Jasper County, Missouri - Chapter 1: County Taking Form, 1912

Eably Explorations - Edmund Jennings - Civil Divisions Pbiob to County Organization - The County Named - The First Settlers - Cave Springs - A Few op the ** Firsts" - ^Pioneer Lipe - Log Raising - The Spanish Caravan - Early Method op Filing on Land - Game and Wild Animals.

The history of Jasper county covers five distinct periods of growth - the pioneer period, the county duping the Civil war, the reconstruction days, the reopening of the mines after the war and the subsequent development of the county's resources.

It is full of exciting incidents and is important because it tells a story of progress, and in perpetuating the names and deeds which have helped to mold the destinies of the great middle west, we serve the future generations by holding high the lamp of experience which has guided an active and energetic people along the pathway of success.

Tradition has it that DeSoto spent the winter of 1541 in the territory north and west of the Ozark mountains and during his stay in this region camped in and around Jasper county. It is believed by many that lead was discovered by the Spaniards and there is evidence that mining was carried on in southwest Missouri many years before the discoveries of David Campbell, but there is no authentic account of the movements of the great explorer and his discoveries counted for naught, because he left no record, save the old trail which served as a path to lead the hardy pioneers in search of homes westward to the land of promise.

The first white man to explore southwest Missouri, and whose explorations led to the settlement of the great region beyond the Ozarks, was Edmund Jennings, a native of North Caroline but later a eitizen of Tennessee. Jennings came of a splendid family, but was of a roving and adventuresome disposition. He loved excitement and enjoyed the strenuous out-of-door life which gives endurance and nerves man to combat danger. He had read of the adventures of Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton and resolved to go to the undiscovered country beyond the ** Father of Waters" and there answer the **call of the wild." So bidding his friends in Jackson county, Tennessee, a fond farewell, he crossed the Mississippi and pushed westward along the old trail until he crossed the Ozarks and came to what was called by the Indians the ** Country of the Six Bulls."

The origin of the name '*Six Bulls" is shrouded in uncertainty, some of the old settlers holding that it was so called in honor of a mighty hunter who had once here killed six monster buffaloes all noted for their size and strength, but Judge John C. Cox one of the first settlers of Jasper county and an intimate friend of Edmund Jennings, says that the name was incorrectly called bulls, but in broken English the Indians had called it **The Six Boils" (pronounced like ** bulls"), meaning the land of the six rushing rivers. The Indian name for river being boil and that the six boils or rivers referred to were the Cowskin river, Shoal creek, Indian creek. Center creek, Spring river and the North Fork.

Edmund Jennings lived with the Indians and trapped and hunted over the Country of the Six Bulls for about fifteen years. At length (the date is not certain), about the close of the 'twenties, he began to long for the friends in the Old North state and turned his footsteps eastward and after a perilous journey reached his Tennessee home. He had been so long away from civilization that it was with difiSculty he could make himself understood. His friends who had long supposed him dead did not at first recognize him as he approached them, clothed in fur-skins and leather moccasins. The news of his arrival soon spread over the county and friends came for miles to see him and hear of his adventures.

The hearty welcome given him by his old companions gave him a new lease on life and memories of the old days soon brought back the mother tongue, and-iie told them of the wonderful beauty and richness of the Country of the Six Bulls, and as a result of his description of the region a colony of Tennessee people came to this county early in the 'thirties.

When Missouri became a state all of southwest Missouri was made a county and was called Crawford county, the seat of justice being at Little Pliny on the Gasconade river.

Later Greene county was carved from Crawford and embraced all of the territory from the Osage river on the north to the Arkansas line on the south and from the present eastern limits of Greene to Kansas on the west. The county seat of Greene county, then as now, was at Springfield.

Barry county was next taken from Greene and included the seven southwest Missouri counties. The county seat was at Blount Pleasant near the present site of Pierce City.

At the general election in August, 1838, Littlebury ^lason was elected representative for Barry county in the general assembly and secured the passage of a bill dividing Barry county into four divisions, taking out of Barry, Dade, Newton and Jasper. Jasper county included in its territory Barton on the north and Newton county included the present county of McDonald on the south.

Jasper county was not at this session of the legislature raised to the full dignity of a county, but was for civil and military purposes attached to Newton county which was at once fully organized.

