thompson, members township board and justices of the peace.

Josiah Evans, came in 1837. Jas. May and Adkinson came in the spring of 1838. Jackson was formerly a part of Trenton township, receiving a separate organization in 1872. Its first township officers were Wm. Evans, Patrick Conniff and James Mack, township board ; Isaac Mulford, collector; Thomas Hubbard, assessor and George Blivens, constable. Its present officers are W. W. Mack, trustee; J. D. Cline, collector; R. J. Mulford, clerk and assessor ; Stephen Spencer, constable ; C. H. Burns and A. C. Dickman, members of board and justices of the peace.

Jefferson township is in the southwest corner of the county. It has an area of 22,'/20 acres. It contains much excellent farm land and some broken timber land. The township w^as organized 1)y the Livingston County court in 1839 ^^^^^ reduced to its present size in 1872. Its first settlement was made

The township officials are John M. Grimes, trustee ; W. A. Tate, collector ; Elias Brown, clerk and assessor; George Sharp, constable; Theo. Bratton and Ira Cyphers, members of township board and justices of the peace.

Hickory

Hickory is a station on the Rock Island and a trading point, located in the east central part of the township. It has three stores, a restaurant, blacksmith shop, etc.

Liberty township was first settled in 1838 and organized in 1845. Until 1872 it included Myers township. The township is bounded on the north by Myers, on the east by Sullivan County, on the south by Marion and on the west by Lincoln township. It is seven miles east and west and five north and south. No Creek passes through it on the west and Little Medicine touches it on the east. Most of the soil is undulating prairie land.

In 1837-8 came to this place Minter Brassfield, Mary Brassfield, Thomas Brassfield, Hugh Davis, Calvin Brummett, G. F. German, John Priest, Alayberry Splawn, Anderson Malone and Reuben Brassfield. Many others came in 1839 and' 1840. The first wedding in. the township is said to be that of Reuben and Lucinda Brassfield, cousins. in January, 1839. The first child born was Mayberry Brassfield, son of Minter and Jane Brassfield, May, 1878. The first school was taught by J. W.

Bunnell in 1842. He had thirteen pupils, and received $1.50 per pupil per month. This school was taug"ht in a residence, the first school house, a log cabin without doors, windows or fire place, beingbuilt some time later.

The township officials are L. W. Moberly, trustee; Byron Jones, collector; Thomas Fleshman, clerk and assessor; E. E. Wilford, constable; Emory Hamilton and H. C. Flagg, members of township board; H. C. Flagg and W A. -Cooper, justices of the peace.

Galt

Gait was brought into existence by the building of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific railroad in 1881, and at the expense of Lindley. The correspondent for the Trenton Republican, in December, 1881, says : "Gait is a new town laid off by E. L. Winters. Since the location of the Wabash railroad * * it has already made a fine start. All the talk about it being a low, wet, swampy place is all bosh." The correspondent further refers to the burning of numerous brush piles and the rapid clearing off of timber and says that Gait can no longer be called "Brushy Station." He reports the business men of that time to be Judge M. Humphre3^s, just moved from Lindley, general merchandise; J. W. Osborn, hotel; R. W. Thompson, hotel; Jewett & Jewett, drugs; Thos. Jones, livery; Lewis & Crantz, blacksmiths ; Andrew Collins, lumber ; David Jackson, meat; Palmer & Thompson, saw^ mill; Snell, groceries; Rooks & Rush, groceries. Lindley was at this time reported as losing trade but still active. A number of new houses were going up m trie new town. The town suffered a severe fire in 1883, and another in 1891. The loss in the latter approached $15,000. Among the heaviest losers were the Jewett estate and Morris Bros. A shaft was sunk for a coal mine in 1894, and the mine was worked intermittently for a few years. The coal was of fine quality, but the vein was too small to make its operation profitable.

Gait is now a town of about 800 people. Its location in a rich agricultural section and its distance to larger towns insures it a large permanent trade. The business directory for the year 1908 shows about twenty mercantile firms. A fire in February, 1908, destroyed five frame buildings, with the inevitable loss accompanying such fires, and another followed in June of the same year, destroying two buildings. But the business section of the town is now nearly altogether composed of brick and concrete.

