Linn County, Missouri - Chapter 14: Statement of Facts of Public Interest, 1882

Chapter 14: Statement of Facts of Public Interest

Poor-farm - Its Cost - Lease and Family of Lease - Sold, Repurchased, and Traded - Some Interesting Facts - Swamp Lands, When Selected - Cost of First Sale and Survey - 23,759.99 Acres - By Townships - What it Brought - The Closing Sale - Removal of County Seat a Failure - Another Trial and Another Failure - A Suit for Damages by Linneus Against Brookfield Suggested - Vote of 1870 and that of 1880 - No Hope for Brookfield - A $75,000 Court-house - Population of Linn County - Per Cent of Gain.

Poor-Farm

In the fall of 1855 the County Court concluded that a poor-farm would be the best arrangement to keep the county paupers, it having heretofore been the custom of letting their keeping to the lowest bidder. A farm was accordingly purchased and rented February 4, IS56, for three years. The manai^er and renter of the poor-farm to keep the paupers at so much per year. At the end of the three years there is an order of record authorizing the disposal of the poor-farm for $2,000. Nothing further was heard of a poor-farm until 1870, when the county clerk, William S. McClanahan, sold to the County Court sixty acres of land for a poor-farm at $30 per acre, or $1,800. This was on on section sixteen, township iiftjeight, of range twenty, about three miles southeast of the county seat. This land was the north sixty acres of the southeast eighty acre lot of the section.

The next thing was to rent this farm and secure a home for the poor of Linn county, and this was done as the following copy of the lease shows:

" This lease commencing on the first day of March, 1870, and terminates on the first day of March, 1871. A. B. Bumgarner to take charge, oversee, and take care of the paupers of the county for that year for $560, the county to furnish everything furnished for the use of carrying on of the farm and support of the paupers, and to have the benefit of what is grown thereon for the use of the paupers and the support of the family of the lease, with the exception following: The said A. B. Bumgarner furnish cows, not over three, to let the milk and butter be used on the farm for the keeping of the cows, also to have the privilege of furnishing hogs, the count}' to feed them, and the said Bumgarner to have half tiie whole. The said Bumgarner to furnish one riding horse and the county to feed it."

This was the quaintly worded document in full, and the terms were undoubtedly carried out according to the understanding of the parties to the lease. The first account presented to the court for payment was at the March term, and it amounted to $347.70, including one horse to match the riding horse of the " lease " aforesaid and make a double team.

The farm was rented annually for three years more, and at the end of that time was found too small for the wants of the county, and a larger tract of land was negotiated for.

The new purchase was one hundred and sixty acres of land on the same numbered section, - sixteen, township fifty-nine, of range twent}', and the price paid was at the rate, of $30 per acre. This trade was made with J. W. Southerland, in the spring of 1874, one of the judges of the County Court, he giving his farm of one hundred and sixty acres for the county farm of sixty acres, and receiving $3,000 to boot, or at the rate of $30 per acre, purchased of the county clerk. This makes the count}' poor-farm stand in price $4,800, besides the cost of improvements and repairs.

The county has continued to hold this farm, and it is in every respect a good one, in fact one of the finest in the county. It cost a pretty high price, more than land is worth in Linn county at this time, but land was about as hiffh ten vears airo as now. The farm is now leased for the sum of

$250 per year,^and the lessee is allowed $65 per annmn for the keeping of each pauper. There are a few paupers in the county not kept at the poorhouse, who have relatives or friends who are allowed a fair compensation for their keeping, but less than the cost would be at the farm. Where this saving can be effected it is done. Taken all together there are few counties in the State that have better arrangements for a pleasant home for those who have been unfortunate in accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods for their support, and for this handsome provision for her unfortunates Linn county should be emulated and congratulated.

Swamp Land

The swamp land sales of Linn county had not been promptly met by payments, and a large number of purchasers defaulted. This had become so universal that the legislature in the spring of 1860-61 passed a sort of relief act. Lands were so dull of sale that those who had purchased swamp lands, were, in a great many instances, unable to sell them for what they gave, and their other property was in jeopardy to meet their payments. In this state of affairs the General Assembly in the session above stated, passed in substance the following, which was approved February 8, 1861.

