Johnson County, Missouri - Chapter 26: - Centerview Township, 1918

Geography, Soils. - Area, 60 square miles, or 38,4000 acres. According to the Soil Survey of 1914, by the United States Department of Agriculture, Centerview township is a smooth body of soil, chiefly black limestone, summit silt loam and "mulatto" soil, Pettis silt loams, with blackwater bottom across the north end, branches of Post Oak in southeast part and of Brush creek in the west central part.

In detail, the township is divided as follows : Summit silt loam, upland ("black limestone" soil), 3d per cent.: black, lying in northeast, south of Blackwater, and southwest : Pettis silt loam ; upland "mulatto" soil, 15 per cent. It lies around Centerview town on four sides, extending about two miles west, one mile north and east, and south three miles to a quarter of a mile south of Southern Highway, except for a half square mile of Summit silt loam lying about half a mile due south of town, and except for a narrow strip of Post Oak creek bottom (Osage silt loam) one mile south of town, flanked successively by narrow strips of Boone silt loam and Bates silt loam. There is also about one square mile of Pettis silt loam in the northwest corner. That around Centerview town is one of the largest solid bodies of Pettis silt loam in the county.

Crawford silt loam, upland ("red limestone" soil), 10 per cent. It lies in a half mile wide strip of all the upland east of Brush creek from its head to Blackwater. and in a quarter to half a mile wide strip along the road to Warrensburg from the old Masonic hall in the southeast part of the township.

Boone silt loam, "sandy" upland, 10 per cent. ; gray brown, of sandstone origin. It lies in a narrow strip one-eighth to half a mile wide immediately adjoining nearly all the bottom soils in the township.

Bates silt loam, upland. 5 per cent.; dark gray, brown to black. It lies in narrow irregular strips in the southeast, adjoining and just above the Boone silt loam.

Summit. Pettis and Crawford silt loams are ranked the best three common upland soils in the county, with Bates silt loam next. Centerview township is one of the best bodies of agricultural land in the county, and contains probably the largest proportion in the aggregate of Summit, Pettis, Crawford and Osage silt loams.

Early Settlement. - The first permanent settlement in the territory now comprising Centerview township was priil)ablv made in 1832. Solomon Cox, a native of Kentucky, settled on section 1 on the east side of Brier creek in 1832, where he built a log cabin, and remained until 1848. J\Ir. Cox was a ^Missouri pioneer, coming to this state long before it was admitted to the Unii.m. He was known as "I'ncle Solomon," was a frugal and industrious man and while living in this township he accumulated about four hundred acres of land. This he sold at ten dollars per acre in 1848. when he left for tlie Pacific coast. He was a man of a roving and adventurous nature and thus his onward march across the plains and over the mountains.

jMatthias Houx. a native of Kentucky, came here in 1833. He was a successful farmer and stock raiser and became well to do. He spent the remainder of his life in this county and lived to a ripe old age. His children still live at the old home place. In the early days he was a typical frontiersman and a hunter of considerable note. In 1849. during the gold excitement in California, he went to the Pacific coast o\'erland. It was truthfullv said of him that on that overland tri]) to California he shot nearly exery species of animal to be found between Missouri and California, including l)ufl:'alo, elk, deer, panther, grizzly l^ear and Indian. He killed hundreds of deer and wohes in his time and in his declining years he retained his trusty old muzzleloading rifle and double-barreled shotgun, mute comrades of many exciting events in the once wild and unbroken A\'est.

John Conway, of Tennessee, came here in 1833 and died in 1842. James Stirling, also a native of that state, came in 1833 and died here, ^^"illiam Conwav came from Tennessee in 1833 and later went to Texas, where he spent his life. Jeremiah and Samuel Carmichael and \\illiani Cocke, natives of Tennessee, came in 1833; the former spent the remainder of his life here and the latter later removed to California. Isaac Reese, another Tennesseeian, located here about 1834 and later went to Kansas, where he died. James Fisher came to this section in 1835. He was a native of Mississippi and in 1847 went to Texas.

Philip S. Houx came here in 1838 and died about twenty years later. He was a native of Missouri and the father of Rev. James N. Houx and grandfather of Charles H. Houx. John Kennedy, a native of Tennessee, came here in 1838 and died shortly afterward.

John G. Graham a Virginian, settled here in 1838 and died in 1878. Samuel C. Graham, also of Virginia, settled in this vicinity in 1840. The Grahams left numerous descendants, good citizens and men who still live in the township. James J. Graham, also a \'irginian, came in 1850. Samuel T. Thistle settled in this vicinity in 1840 and later moved into Rose Hill township, tie was a Virginian. And Gideon Harrison, of Alabama, came here in 1842 but soon afterward returned to his native state.