Elizaville, the first town in Liberty township, was laid out and a plot filed in the recorder's office in 1857. It was located about the M. Wolz place, near the Lincoln township line.

Lincoln township, in the central part of the county, north of Trenton and south of Franklin, is six miles north and south and eight east and west. It is an unusually fine agricultural country. The Bain settlement was formed here in 1837, consisting of the families of Riason and Jesse Bain, Samuel Kelso, Henry Foster and Wm. Dille. The band came from Ohio and Indiana. The first school

The school for some years was taught in deserted cabins, the first school house being built in 1849. The township was organized in 1872. Its officers are W. P. Marrs, trustee; W. H. Tavener, collector; A. T. Cornwell, clerk and assessor; A. H. Tavener, constable ; S. D. Murphy and W. T. Wilson, justices of the peace and members of township

Tindall is a station on the Rock Island, six miles north of Trenton. It was made a station shortly after the building of the railroad in 1871.

While its short distance from Trenton will prevent it becoming a large town, it is an active little village wnth a bank, general store, drug store, and hardware store, and is surrounded by some of the finest farms in the county.

Madison township, located in the west central part of the county, is six miles square. While some of its land is broken, there is much fertile prairie and rich bottom land in the township. It originally comprised both Madison and Taylor tuwnships.

The first settlement in Grundy County was perhaps the one made in Madison township in 1833 by Dr. Thompson and others. That settlement is discussed in another portion of this work. The early history of the township being identical with that of the county need not be here discussed.

Stephenson, trustee; F. M. Prewitt, collector; Luther Burnett, clerk and assessor; James C. Bryant, constable; D. A. Hudson and B. F. Humphreys, members of board and justices of the peace. EDINBURG.

Edinburg, the second town in the county in age, was located in 1838, Isaac J. Harvey building a store here at that date. The town l^eing only four and a half miles from Trenton, it had not the natural advantages conducive to growth, and it was not until the establishment of Grand River college that it became an important place. This institution, organized in 1850, did much for the town. The town was incorporated in 1877. In 1880 its population was 174. The removal of Grand River college did much toward bringing about the decline of Edinburg, and the passing of the O., O. & K. C. railroad to the north and the founding of the town of Brimson did more.

JMarion township was one of the original townships established before the county was organized in 1841 . It then included all of Wilson township and a part of Liberty. It was reduced to its present size in 1842. Its first settlement was made in 1838, loseph, LTriah and Samuel Rooks, John and Joab Holloway, Robert Ishmael, John Brown and James Chrisman coming in that year. Marshall Humphrevs and Thomas Dobbins came in 1839. A considerable number of settlers came within the next few years.

Lindley in 1858. David Wright, a Christian minister, was its first pastor. Its congregation came from Linn, SiilHvan and Grundy Counties. Marshall Humphreys taught the first school in the townshipj in 1845, in a typical school house, with split log seats, oiled paper window panes, six foot fireplace and mud chimne}'.

The first township officials of Marion township were Samuel Rooks, W. C. Fenner, members of township board; Albert Dunlap, assessor; Andrew Beckner, clerk ; John Barr, constable, The present incumbents are J. C. Stephenson, trustee ; E. W. Fullerton, collector; Neal Elliott, clerk and assessor; C. E. Showers, constable; T. A. McClure and S. A. Hartley, members of board and justices of the peace. LINDLEY.

Lindley was at one time a thriving town. The land on which it was built was entered in 1841 by Thomas Dobbins. The first store was put up in 1842 by John Austin, Dobbins having as an inducement to the enterprise given him an acre of ground. The store house was a log cabin, and a general line of merchandise, including liquor, was carried in stock. The town was at first called Stringtown, the cabins composing it being strung along in a row. In 1845 it ^'^''^^ l^i<^l off and named in honor of Congressman James Lindley. The town grew steadily until the coming of the O. M. & P. railroad, since which time its decline was rapid. It was raided by bushwhackers in 1863, ^^'^o robbed the store of Marshall Humphreys, and destroyed considerable property.

large business at present and in the event of the completion of the Kansas City, Keokuk & Lexington railroad to this place it is bound to make a country seat of no ordinary importance. During our rambles about town we called on Mr. C. H. Cook, one of the most prominent merchants of that place and took a peek at his mammoth stock of goods. * * We also called on Dr. Kimlin, the gentlemanly druggist * * also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Johnson."