In 1840 John Wilson was elected to represent Newton county. Among the first bills introduced by him was one to complete the organization of Jasper county by designating proper officials and courts to put the machinery of county government in operation. This bill passed the legislature January 29, 1841, and the county was fully organized as a civil division March 8th which will be more fully treated in succeeding pages.

That the pioneer Missourians were patriots is shown by the names of the municipalities and other civil divisions given by the early settlers. Many of the historic incidents dear to the hearts of every American and the names of the heroes who made freedom a reality are daily kept in mind by the names of the counties of the state. Among the Revolutionary patriots we find the names of Washington, Franklin, Schuyler, Marion, Putnam, Greene, Jasper and others.

The story of Sergeant Jasper and his gallantry at Fort Moultrie is one of the incidents of the Revolution which lends a ehariu to the recital of that splendid fight for freedom. At the close of the day and after several hours of fierce cannonading, the staff from which floated the old pine tree flag was severed by a ball and the colors fell on the outside of the fort. Sergeant Jasper sprang over the ramparts and amidst a veritable hail-storm of bullets from the British fusileers secured the flag and, fastening it to a cannon rammer, placed it securely on tlie ramparts. again and with a shout of triumph regained the breast-

The first permanent settler in Jasper county was Thackery Vivion who came from Kentucky- in 1831 and located near the Sarcoxie Spring, a romantic spot where the Indian Chief Sarcoxie had during the later days of the Indian period made his headquarters and which no doubt was the gathering point of the ** noble red men of the forest'* from the Country of the Six Bulls and where perhaps the warriors in council decided the fate of many a luckless traveler who fell into their bands. The word Sarcoxie in the Indian vernacular means **the Rising Sun." And it is significant that the sun of a new civilization which rose with the coming of Thackery Vivion should have made its first appearance at the tepee of a chief who was the last of his race.

And although the Indian supremacy faded away with the coming of the white man a new sun rose to shine for them ; a sun of education, civilization and progress which made many of them in the sister state of Oklahoma, citizens and, in some cases, officeholders and statesmen,

Thackery Vivion built his log house near the spring at the foot of the hill just east of the Sarcoxie depot. He soon had a nice farm in cultivation. He built a small water power log mill on the present site of the Victor Mills. He also built a saw-mill. He took an active part in the political life of the county, being a member of the first grand jury assembled at the organization of the county and in many other ways took a part in public enterprises. In 1838 he moved from Sarcoxie to the western part of the county and entered the land where the famous Lehigh mines were afterward opened. He left the county in 1844 on an exploring expedition into the lands of the south and died while on this trip. His descendants still live in the county, honored and respected citizens, who, like the founder of the family, are shrewd business men and women.

A few months after Thackery Vivion came to the county John M. Fullerton, also a native of Tennessee, came to the Sarcoxie Spring and settled near Mr. Vivion. Mr. Fullerton lived on a farm near Sarcoxie for eighteen years, dying in 1850.

Samuel Powers, another Tennesseean, came to the neighborhood in 1832. Jackson iVIills and A. Hodge both from Kentucky, also came to the settlement in 1832.

Among the settlers who came in 1833 were the following - E. W Beasley, Joseph and Samuel IVIelugen, Dr. Abner Wilson, J. P. Boyd, Ephraim Beasley, Hiram Handford, E. Jenkins, Thomas Boxley, Tyron Gibson, William Gibson; Abraham Onstott, the father of ** honest John Onstott," who won this title during the Civil war by his acts relating to

Jenkins creek is named for Ephraim Jenkins who settled at the head of that beautiful little stream. Tyron Gibson made his home on the present site of the High Hill schoolhouse. The Onstotts settled in Jackson township on Center creek.

1834 saw a considerable growth; among the new comers were William Tingle of Maryland and Ben F. Massey from Kentucky, both of whom exerted an influence in a business way which gave the new settlement importance as a trading center.

Messrs. Massey and Tingle opened a general store at Sarcoxie which catered to the trade for miles around. They bought the Vivion log mill and greatly enlarged its grinding facilities. The old mill was used up to 1872 when the Victor mills were erected on the old mill site. Mr. Tingle built the first lead furnace in the county. He was a busy, active man up to the time of his death.

