Jasper County, Missouri - Chapter 9: Op General County Moment, 1912

Jaspeb County Votes Railway Bonds - Railroad Meetings - ^Why Railroad Bonds Were Destroyed - Reopening op the Mines - ^How THE Name was Changed to Oronogo - The First Jasper County Pair - Churches During Reorganization Period - Township Sunday School Conventions - Colony of Swedes.

Jasper county's natural resources, its mineral wealth, its broad acres of splendid timber and the richness of its soil, early attracted the attention of capital from St. Louis and the older communities of the east and on September 20, 1868, a party of fifteen men interested in the building of a railway from St. Louis to the south and west visited Carthage with a view of interesting the citizens of Jasper county in the project.

After the matter had been explained to a number of the leading citizens a mass meeting was called to discuss the project. C. A. Cassel presided at the meeting and M. C. McGregor acted as secretary.

Si)eeches favoring financial aid to the road were made by R. T. Blow of the Granby Company, 0. H. Picher and Norris C. Hood and a committee was appointed to discuss the matter with the county court and citizens.

In the spring of 1869 the Tebo & Neosho Railway Company proposed to build from Sedalia to Fort Scott, Kansas - ^also to Carthage and N^ho - ^provided, the people of the counties through which the road was to pass would vote bonds to assist in the construction of the same. A mass meeting was called at Carthage and a committee of twenty-four appointed to secure the road for Jasper county. The Carthage Bamner supported the proposition and in its issue of March 25th had the following editorial relative thereto.

At the present the people of our county are paying $60 per ton for freight from the railroad 143 miles, by wagon. A railroad, charging the highest rates, would not ask more than $12 for the same freighting. Thus we are paying five times as much for our freights under the present rule, as we would with a railroad.

Then let us remember that a railroad is ever ready to take freights and passengers, and will not put off their delivery for an indefinite time, or until the roads get better, as has been the case this winter, and we find the real worth of railroad transportation much enhanced.

Now why is the Tebo and Neoeho a more desirable route than the Southwest? Because it will be an opposition line to the Kansas City and Galveston road, and we have a most effectual check on exorbitant rates, to the St Louis market, in the Pacific road and the Missouri river, both of which will be crossed by the Tebo and Neosho railroad. Thus, this line will give an outlet to St Louis and Chicago, and have parallel freighting lines all the way as wholesome checks, while the Southwest Pacific has no opposition, and gives us an entr^K>rt to only one market The Tebo and Neosho railroad, extraded to the pineries in Arkansas, would be worth a million dollars to this county alone, since the amount saved in the price of lumber, would amount to that in ten years.

Pursuant to motion a Railroad Meeting was held at the Court-house in Carthage, on Tuesday evening, April 20th, Capt Josiah Lane was chosen Chairman of the meeting and A. B. Parkell Secretary.

Col. Cloud was called upon to state the object of the meeting, which he did by stating that the meeting was called to consider the best means for carrying on the campaign preparatory to voting on the railroad question in Jasper county.

Ool. Picher was called and made a few practical remarks upon the railroad interests of Jasper county and the means necessary to be employed in carrying forward the coming election.

Mr. Garrison moved that a Finance Committee, consisting of three persons, be appointed to raise funds for carrying on the railroad campaign. Chair appointed D. S. Thomas, I. N. Lamb and W. S. Tower as said Committee.

Col. Cloud moved that a committee of ten be appointed from differait townships in the county, to assist in conducting the canvass. After remarks by several gentlemen Mr. Lamb moved to amend motion, increasing the number of said committee to seven in Carthage and two in each township in the county. Some remarks followed, after which a vote was taken and resulted in carrying motion as amended by Mr. Lamb.

On motion a committee consisting of Col. Cloud, Col. Picher, and M. G. Mc- Gregor, to select suitable men in the several townships to act as committee in conducting the canvass through the county, in addition to the original railroad committee of three. After consultation the nominating committee reported as follows :

A speeial election was held on May 18, 1869, which voted $250,000 to the road, providing the line was completed to Carthage by July 4, 1872.

In August, 1871, the road withdrew its proposition to build to Jasper county because the county would not deliver the bonds in aid of construction before the road was built. The bonds were destroyed, and thus Jasper county was saved the trouble and litigation which vexed the citizens of St. Clair and other counties who delivered the bonds prior to the building of the road.

In 1867 the Oranby Lead and Zinc Company, realizing the richness of the mines at Minersville and along Center Creek valley, acquired the title to a large tract of land near the old French and Livingston mines on Center creek and began the development of the ground on a large scale. Colonel J. Morris Young was sent out as the superintendent of the company and soon a red-hot mining camp was thriving on the north bank of peaceful Center creek. Colonel Young was, of course, the leading spirit among the miners. Chas. W. Elliott and R. M. Stults, the veteran merchants of Oronogo, were among the live-wires of the camp. A large quantity of lead was mined and a smelter erected.

In 1869 a i>ostoffice was established at Minersville and Charles W. £lliott appointed postmaster. It was now discovered that there was a town in Christian county called Minersville and as it was necessary to give the place another name, the postoffice was called Center Creek. The name Minersville, however, still clung to the camp and letters were frequently addressed to Minersville, Center Creek postoffice, and were almost always sent to the Minersville, Christian county. In order to avoid this confusion the postoffice department asked Mr. Elliott to select a new name for the postoffice and a public meeting was called at the Oranby office to discuss the subject and agree upon a suitable name.