"That the person purchasing swamp and overflowed lands, and wishing to return the same and be released from their indebtedness, could do so upon condition that they would give satisfactory proof to the County Courts that the land was not damaged in any way, and if so, that the damage should be paid for, pay up all interest on their notes to date of the application for release, pay all taxes to date, costs of release, and deliver up their certificate of purchase." These conditions being complied with, their notes were given up to them and their sureties released. The act in some respects was considered onerous, some thinking that if they paid interest on their notes to date of release that the taxes should not be collected, yet the law as it stood was a boon to tiiousands, and thousands availed themselves of the opportunity to be released from the incumbrance from which, until the law was passed, they saw no way for escape bnt ruin. From the approval of the law in February, 1861, until 1863, advantage was taken of the law by large numbers. Some held on, hoping to gD through and save their lands, and put off the day of application, but as it proved, were finally compelled to take the benefits of its provisions. Those in Linn county who gave up their lands mostly did so in 1862, and some in 1863.

The swamp lands of Missouri developed a fever of speculation, and in some instances of terrible fraud, greater perhaps in the aggregate than any other item in her history.

Acres Of Swamp Land

In the distribution of swamp land Linn county had her share, but failed to realize as much as she should have done for the benefit of the school fund. Why it was that nearl}' every county in the State frittered away thousands of dollars of the value of these lands, has never been satisfactorily explained. Linn county received from the State, 23,759.99 acres of swamp land. It was located in nearly every township and range in the county, and was found in very many instances to be the equal of any land in the county, yet it is found that tlie county school fund amounts to only $30,938.21, to January 1, 1S8L The amount of the sales of swampland ought to have been over that sum, the interest of course having been distributed. This swarap land was in the following townships:

This last charge was that the railroad mentioned had taken some of thisswamp land in the lands selected by them under their land grant, and in some cases disposed of it, and it was necessary that some understanding should be arrived at between the company and the county, and the eightytwo dollars' worth of compromise was entered into. This was in 1853. In 1854, the County Court, at its August terra, again appointed Mr. Easley the county agent or commissioner to further investigate the railroad claim to this land. It was done, but what the result was is not altogether explained. That it was not satisfactory to the county may be taken from the fact that the court some time later ordered suits for possession against all those who had purchased any of these lands from the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company.

In October, 1855, on the eighth of the month, the sale of the swamp land was ordered, and the sheriff, Beverly Neece, made his report of the sale May 6, 1856, but the compiler of this history has been unable to lind the report. How many acres were sold, and at what price is not of record, outside of that report, in a shape to be made available. The report was approved and filed. In August, 1856, Peter Ford was elected sheriff, and he was ordered to close it out the following year. He made a sale of the residue of the swamp land on the seventeenth of June, 1857, to Thomas Mc- Mullin for the sum of $2,166.22, and the number of acres which Mr. Mc- Mullin purchased was 1,784.98, paying at the rate of a little less than $1.22 per acre for the entire lot. The sheriff, Peter Ford, made his report of this sale, which is now on file in the clerk's office. The securities of Mr. Mc- Mullin were William H. Brownlee, George W. Thompson, and Fleming R. Green. This is about all of the history of the swamp lands of Linn county that is of value to the present or future generations. The purchase-money^ or what is left of it, is now the permanent school fund of Linn county, and in connection with the township fund, made by the sale of the sixteenth section, constitutes the school fund, and, with what the State distributed, and fines and penalties, goes to educate the children of the county.

County Seat Removal Question

The county seat removal question came up for decision by the wish of Brookfield, which, while it was the commercial emporium of the county^ also wished to become the legal metropolis. The fact that it was not near the center of the county did not in the least abate its desire to have the court-house located within its bounds. In fact, a $75,000 court-house upon the rise back of the business portion of the town would add very much to the looks of what is already a pretty town; but good old Linneus was not altogether in her dotage, if her looks did show she was aged, and she kicked so vigorously against her " crown jewel" being taken from her, that her opposition was a success. But here is the order of the court, which gave to the Brooktieldian aspirants for metropolitan fame the right to try conclusions with the " Old Lady" as to her right to hold the priceless gem of, in reality, her existence. It is of date of Aprir23, 1870. It reads:

"On petition of one-fourth of the voters of Linn county, for the removal of the seat of justice of said county to the town of Brookfield, in said county, it is ordered by the court tliat the proposition to remove such seat of justice to the town of Brookfield be submitted to the qualified voters of the county at the next general election to be held therein, and it is further ordered that public notice be given of such proposed removal by publican tion thereof in the Linneus Missourian, and it is further ordered that the sheriff of said county put in handbill form printed copies of this order in not less than three of the most public places in said township, in said county, not less than thirty days before said election."