In the early settlement of the county, Cave Springs, east of Sarcoxie, was the great camping point, and sometimes as many as twenty families would be camped there while the head of the family went in search of a good location for the new home.

The first minister was Andrew Buckhanon, a member of the Christian denomination. The first church to be organized, however, was the Freedom Baptist church in Union township. A more extended mention of this church will be found elsewhere.

The first lawyer was John R. Chenault. Mr. Chenault became circuit judge in 1857. During the agitation which preceded ithe Civil war he was an advocate of the cause of the south. He was a member of the convention called to consider ^e relations of the state witii the Federal (Government. During the war he espoused the cause of the Confederacy.

The first store was ikept by Dr. Abner Wilson and the first postoffice was opened at Sarcoxie in 1833. Mail was brought at long intervals from Little Pliny on the Gasconade, one hundred and fifty miles away. J It ia hard for us who are accustomed to ttie railroad, the electric cars and automobile to comprehend what a journey of one hundred and fifty miles across the country in those days meant. Then, with only a trail for a road, no bridges, and streams sometimes impassable

When the application was made for the establishment of the postoflSce it was found that there was another town in Missouri < called Centerville, and that it would be necessary to select another name.

The old spring was known as the Sarcoxie spring, and the old Chief Sarcoxie had lived there before the days of the white man's supremacy ; so it was thought to be an appropriate name for the 'new town, which was accordingly christened Sarcoxie.

Here, as a matter of necessity, neighbors are friends and the comradeship which comes of having braved dangers together is warmed into a bond of sympathy which makes friendship akin to love.

Here, too, nature is seen in all of its grandeur. The broad prairie with its wealth of fragrant flowers and sweet scented grasses; the hundreds of little friends in feather and fur; the forest with its monarch oak and its stately pine ; the pure air and the clear waters, all lend a charm and a beauty that compensate for the lack of the comforts of the old home and give an individuality to the life of the new settler, which cultivates a love of freedom and at the same time makes him more loving and tender because of the kindness of his friends.

Until the 'forties not a single house in Jasper county had been built more than two miles from the timber; this was very natural, as there was no lumber with which to build ; the houses were built of logs and as a matter of convenience were erected near the timber.

Ordinarily the log house of the 'thirties and 'forties consisted of two large apartments with a large fireplace in each room. The fireplace was an immense affair and before the advent of stoves was used for both heating and cooking purposes. Every woman was a good cook and the com bread was the delicacy which every housewife prided herself on being able to make ; so good that it would tempt even the gods.

Every man and most of the women were expert shots, and in the first season before the crop was raised almost the entire family subsistence consisted of the wild game which was abundant and conveniently brought itself to the door. During the 'thirties there were no schools or churches. What little learning was had was by private instruction, and the Gospel was preached at intervals, either in the home of some good man or at an occasional camp-meeting.

The Indians, during the 'thirties, were plentiful but were for the most part friendly, and made war on nothing except the smoke-house and the corn-crib. *

As a matter of necessity , the people of the pioneer period were sociable, and it was customary among the old timers to help the newcomer build his home. These occasions were called **log raisings," and at these the neighbors assembled at the place where the house was to be built and helped cut the trees and hew the logs that were to go in the structure. When they were put in form they helped raise the logs in place. Up to as late as the 'fifties these gatherings were popular, and many a man felt kindlier to his neighbor for these demonstrations of good will.

The following little story is one of the traditional incidents which has been handed down to us from the pioneers and although unauthenticated by any written evidence is still interesting because it illustrates, in a way, the dangers that were encountered by the explorers who first invaded the hunting grounds of the Indians.

During the rule of Delassus, the last of the Spanish governors for the Louisiana Territory, a party of fortune hunters was organized at St. Louis for the purpose of making a trip to Mexico hoping to secure some of the wealth of the Montezumas.

The expedition was successful and a goodly sum of the Mexican gold was secured, after which the party started on its return trip. Arriving in the southwest country in the early spring, they stopped for a while to rest and refresh themselves by one of the picturesque springs near the present site of Sarcoxie and believed by many to be the beautiful spring on the farm of Stephen Hood in Sarcoxie township.