Samuel McFarland. a native of Tennessee, came to the territory of Missouri in 1816. Later he lived in Cooper and Lafayette counties and in 1843 settled in Centerview township, about two miles east of where the village of Centerview now stands. He went to Texas in 1850 and died there in 1851. His brother, George McFarland, settled in Centerview in 1843 in the same locality and spent the remainder of his life there. He died prior to the Civil \A'ar.

Moses G. Mullins was an early settler in this section and for a number of years lived in Center\-iew township, two miles southwest of the Centerview depot.

Among other early settlers were William Ramsey, G. Burgess, John Combs, Jacob Fetterling, William Marr, J. W. Houx, John R. Whitsett. T. C. Chamberlain, James Chamberlain, Elhanen Roop, James Stirling, and his son, and P. S. Houx and his two sons.

George Washington, a pioneer of sterling worth, was the first supervisor from Centerview township. He held this office for eighteen months, when the law was changed abolishing the office. Later he was elected a member of the county court. He was also one of the first justices of the peace in the township and was postmaster.

Early Schools. - The school system of Centerview township had its beginning with the primitive log school house whicli was maintained by the settlers and known as "subscription schools."' This was the method generally in vogue prior to the public school svstem. Some of the first school buildings in Johnson county were erected in Center\-iew township. The first log school house erected within the present limits of this township was located on the south side of Brier creek, one and one-half miles south of the present village of Centerview. prolialiiy not later than 1835. There has lu-en no tangible trace of this Iniilding for over half a century.

Another pioneer log school house was built in the same district one mile southwest of the one above mentioned several years before the Civil \\'ar. perhaps about 1850. This school was known by different names but was originally called the Cox school. The Briscoe school and the Owings school were also organized before the Civil ^^"ar. The former was located in the southern part of the township and the latter in the eastern part. The Briscoe school, like many other buildings, was burned during the Civil War. During the war all the schools in ^ the township were discontinued.

The Graham school, a prixate institution, supported by subscription, was the first school organized after the Ci\'il \\"ar. The house was a small frame building erected in 1866 by donations from Samuel C. Graham, James Peak and others. G. H. Sack, who afterwards became county superintendent of the sciiools of Johnson county, was the teacher. This was the only school in the township for some time and pupils from a radius of six or seven miles attended school here. In 1868. the Centerview school district was organized and purchased tliis private school house and J. C. Crawford was employed to teach tlie school, being paid from pul^lic funds. In 1872 this school was organized as a graded school and remox-ed to tlie town of Centerx'iew. John E. Hendrix was the first principal and was followed JDy George Brinkerhoff, Mr. Wester, Professor Reynolds, Rev, S. H. McElvaine, H. \V. Roop and W. L. Shipp.

Centerview, \\as the oldest church iDuilding in tlie township. It was a log structure thirty feet square and was known as the Free Church. It was built in 1840, and has long since disappeared, but was one of the famous churches of the early days. Some of the pioneer preachers who helil services here were Joseph A\'hite, A\'illiani P. C. Caldwell, Amos Horn, a Baptist minister, J. B. Morrow, of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and Robert Glenn, a Presbyterian minister.

The Cumberland Presbyterian church was organized in 1833 by Rev. J. R. Whitsett and J. B. Morrow. The following were among the early pastors to serve this denomination here: Reverends J. R. Whitsett, J. B. Morrow, S. Finis King, A. A. Van Ausdol, J. \V. Means, William F. Gordon, Walter Schenck and S. H. McElvaine. Among the early members were Philip Houx and family, S. C. Graham and family, John S. Graham and family. Rev. J. R. Whitsett and family, James J. Graham and family. Pleasant Carmichael and family.

The Baptist, Brethren, Methodist, Presbyterian and negro Methodist churches were all organized before 1880 and are still in existence. They are covered in the general church chapters in this book.

County Officers. - The following county officers have been elected from the township since 1882: 1886, AA'illiam A. Porter (Republican), recorder: 1898, Robert B. Graham (Democrat), county judge: 1902. AA". L. Shipp (Democrat), appointed school superintendent: 1905-1907- 1909, A\'. L. Ship]) (Democrat), elected school superintendent.

Road Improvements. - Permanent county road improvements made by the township since this system was established, up to January 1, 1918, were twenty-one in number and aggregated $1,159.50 furnished by the citizens of the township, and $1,150 by the county. In the amount of this work Centerview ranks eighth among the townships of the county.

Organizations. - The following is a complete list of all organizations of every kind in Centerview township. Full details of each organization are in this book in separate chapters on the ditTerent organizations: many items of general and personal interest are primarily parts of the history of the families and organizations of the township and will be found in this book under the history of the families and organizations. Both are fully indexed by names and townships.

Centerview town is a thriving and progressive village on the Missouri Pacific railroad between Warernsburg and Holden. It was founded in 1865. when the Pacific railroad was built. The postoffice here was established with the laying out of the town and Elhanan Roop was the first postmaster.