Lindley was incorporated in 1876, the eastern line of its corporate limits being the Sullivan county line. The history of Messrs. Birdsall & Dean, 1881, says:

"The postal facilities include a mail three times a week from Trenton, two mails weekly from Wheeling, and the same from Browning. The post office is under the efficient charge of C. H. Cook.

'Xindley has had two schools for the past three years, with two departments, secondary and primary, which have had a large attendance gradually increasing, until the past year 150 pupils were enrolled. Under the excellent management of Mr. T. A. White and Miss C. E. Crouch, who have conducted the respective departments the past year, the schools have been numbered among the best in the county, and are the especial pride of the citizens of Lindlev.

Dunlap

Dunlap received its name in 1888. Prior to that it was called Corneau. The village was established about the year 1882, shortly after the building of the O., M. & P. railway. Its proximity to Trenton and Gait, about seven miles being the distance to either place, has kept it from attaining any great size. But it is a good trading point, surrounded by a good country. It has one bank, one general store, one restaurant and other business houses.

Granville

Granville, an old town, flourished in the fifties, very near the present site of Dunlap. It had a general and grocery store, whose principle trade was in whisky, and a blacksmith shop. Here occurred the killing of McAfee and Phipps, about 1858.

Myers township, in the northwestern corner of the county, was organized in 1872. It was previously a part of Liberty township, which it resembles in soil with perhaps more rough and broken land. Two branches of No Creek traverse the township, with Honey Creek through the western side and Little Medicine through the east. The first settlement in this township was made in 1840. In that year came Thomas Pemberton, Jacob Thrailkill, James H. Ford, John, Alexander and Morgan Ralls, Coonrod Wolz,'w. W. Cartfill, James B. Duff, Lewis and Milton J. Myers.

The first school house was built of hewn logs in 1842 on the land of John Ralls in the eastern part of the township. The second was known as the IMyers school and was built near the center of the township. The first religious services were held by Rev. Richard Minshall, Methodist, in the Myers neighborhood: (he held services at the homes of his flock), and Wm. Reed, Christian, who preached in the Ralls school house as well as in the residences of his people. The Myersville M. E. church was organized in 1865, with Mr. New as pastor. Its services were conducted in a school house. The township's first officials were: Township board, W. T. Chipps, J. H. Alorris and James H. Lord; assessor, James Warren ; clerk, John Reed. Its present officials are J. H. Schierbaum, trustee ; Sublett Moore, collector ; Irvin Kirkwood, clerk and assessor ; Fred Koon, constable; E. A. Ralls and Wm. Cunningham, members of board and justices of the peace.

A post office called Cookseyville was established in the eastern part of the township in May 1888, and was conducted for awhile by J. S. Cooksey, who ran a country store at that time, and later by J. H. C. Bondurant. It was discontinued within a few years.

Taylor township was organized in 1S72. It is north of Madison and east of the Thompson fork of Grand river. It has some fine country and some broken land. The first settlement in tliis township was made in 1838. Washington B. and Thompson Grubb, and \A. W. McClelland came in that year. In 1840 Washington Grubb opened a cabinet shop. His tools were a broad ax and whip saw^ The first school house in the township was built in 1855. The first officers of Taylor township were Hciiry S. Lewis, Solomon Cole and Jacob McClure, township board ; James W^ McClay, assessor, and Joshua Fulkerson, collector. Its present officers are F. D. Fulkerson, trustee ; J. R. Kent, collector ; E. N. Hobbs, clerk and assessor ; P. R. Fulkerson, constable; Enoch McClure and A. M. Davidson, members township board; A. M. Davidson and D. C. Brown, justices of the peace.