While here the explorers were attacked by a large band of Indians and almost exterminated, only a few escaping with their lives. This stop in the Country of the Six Bulls was one of many such rests, it being necessary at times to halt and secure food and repair the equipments. It was the custom on these stops to secrete the treasure and it is believed by many that it was buried or safely hidden in one of the numerous ledges overhanging the Big spring. The few who made their escape, after weeks of perilous journey on foot, made their way back to St. Louis and there told the story of the awful massacre. In 1837 a party came from St. Louis to hunt for the gold but none was ever found and Mr. Hood, who owns the farm, never gave credence to the story, believing that the Indians took all of value that was left in the camp.

turesque spots in the county and its location could easily be described ; it is an ideal place for a camping party - the cool water from the spring running out from the hillside forming the headwaters of one of the numerous spring-fed streams that flow into Center creek; the great trees making a veritable canopy of green overhead and the steep embankment rising on the south and west making a cool and quiet retreat; while the wide plateau sloping away to the southwest makes an excellent place for the sentinel to guard against the approach of an enemy from that direction.

The first settlers who came to the county could not perfect title to their lands on which they settled because the land had not been surveyed by the government, nor offered for sale to the public. In 1836 a partial survey of the county was made which included the land as far west as range 30, al)buf three miles east of Carthage ; thereupon quite a bit of land was entered in the eastern portion of the county and in due time the title perfected.

The survey was completed in 1844 and it was at this date that the settlers began in great numbers to make the proper filings to secure title to their lands.

The government land oflSce was at Springfield and to go there and back required from a week to ten days, depending on the weather, the streams to be crossed, and the condition of the roads which were then hardly more than trails.

In order to save expense and time the people in a neighborhood would join together and select one of their number to make the trip and file on all of the lands selected. On his return he would execute the proper release or deed to the rightful owner who would pay to the government the appraised price of the land and perfect the title. The patent from the government would be issued to the party who did the filing and subsequently to the party who paid the money. The price paid for the land at the time of the first entries ranged from twentyfive cents to one dollar twenty-five cents an acre according to the location and worth, the appraisements being fixed by an officer appointed by the land department for that purpose.

Up until the later 'fifties southwest IMissouri was the hunters' paradise. There was an abundance of wild game such as deer, turkey and wild geese, and these furnished half the living for the first settlers. There also were many^wild animals not so desirable and often the sturdy pioneers were obliged to leave their work to fight some wild beast which was terrifying the neighborhood. Wolves came in packs and killed the sheep and other small domestic animals. Wild cats and panthers came lurking around at night and so in every home the trusty rifle always

The following little story, told the writer by A. W. Onstott, illustrates the common cause which all the neighborhood made against these enemies of mankind which made life a burden to new comers.

One morning, during the early 'fifties, John Onstott saddled his horse intending to go to Carthage on some business and, taking his little son Abe up with him, started on his journey. After traveling a few miles he noticed his neighbor, John Dale, chasing a wolf across the prairie and, perceiving that his friend's horse was nearly winded from a long run, put spurs to his horse and took out after the animal. His steed was a most sensible one and after a few miles of racing with the wolf overtook it, and jumping on it with his fore feet, knocked it to the ground. Quickly dismounting Mr. Onstott unfastened the stirrup from the saddle - one of the old iron stirrups so much used in that day - and with one or two well directed blows killed the wolf.

Sometimes hunting parties would be formed to search for panthers or other carnivorous beasts which ventured too near to civilization. Nearly all of the wild animals were exterminated before the war.

Among the popular amusements for the pioneer hunter were the shooting matches, the prizes for which being usually either a steer, a good fat hog or a sheep. When the animal contended for was as small as a hog or sheep a number of matches were arranged. When the prize was a steer or a heifer the plan of the match was as follows: A number of the best shots would enter for the contest, each one paying so much, depending on the value of the game, for his right to enter. Usually each contestant had five shots in which to display his skill.

Every man brought with him to the shoot a board from which all marks were erased save the *' bull's eye" or mark and these were placed at a certain distance, fifty, one hundred or two hundred yards away, according as the rules for the day were made, and served as targets. After the shots were fired the judges inspected the targets and decided which of the shooters had won the honors.

At a match for a steer there were five winners, the four best shots having the choice of one of the four quarters of the beast and the fifth man taking as his part the hide and tallow.