Lake Township

Lake Township

Lake township comprises congressional township 36, range 32. Marmaton river flows eastwardly through a portion of the south¬ ern part of the township, but away from its bottoms the entire six miles square was originally prairie. The timber in the bot¬ toms is generally very heavy, and in early times there grew here many valuable trees, chiefly black walnut and oak. The prin¬ cipal varieties now are oak, hickory, hackberry, elm, and syca¬ more. with many pecans and other smaller trees. The oaks pro¬ duce huge acorns, large as hen eggs, sweet, and nutritious; and the shag-bark hickories bear large and excellent nuts.

Back from the Marmaton bottoms, where there are many swampy and marshy tracts, the prairie lands are uniformly high and dry. The soil is sometimes excellent and often indifferent. There is some ashy, thin, and unfertile land, but the general character of the soil is good.

In the extreme southern part of this township, on the north side of the Marmaton. is a considerable lake or pond, called Tuck¬ er s or Stutts lake, from Greenup Tucker, a former principal owner of the land. It is of irregular form, and including all of the u su ally covers, comprises several hundred acres. Quite fre¬ quently it is filled by the overflow of the Marmaton, from which stream it is distant in one place but a few hundred yards. It contains plenty of fish and in the seasons numerous flocks of water fowl resort here. The locality is very popular with hunters and sportsmen generally.

What is now Lake township was in the early days a noted hunting ground. The prairies abounded in deer and occasionally wolves and other game, while the reedy marshes and fens of the Marmaton could always be relied on to furnish ducks, geese, and other wild fowl in the proper season.

After the war the lower part of the township settled up with reasonable rapidity, but the northern part remained untenanted until a few years since. In 1876 there were but three school houses, all in the southern part. Excellent educational facilities are now to be found in the township, while houses of worship are located at convenient points.

Ellis Cumberland Presbyterian Church. AVas organized No¬ vember 9, 1877, by Rev. R. L. A^annice, the following being the first elders : Samuel Porter, Jacob Barracks, and Hiram Gardiner. There were forty-four original members at the organization, among whom may be mentioned D. K. Short and wife, John Bar¬ racks and wife, Samuel Porter, Grace and Belle Porter, Aliss Kate Short, Elizabeth Ethridge, Hannah Howell, Maria AVard, Frank Porter, George Short, Robert Atterbury, Airs. E. J. Rockhole, Lizzie Alosby, Alary Fuller, Emma Alulkey, Hiram Gardiner and wife, George Samples, Charles Samples, Clark Fuge, John Ethridge, AAnlliam Berry, Ida Samples, Frank Fuller, Alice AVarden, Alark Beebee, Oscar Howell, Airs. Jennie Samples, Daniel Hope, and John Spendiff and wife. The frame church building in which services are held was erected at a cost of $1,400, in 1882.