Brimson, the youngest of the towns of Grundy county, is one of the livest and perhaps the best town of its size in North Missouri. While its entire population would perhaps not exceed 150, it has two general merchandise stores, a bank and other enterprises that would do credit to a 'town of i,ooo. The O., O. &. K. C. railroad left Edinburg, a former thriving village, practically off the map. Its close proximity to Trenton also added to its decline. About nine years ago the idea was conceived of building a new town on the railroad to the north and west of that village, far enough away to meet the demands of a fine trade district w4io were suffering the inconvenience of having to go a distance of perhaps ten miles to a trading point. Acting upon this idea, the town of Brimson, in Taylor township, w^as born in 1898. It is nine miles by rail from Trenton, near the border line of Harrison County, from which county the town draws perhaps more than half its trade. The promoters of the town are among the wealthiest, most enterprising of Grundy County citizens, which fact has been greatly instrumental in making it the live little place it is.

Trenton township, the most thickly populated and wealthiest township of Grundy County, is six miles north and south and eight east and west. Its early history is sketched with the settlement of Lomax's Store. The tow^nship was organized in 1841. Its history is for the most part identical with the history of the city of Trenton, elsewhere discussed. It was said of that township in 1881, by Messrs. Birdsall & Dean : "Trenton township offers every inducement for settlement. There is still abundance of land in its primitive state that can be purchased from eight to twelve dollars per acre, and improved farms from twenty to thirty-five." The average farm land of Trenton township today runs from seventy-five to one hundred and twentyfive dollars an acre.

Washington was one of the original townships constituting Grundy County. It was organized by the Livingston County court in 1839, extending from the forks of Grand River. In 1872 the towniship was given its present boundaries. The first settlement was made in 1838, Abraham and Larkin Field, Andrew \\'eldon and Elijah Burgess coming in that year. A school house made of round poles was built in 1839. The officers of Washington township are R. \\ Kennedy, trustee; Joe Moore, collector; D. L. Taylor, clerk and assessor; John Hickman, constable; A. M. Robins and J. E. Wooderson, meml3ers of board and justices of the peace.

\\'ilson towmship is situated in the southeast corner of the county. It is in large part made up of rich, gently rolling prairie land. The first settle- ment was made in 1838, the large Works family, the Castiles, Alexander Carroll, Wilson G. Perkins and Meredith Blalock coming in that year. In 1839 came the Andersons, Richard Belshe, and others. The township was separated from Marion, of which it was formerly a part, in 1872. Its officers are L. V. Woods, trustee ; L. F. Moore, collector ; F. L. Wood, clerk and assessor; J. D. Meeker, constable; A. M. Warren and J. E. Thomas, members township board ; J. E. Thomas and J. G. Robertson, justices of the peace.

Alpha

Alpha, a town which was situated on the east bank of Medicine Creek and one and a half miles north of the Livingston County line, was made a trading point in 1850, when Samuel Dunham opened a store at that place. A second store was built in 1852, and the place soon became quite a village. It was at first called Lickskillet, afterwards Nevada, then Alpha. It was incorporated in 1876.

The census of 1880 gave the town a population of 128. The following merchants were then doing business there. Solomon Kilburn, general merchandise; Thos. Hancock, groceries; O. R. Miller, drugs; H. B. Phillips, drugs; Jackson Pridemore Owen Kilburn, blacksmiths ; Patrick Woods, wagon maker; David Loutzenheiser, harness; Thomas Hancock, boarding house; H. B. Miller, James P. Thomas, J. M. Stone, physicians. By the time the Milwaukee was built Alpha had become a neat little village of perhaps two hundred inhabitants. The building of the railroad was a death blow to Alpha, leading to the making of a new town, Laredo.

Laredo became a town in 1887. A plat of the village was filed June 20 of that year, under the name of Gorham, and a sale of lots was made the next day. It was incorporated in 1890. In 1891 its population reached the 400 mark, and the town had twenty business institutions. Being on a good railroad and in a good trade district, the town has prospered from the start. In 1904 it was made a division of the Milwaukee road, the shops being moved there from Chillicothe. This caused the business and population of Laredo to practically double within a year. It is now a close rival of the older towns of Gait and Spickards in business, population and wealth.