A number of names were proposed - among them Leadville, Galena and Mineral Point - it being the universal desire to have a name that in a way indicated the business of the town. After a considerable discussion without agreement, some one suggested that they name the place after some great historic person and drop the idea of associating the town with the mining industry. Thereupon a man in the back of the room (who, by the way, had imbibed quite freely of the grape that makes joyful) arose and said * * Boys, by , its Ore or no go. " This was a happy thought and Colonel Young who was well educated, and spoke fluently several lianguages, offered this compromise : Oro was the Spanish word for ore and to drop the or from this sentence would make a euphonious word, meaning Ore-or-no-go. So the name was agreed to and the town of Minersville became Oronogo.

During the summer of 1869 the matter of holding a county fair was discussed and the most enterprising citizens of the county decided that an enterprise of this kind would not only advertise the county and its many natural resources, but would bring the citizens together and make them better acquainted. After several meetings were held to talk over the time and place it was decided to organize a Pair Association at once and hold the first fair during the fall of 1869.

The Association was formed by twenty-five of the leading citizens and the following gentlemen were elected to the first board: I. N. Lamb, president; W. S. Tower, A. J. Balsney and M. J. Skinner, vice presidents; B. P. Searl, secretary; W. P. Davis, N. P. Smith, George Wolf, Q. A. Cassell, H. S. Hanks, William Hays, N. C. Hood and P. M. Daniels.

The first fair was held October 26, 27 and 28, 1869, on a twenty-acre tract of ground south of the city and was, taking into consideration the shortness of time in organizing and advertising, a splendid success. Agricultural and stock displays of all kinds were had and a goodly sum distributed in prizes.

The fair was well attended and served the purpose for which it was organized. Nearly every one went away feeling in a happy frame of mind and feeling a little prouder of his grand county after having seen her splendid displajrs of farm products and other natural resources. The fair was attended by quite a number of people from out of the county, and no doubt did much to impress the visitors with the richness of Jasper county's soil and her prospects for future greatness.

In the fall of 1865 the Rev. L. M. Vernon, D. D., presiding elder of the Springfield District M. B. Church North, entered Jasper county for the purpose of reorganizing the work of that church. In 1866 Rev. J. C. Willoughby was called to the Carthage field and at once reorganized the Carthage church. He assisted in the reorganization of the old charges that had flourished before the war, as well as in the organization of new churches. In 1868 the Carthage district was organized, at which time the Methodist denomination had eighteen churches in the county and 270 members.

On March 11, 1868, Rev. D. H. Budlong was sent to the Carthage field and so faithfully did he work that the sum of ten thousand dollars was raised to build a church home. The Sunday school of the Methodist church was organized in 1866 with S. Cowgill as superintendent and was the commencement of the work of that great denomination after the war.

The Methodist church organized at Medoc received substantial financial aid from Dr. Donohoe and its history dates from 1868, when H. H. Asbaugh took charge of the work and organized the society. Rev. S. P. Haughawout succeeded to the pastorate in 1869.

eleven. Rev. John W. Pinkerton was the pastor in charge and was a man of fine Christian character. He labored in Carthage for five years, doing a splendid work for the Master and building up a church that to this day is a power in the community.

As noted in our church article of the pioneer days, the Baptist represented the first denomination to build a house of worship in the county, the Peace church of 1847.

The Carthage Baptist church was first organized in 1845, and at the breaking out of the war had grown to be quite a power, but like the other religious bodies was obliged to suspend services during the ** unpleasantness.*' The first Baptist church of Carthage was reorganized in September, 1867, with fifteen members. Rev. Cable Blood was the pastor and L. B. RufiSn was the first clerk of the church. Rev. Blood was a New Englander, a man of high literary attainments, and during his three years' pastorate made a number of additions to the church.

On April 20, 1869, the Right Rev. C. F. Robertson, D. D., bishop of the dioceses of Missouri, held services in the Presbyterian Hall and there organized the Grace Episcopal church. In May the church purchased a building lot and began the erection of a chapel. On December 22nd Rev. D. Estaing Jenning, of New York, took charge of the work and preached his first sermon. M. Drake, A. H. Caffee, W. S. Tower and W. M. S. Judd were the leading men in the promoting of the organization.

The Christian church was organized at Carthage in 1866, but the society was without a home until the 'eighties, meeting around at various homes and being without a regular pastor. The early records of the church are lost and we will take up the history of that church in 1882, at which time the church took steps to build a house of worship.

During 1868 Sunday school associations were organized in most of the townships and conventions held for the betterment of the Sunday schools. The first of the township meetings were held at Carthage, July 21, 1869, and brought together not only the Sunday school workers of Marion township but many from the surrounding country. Rev. 6. W. Quinn, of St. Louis, state agent of the Sunday School Association was the organizer of the several township conventions.

In 1869 the several township organizations were merged into the Jasper County Association and a monster convention held at Carthage, during the month of May. Twenty-two Sunday schools were enrolled. A. P. Searl was elected president of the convention and was for several years reelected to the position, being a most enthusiastic Sunday school worker.

In October, 1869, a colony of Swedes came to Jasper county direct from the old country, and bought land for farms. The colonists were a high class of immigrants, most of them being educated and bringing with them a good bank aecount. They have made most excellent citizens and some of them today are among the most influential people of the county.

Sheep raising was one of the features of the farm during the 'sixties and nearly every farmer had a small flock which netted him a nice sum as a side line. One of the successful wool-growers was W. O. Skinner near Georgia Oily.