Other ambitious towns did not propose that Brookfield should be the only aspirant for metropolitan fame, and so gallant little Laclede put in a petition also for the right to have the people decide where the county seat should be located. It might have been that, and yet it may have been only a counter movement in favor of Linneus. The order was made, however, and is as follows; to wit,

" On petition of one-fourth of the voters of Linn county for the removal of the seat of justice of said count}' to the town of Laclede, in said county, it is ordered by the court that the proposition to remove such seat of justice to the said town of Laclede, be submitted to the qualified voters of the county at the next general election to be held therein, and it is further ordered that public notice of such proposed removal be by publication thereof in the Linneus 2fissourian^ and it is further ordered that the sheriff of said county put in handbills form printed copies of this order, in not less than three of the most public places in each township in said county, and not less than thirty days before said election."

The election came off and resulted in a vote of 953 in favor of Brookfield, and 201 in favor of Laclede. The total vote cast was 2,426. The election of 1880 given in this chapter shows but again of fifty-four votes in 10 years, while the increase of the general vote is about 1,300. This does

How They Voted

The petition by the citizens of Brookfield that the removal of the county seat to that town be submitted to the people was agreed to, and the vote was taken at the general election in November, 1880.

Court-House Appropriation

As the old court-house has been condemned since 1879, and while Brookfield thought it was a good time to agitate the removal of the county seat, Limieus concluded it would be a good way to stop the agitation which Brookfield was stirring up by getting an appropriation voted of $15,000 to build a new court-house. But while the latter city was not strong enough to take in the county seat, she was capable of defeating the appropriation proposition, and did, polling over one-fourth of the opposition votes. It is well she did, and instead of being a detriment to Linneus it is probably a very fortunate circumstance. The fact is, Linn county has at least $5,000,- 000 of taxable property, is rapidly gaining in wealth and in population, and in another decade a $15,000 or $20,000 court-house would simply be a disgrace to the county. As the county is, comparatively speaking, out of debt, and as the four townships now encumbered will be free without doubt in a few years, the people will be prepared to put up a county building that will be a credit to a young, vigorous, wealthy, and growing county like Linn. A fire-proof court-house costing at least $75,000 will be demanded in the near future, to save the records of value now stored promiscuously over the county seat. The old court-house which has, at the late February term of tiie County Court, been ordered torn down and its best material preserved, was of no earthly value against fire, and the offices, as far as protection against fire is concerned are as well off as in the old courthouse. Let the (question rest a few years if necessary, and then let the people build a court-house not only for the safet}' of its records, but that at the same time will be an ornament to the county and not a disgrace. This can and doubtless will be done, and when Brookfield defeated the proposition for a $15,0( 0 court-house she did right, and built wiser than she knew. Linneus will yet rise to the dignity of a county seat in something beside simply the name.

Majority against appropriation, 874. The total vote in the county on the appropriation is 3,032. The vote for President last November was 4,122. The vote on the court house-question, it will be seen, fell short 1,090. *

Population

Linn county was not settled until after the census of 1830, and therefore that of 1840 is the first recorded evidence of her population. Her first settlement being in the fall of 1832, the year 1840 showed eight years' progress. The population of the county that year was 2,245. This was about equal to the general progress of this section of the State among the new counties. At the next census, that of 1850, the population had risen to 4,058, not quite one hundred per cent for the decade. The formation of new townships and the changing of their boundary lines prevented any local statistics of the townships until the year 1860. In fact, the census of that year is only given in full as a county, not in detail, and the first real census taken by townships was in 1868, when the Linn County Court ordered it taken, and the population was found to have been 12,249, The report by townships was given by congressional numbers and not by their municipal boundaries. The charge for taking this census was $437 47. It is rather unfortunate that Linn county failed to have the enumeration taken by townships, as it would have served to trace its local progress.

In 1860 the census showed the greatest progress of any decade since her existence, being a fraction less than 125 per cent, the population being 9,112.

The first population taken by municipal townships was that of 1870, and a singular fact of that census is that no town in the county was taken separately from the township excepting Brooktield. The population had increased in round numbers seventy-five per cent, and was put down at 15,900. The population by townships is given below:

In giving the population of 1870 it is best to state the fact that the census of that decade was an astounding fraud, and that unless the aggregate may have been in the main correct, there was simply no truthful statements in it. Every county in the State seemed to have been wrong, and every State in the Union was made up of fraudulent returns. It would seem as if the census was made up by frauds and fools. Linn count}^ according to the census of 1870, had but one town in the county, Brookfield, and that had only a population of 402. Now the facts are that the following towns had both a local habitation and a name in Linn county, and also the following population in the year 1868:

Tbia shows that Liniieus had about half as much population as Brookfield that year, but the census failed to separate the town from the township. That census makes it appear that Brooktield was the only town in the county at that time, while the census of 1880 shows no less than ten, nine of which must have sprung up miraculously in the last decade. In 1870 the municipal divisions were eleven; since that time two more townships have been carved out of the same territory, reducing the boundary lines of Yellow Creek and Locust Creek considerably. Bucklin was taken oif of Yellow Creek in 1870, and Grantsville from Locust Creek and Baker in 1871.

What the population of Laclede, Bucklin, Meadville, etc., was is hard to tell, and can only be guessed at. In fact, the census of 1870 was probably the worst attempt to get correct figures ever attempted in this or any other country. A majoritj' of the canvassers were notoriously incompetent, while many added names to their lists that did not exist and many went so far as to guess at it and then render their bill for labor never performed. In all the statistics as well as in numbering the population, this fraud and incompetency existed. This matter was not carried to the counties having a small population, and therefore they are comparatively correct, though some showed less gain in population than was expected.

County Census, 1878

For some reason, the County Court concluded not to wait for the census of 1880 to find the population of Linn county, but in 1878 had the population counted. The figures below give the townships, the towns not having been kept separate.

This showed a pretty steady gain, but the next two years the population increased almost as much as the previous eight, if those who took the county census were correct in their report. The towns of Linn county made no great headway, with the exception of Brookfield, during the decade between 1870 and 1880. Of the smaller towns, since the last census, Meadville seems to take the lead. The attempt of Brooktield to secure the removal of the county seat, to be located within its own limits, is seriously imperiling the prosperity of Linneus, and a pretty nice legal point might be raised by Linneus suing Brooktield for this damage to her present and future, for it is a very serious one, as few people will care to locate in the town if it is to be deprived of the local county government. The legal lights of these two towns are well matched, and when nothing else to do they could test the question of Brookfield's liability in trying to kill the town of Linneus. The writer merely throws out this idea for digestion by those mostly interested. A large amount of true eloquence might be expended by the Linneus bar over the great wrong which Brookfield is doing in trying to deprive her of life and shekels.

Census Of 1880

This cives a farminof population of 14,871; and living in towns and villages, 5,145; total, 20,016. The colored population of county in 1880, 832.

This gives over one-fourth of the population to the towns, and would seem to prove that the farming population needs a greater gain than the town. A wealthy and populous farming population sustains in a great measure the towns, and there are more than enough of the latter to equal the former. Manufacturing towns, while large consumers, are also great producers, but the small towns and villages are sustained to a great extent by the farming community which surrounds them.

The central and northern portions of the county must be up and doing. The five southern townships which border on Chariton county have a population of 9,939, while the other eight have only 10,077, or one hundred and thirtyeight more than the former. How long will it be before that section will be in a position to remove the county seat if they are still inclined that way?

The Increase

In closing this article the growth of the county can be shown by the increase of ])oinilation for each decade, and the per cent of gain. It is therefore summarized below, giving the same, leaving out fractions: