Lewis Township

Lewis Township

rich, rolling farm land, capable of growing a great variety of crops. It is doubtful if there is anywhere in the United States a territory of equal extent that is adapted to the growing of a larger number of cereals and fruits that Lewis Township, Holt County, Missouri.

Roughly speaking the bluffs along the Missouri bottom separate Lewis Township from Forest Township on the west. Therefore there is practically little bottom land in Lewis Township. When man first began to make himself a home in the territory now embraced in Lewis Township there was a rather luxuriant growth of timber of various kinds, much of which was of value for building and other purposes. Most of it was suitable for fuel and until the last few years cord wood was a staple product on the local market. But times are changing and now the average householder is too busy to saw wood, even if it were plentiful as of yore. But even though a man is disposed to get a little physical culture on a wood pile he is deprived of the privilege, because there is practically no wood to saw. It has disappeared along with many other things which the pioneers enjoyed. The timbered tracts have long since given place to the well cultivated fields of the prosperous farmer.

Mill Creek, a considerable stream, which rises in the northeast quarter of section 24, township 60, range 38, flows in a southwesterly direction, a distance by its meanderings of fourteen or fifteen miles, into the lower bed of the Little Tarkio, which it enters in the northwest quarter of section 9, township 59, range 38, and thus affords running water in the old forsaken bed of Little Tarkio from a point about two and a half miles below Forest City. In many places the old bed of this stream is filled up, and, in wet seasons, occasions disastrous overflows.

On the 20th of March, 1866, Lewis Township was divided, for the convenience of election purposes, into East and West Lewis precincts. This dividing line commenced at a point on the northern line of the township where the line between sections four and five intersects the northern line, and extends due south eight and a half miles, to the Missouri River, which it reaches between sections 20 and 21.

Early Settlements

Reference has already been made in the chapter on Forbes Township to the fact that while the first two white men who settled in Holt, happened to locate within the present limits of the last mentioned division of the county, the second arrivals, who appeared in the fall of the same year, also selected that vicinity, which being in a neighborhood cornering on the present townships of Nodaway and Lewis, the two latter townships were among the earliest to receive population from emigration.

The first white man to settle within the present limits of Lewis Township was R. H. Russel, for many years judge of the Probate Court of Holt County. To the arrival of his brother and other settlers in the fall of 1838, reference is made in the chapter on Forbes Township. Early in the spring of 1838 R. H. Russel started on a steamboat from his early home in Indiana bound for the Platte Purchase. He had sent his horse by land with his brother who, accompanied by the members of his family, the Sterretts, and one or two others, had started by land with ox and mule teams. He had, however, a new saddle which as a matter of safety, he concluded to bring with him. Before he arrived at his destination, however, this was stolen by some one who had left the boat at some intervening landing. In due time he reached Liberty Landing, in Clay County, with very few dollars in his pockets, and eager for any employment with the prospect of pay.

Young and unsophisticated, and with little knowledge of the world, he undertook a job of excavating a cellar, at a stipulated price for the entire work. When he had accomplished this task he discovered that, outside of his board, his compensation amounted to about twenty-five cents per day. He then concluded to try farming, and went to work to raise a crop of corn on the property of a large land holder by the name of Hawkins. In this he met with better success. By the time he had plowed his corn for the last time, the proprietor, pleased with the industry and intelligence manifested by his young renter, offered him, at a good salary, the position of overseer of his plantation.

Russel, however, had started for the Land of Promise, and did not propose to stop short of his destination. He declined the complimentary offer of his friend, and, leaving his crop to ripen, bent his course northward. On starting, he managed to purchase, on credit, at the rate of twenty-five cents per gallon, two barrels of whisky. Borrowing the running gear of an antiquated wagon, he fitted it up with two or three loose boards, and, loading on his whisky, started on his hundred-mile trip through the wilderness to the new settlement in Holt County. On his way up, he reached the neighborhood of the trading point of Robidoux, now St. Joseph, and halted a short distance below the landing, at a shanty in which a man by the name of Hall had a stock of furs and pelts.

Young Russel was the owner of an antiquated bull's eye silver watch, to which the proprietor of this establishment taking a fancy, he gave him for the same four good buffalo robes, which he afterwards sold for five dollars each. On reaching Ellington's Ferry on the Nodaway River, not being far from his destination, Russel met a man by the name of John Spence and his brother who together promptly made him an offer of one dollar per gallon for his whisky if he would transport it to

Jeffrey's Point on the Missouri River. This offer he accepted, and, heading towards the point, via the "Big Springs," now Banks' Spring, below Forest City, he delivered his freight and starting back with his money, by evening, reached the neighborhood of his new home where the rest of his party had already arrived.

This was early in the fall of 1838. About the beginning of winter, he returned with several of his friends and the necessary wagons for moving his corn. By the time they had gathered the crop and started homeward, the month of January had arrived; snow was on the ground and the weather was intensely cold. They succeeded in crossing three of their wagons on the flatboat ferry. The fourth, however, proved too weighty for the frail bark, and the entire load was precipitated into the waters of the Nodaway, after having been safely transported a distance of nearly one hundred miles. In the darkness of the night, amid the bewildering snow of the wilderness, R. H. Russel lost his way, and, halting his jaded team, as well in apprehension of wandering from his destination as in consideration of their condition, he passed in the woods a night of no triffling suffering, to find, by the morning light, that he was but three miles from his home, which he lost no time in reaching.

The farm settled by this pioneer of Lewis Township was in section 12, township 59, range 38. The land is now owned by Sarah Conn. Here he put up a rude cabin of small logs or, rather, poles.

Among the early pioneers referred to as arriving in the fall of 1838, was James Kee, also from Indiana, a man who met with a sudden and accidental death, under very peculiar circumstances. Kee was a noted bee and deer hunter, and generally kept his neighbors in meat and honey. For some time after his arrival, he shared with R. H. Russel the pole cabin erected by the latter on the above-mentioned spot. Hunting, which he made his business, was his delight, and the house was always well stocked with deer meat, and with wild honey, which they kept in a large trough hewn out of a linden log.

Before the close of the first decade of this liberal-hearted pioneer in the west, he was summoned to his last account. In the winter of 1848, while at Grand Island, Nebraska, on his way to the war, with his company, then under the command of Captain, afterwards General Craig, of St. Joseph, Kee started out in company with Alexander Boyles, an intimate and particular friend, to have, as it subsequently proved, his last hunt. Mistaking him for a turkey, in the gloom and distance, Boyles shot, and instantly killed his friend. He was overwhelmed with grief at the result of the terrible accident, and long mourned the disastrous consequences of his last hunt. He resided in Oregon, in

By the spring of 1839, the population began to gather in, and the beauty and fertility of this portion of the county soon attracted settlers. Among others came H. G. Noland, afterwards judge of the County Court, Roland Burnett, Larkin Packwood, Judge John Gibson, James Crowley, from Clay County, Missouri, Thomas Crowley, Jacob Martin, William Thorp, John Thorp, Owen Thorp, the Rev. Dr. G. B. Thorp, of the Hardshell Baptist Church, the first minister of the gospel to locate within the limits of Holt County, Isaac Massey, Valentine Worley, commonly called "Pelty Worley," Daniel Sipes, B. B. Grisby, Alexander Boyles, Eli Asher, Daniel Hahn, Col. John W. Kelly, the first attorney admitted to practice at the Holt County Bar, William Banks, Judge Samuel Watson, Henry Watson, William Zook, S. C. Collins, for twenty years county surveyor, Michael May, Felix Frelich, since dead, the original winegrower and first man to make wine in the county, William Cook, Richard Hahn, A. Gemeker, Andrew Meyer, Sr., who, with a numerous family settled here in 1843 and Henderson Pinkston.

Judge John Stewart, who was on the county bench from 1842 to 1845 was one of the earliest settlers of the county, and put up the first blacksmith shop ever started within its limits. This was in 1839. His stand was at what was in those days known as the Big Spring, on the southwest quarter of section 4, township 59, range 38, about two and a half miles southwest of Oregon, and the same distance southeast of the site of the present town of Forest City.

Of the original settlers who came to the county in 1838, two survived the others several years. They were Judge R. H. Russell and Roland Burnett, who in the after years of their lives were residents of Oregon.

The Pioneer School

The early settlers of Holt County seem to have been fully alive to the importance of educating their children, and steps in that direction were early instituted, Lewis Township enjoying the distinction of being the first to inaugurated within her limits an enterprse of this character.

In the fall of 1839, Jeremiah Garner began to teach the first school opened in Holt County. This was in a log cabin, 14x16 feet in extent, and built by R. H. Russel for a residence, a very rude and primitive structure. It was located on the southwest corner section 12, township 59, range 38, three and a half miles southeast of Oregon. Population, in that early day, was sparse, and the entire school included the children of John Rus- sel, Thomas Crowley, James Crowley, G. B. Thorp and John Sterrett. With the influx of population, this temporary shelter soon gave way to more extensive and better appearing buildings, and perhaps more cultivated teachers, but to Jeremiah Garner undoubtedly belongs the distinction of being the pioneer teacher of Holt County. He met with a sudden and violent death in 1845, by being struck over the head with a spade or pick, in the hands of a man with whom he was working the road.

First Church

The first church built in Holt County was erected in 1843, by the Hard Shell Baptists. It was a rude frame structure, and stood on section 36, where the west line of the southeast quarter crosses Mill Creek, in township 60, range 38, about two and a half miles southeast of the town of Oregon, and within the present limits of Lewis Township. The building has long since disappeared. The members of the congregation at the organization of this church were Judge James Kimsey and wife, Judge James Adkins and wife, Rev. Dr. G. B. Thorp, Abraham Brown, and Ethelbert Brown. The wives of the above were also among the original members, as was also Mrs. Margaret Stephenson, John and Daniel Baldwin were also enrolled with the original organizers of the church. The Rev. Dr. G. B. Thorp, the pastor of this church, was the first local preacher ever established in Holt County. He began his labors in 1841, and continued a period of thirty years, up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1871. He was also a practitioner of medicine.

The First Distillery

The first distillery in the county was estalished probably as early as 1840, if not before, by Daniel Sipes, Sr., the father of Buck Sipes, whose narrow escape from the conflagration of a lightning-stricken building is fully detailed in the sketch of Oregon. This distillery was located in Lewis Township, near the north line of the southeast quarter of section 13, township 59, range 38. Ten years after its erection, all traces of the building had disappeared.

First Post Office

appointed. This was in 1839. He kept the office which was known by the name and style of "Thorp's Mill," in a hewed log house, which he had erected on his farm, in section 12, about two hundred yards from the old log cabin, which he had put up on his first arrival in the country, and in which, in the following year, he had allowed Uriah Garner to start the pioneer school of the county, as before stated. Russel was also the contractor for carrying the mail to Savannah, in Andrew County. This he did once a week. The mail bag was never very weighty. Four letters were considered a heavy mail, and such a thing as a newspaper passing over the route was unheard of. Postage in those days was twenty-five cents on a single letter. The post office continued to be maintained here till the town of Oregon started, in 1842, when Judge Russel appointed William Zook, Sr., who had just opened the first store in that town, to act as his deputy, and without any other warrant or authority the office was moved to Oregon.

Pioneer Merchants

Of George and Augustus Borchers, the first to engage in mercantile business in the county, mention is made in the chapter on Forbes Township, where their store was located. The third person to sell goods within the limits of Holt County, also began in Lewis Township. This was Daniel Zook, Sr., who. in the fall of 1841, came from Ohio. He sold a few goods in a house on a farm near the present town of Curzon, and included in the southeast quarter of section 15, township 59, range 38, on the waters of Little Tarkio Creek, about three and a half miles south of the site of the present town of Oregon. He remained here a very short time, when he returned home. Arriving again, in the spring of 1842, he built on the site of the town of Oregon, the first house ever erected in the place, as especially referred to under the head of Oregon.

The Float Bridge

As early as 1839 there was built across the Little Tarkio, on the southwest corner of section 15, township 59, range 38, a rather remarkable crossing of the road extending between the Thorp settlement, in the eastern part of Lewis Township, and Hetrick's Landing, on the Missouri River, the oldest established thoroughfare in the county. The latter point, which was in section 20, township 59, range 38, has long since disappeared by the encroachments of the Missouri. This crossing was known for several years as the "Float Bridge," and was so designated from the circumstance that it rested on floating logs, attached to each other and secured by fastenings to either bank. The little Tarkio, in those days a deep, bold stream, was at this point not less than sixty feet wide, with a depth, at low water stage, varying from four to six feet. William Hetrick and his brother Joseph had a small trading post at this landing, their stock in trade consisting chiefly of whisky, which they sold surreptitiously to the Indians. It was for a time an entrepot for Oregon, and goods were hauled from the boats which landed here to that locality, as well as to neighboring stores.

A Remarkable Grove

One of the most remarkable natural features of Lewis Township in early, times was an extensive grove of the Populus Tremula, or quaking-aspen, said to be the only sight of the kind in the state, or, indeed west of the Mississippi River. This grove was about a mile and a half southeast of Oregon. It was chiefly on the farm of James L. Allen, in the northeast quarter of section 2, township 59, range 38, near the waters of Mill Creek, but extended considerably beyond it. The grove, which was a spontaneous growth, covered an area of about twenty acres, and, in the season of foliage was a truly singular and beautiful sight. The trees, which appeared to be of uniform shape, a characteristic resulting, perhaps, from the denseness of the growth, suggested the idea of a gigantic cane-brake. One of the striking peculiarities of these trees was the silvery appearance of the bark of even the largest and oldest among them, most of which seem to range from sixty to eighty feet in height. The aspen is a graceful tree when growing in solitary contrast to more familiar timber, but viewed in a dense mass, like this grove, it is as strikingly beautiful as it is novel. The bark of the aspen was considered by many to possess certain valuable medicinal properties, and the fame of this celebrated grove, at one time, drew those who esteem the remedy, from remote districts of Nebraska and Iowa in quest of the healing cuticle. It is estimated that the average yield of this grove, if cut down, would be, at least, forty cords of wood to the acre.

Road From Oregon To Forest City

Among the important improvements of Lewis Township is the dirt road extending in a bee line, east and west, between Oregon and Forest City, a distance from the railroad depot in the latter town, to the streets of the former, of two and a half miles. The distance on this road between the corporate limits of the two towns is about a mile and three-fourths. This road, which is the result of some very heavy grading, was built in 1874 at a cost of five thousand dollars, and was one of the best constructed in the country at that time. Its Oregon terminus is two hundred and thirty-five and one-half feet higher than the site of the depot in Forest City.

The first mill built within the limitws of what is now Lewis Township was the first put up in Holt County. It was, in its day, known as Thorp's Mill, and was operated by water power. It stood on the waters of Mill Creek on the northeast quarter of section 2, township 59, range 38, about two and a half miles southeast of the town of Oregon, on a farm for many years owned by W. H. Sterrett. William Thorp, who, in 1844, built this pioneer structure, came from Clay County, Missouri. He later moved to the state of Oregon, where he died at an advanced age. About the period of the Mexican War he sold out to Judge R. H. Russel and others, who, in turn, sold the mill to William Hobson, Sr. It was for years after a noted institution in this section of the country. It finally fell to the possession of John Deffenbaugh, and was long known as the Deffenbaugh Mill.

The mill was originally fitted up with one run of burrs. As it grew in importance another run was added, and was latterly propelled by a Leffel Turbine Wheel. A pool below the dam, which collected the water for this mill, was for many years used by different Christian denominations of the vicinity for baptismal purposes. Its establishment, in 1841, was an era in the history of the county. For three years prior to that period residents of that pioneer settlement were under the necessity of going to mill to Weston, a distance of sixty miles, and often as far as Liberty, in Clay County, one hundred miles distant. Hence originated the common saying of that day, "One hundred miles to mill." The machinery was moved from this mill about 1875.

The second mill erected in Lewis Township was built, in an early day, by Samuel Foster, Sr., and was known as Foster's Mill. It was originally a log house, but afterwards rebuilt of frame. It stood on the east fork of Mill Creek. The machinery was moved out, and the mill abandoned about the close of the year 1874. It had become the property of T. W. Collins, who sold the machinery and building to J. L. Gomel, of Whig Valley. The elevated stone foundation and decaying frame super structure of this mill stood for many years a monument to the enterprise of a hustling pioneer.

Samuel Watson's Carding Machine and Fulling Mill was built in 1846, on the waters of Mill Creek, which supplied the power of the machinery. It stood on the southwest quarter section 36, township 60, range 38, about two miles southeast of Oregon. For many years this mill did an extensive business, commanding a large trade with portions of Atchison, Nodaway and Andrew Counties. In consequence of the steady decrease in the supply of water in the creek the site was abandoned, and in 1862 the machinery of the factory was transferred to Oregon, and set up in a building in that town, as mentioned in our notice of the manufacturing interests of that place. There are few changes in the general aspect not only of the county, but of the entire Purchase, more remarkable than the present absorption of streams that were, in an early day, of sufficient volume to afford motive power to machinery, and the stranger is surprised to learn that, on the road leading from Forest City to Oregon, and about half a mile from the latter place, there was built, in 1845, on the southwest corner of setcion 27, township 60, range 38, on Clark's Branch, a grist mill, turned by the water of that now feeble and often scarcely visible stream. This mill was built by Russel Turney, with an undershot wheel, and operated by him for many years, though it had been numbered with the things of the past long prior to the Civil War. The mill house was a two-story uilding, fairly appointed. S. C. Collins, a pioneer and for upwards of twTenty years surveyor of the county, speaks of having grist ground at this mill, which, in its day, did a good business.

Russel Turney also afterwards built a saw-mill on Kimsey Creek on the southeast quarter of section 19, township 60, range 38, one mile above Forest City. This he operated from the time of its completion in 1850 till the breaking out of the war in 1861. As early as 1854, Daniel Kunkel had built on Kimsey Creek, on the northwest quarter of section 9, township 60, range 38, a sawmill, which was turned by the water of this stream.

About ten years prior to this, P. Jackson had a saw-mill on the same creek. This was also a water-power mill, and stood on the southeast quarter of section 18, township 60, range 38. These are all numbered with the things of the past. Martin Lewis' sawmill, built in 1856, stood on the northeast quarter of section 3, township 59, range 38. It has long since disappeared. The site of the mill was later owned by John Weis.

In the same year Samuel Hahn built a steam-power saw-mill on a slough in the southeast quarter of section 21, township 59, range 28. The boiler of this mill exploded, and the mill took fire and burned down before the war.

On the southeast quarter of section 4, township 59, range 38, about two and a half miles southwest of Oregon, on Mill Creek, and about three-quarters of a mile below the site of the Martin Lewis saw-mill, stood the old Scott mill, built by George Scott, in 1849, and long since numbered with the things of the past. It was, in its day, one of the most important institutions of its kind in this section of country, and as late as 1858, was in full operation, with six run of burrs, four saws, four looms, one spinning-jack, one picker, four carders and condensers, with fulling mill, scouring and shearing machinery. The portable steam saw-mill of a more recent day, however, superceded the waning power of water-fall in the gradually and steadily dimin- ishing streams, and a corresponding degree of power being required to operate the larger woolen mills, they in turn, were moved from the failing water courses and subjected to the power of steam. Daniel Hahn built and operated, before the war, a saw-mill on the southwest quarter of section 3, township 59, range 38. This, in common with many others, has long since disappeared.

Philander Johnson built, in 1857, a grist-mill on Little Tarkio, on the northeast quarter of section 9, township 60, range 39. After the Civil war a steam saw-mill was added. Both mills have long since disappeared. Van Camp's steam saw-mill, on the southeast quarter of section 15, township 60, range 37, was operated as late as 1882.

Of the enterprises of this kind which survived the adversities of early days should be mentioned the Kunkel Mills, located on the North Fork of Mill Creek, on the southeast quarter of section 26, township 60, range 38, one-half mile east of the town of Oregon. The original building, which was erected by Daniel Kunkel in 1850, was a frame structure on a stone foundation. The extensive brick addition was put up during the war. The works included a flouring mill and woolen factory. The firm was known at first by the name and style of Daniel Kunkel & Sons. Each member owned a third interest in the concern. This was one of the institutions of Northwest Missouri, and reckoned as one of its most important enterprises.

The woolen factory and grist mill had an area of thirty-six by ninety-eight feet. It was built on a stone basement eleven feet high. The superstructure, chiefly of brick, consisted of two full stories with a hip story, constituting, in all, four floors. This building cost, with the machinery with which it was supplied, upwards of twenty-five thousand dollars. The engine and boiler were built to order for Kunkel's factory. These were shipped in through cars from the place of manufacture to Forest City and transported by means of heavy ox teams, to the mill premises. The boiler and engine each weighed four tons, and the smoke stack, etc., four more, making the entire weight about 20,000 pounds. The engine had one hundred and ten horse power and was one of the largest and most powerful ever brought to the Upper Missouri Valley, and cost, including transportation, about four thousand dollars.

The cloth factory was fitted up with one broad Crompton loom for double width cloth, and four narrow looms. These operated in all three hundred and sixty spindles, and turned out on an average one hundred and twenty-five yards of cloth daily.

This factory was first established in 1863, and proved, at the time, one of the successful enterprises of the county. It prospered for many years, but finally yielded to the competition of larger cities. The disinclination of the farmers to produce wool had its effect on the fortunes of this mill. It discontinued operations in 1882. The machinery was bought by Daniel Kunkel, Jr., who sold it in 1888 to North Dakota parties who moved it away. The flour mill attached to this institution was at first operated by water power, using an overshot wheel twenty-five feet in diameter. In the summer of 1881, the growing uncertainty of water supply induced the substituting of steam in its steam. It was fitted up with four run of burrs and one pair of rolls, making it equivalent to a five run mill. It had besides, all the appliances of a first class mill with a grinding capacity of many thousand pounds per day of flour, of which it turned out an excellent quality.

In 1888 the interests of the other members of the partnership were purchased by Gideon Kunkel, who continued to operate the plant until 1901, when it was moved by him to Anadarko, Okla.

Daniel Kunkel, Sr., founder of this one time noted mill, after retiring from the activities of the management of the property, spent his declining years on his farm immediately east of the mill. He made an artificial lake and attained considerable prominence as a breeder of German carp and other fish. He was an inventor of note, the majority of the present day washing machines being adaptations from his original patents. He also invented the car coupler now in universal use on railroads, but through some misunderstanding or mistake in the patent office another man got the glory and the money for the invention. Mr. Kunkel spent the last few years of his life in Kansas City, to which place the family removed. He died there Februery 5, 1902.

The City Of Oregon

We have seen in a former chapter that Finley (now Oregon), the county seat of Holt County, was laid out on the 21st day of June, 1841, by John F. Williams, Edward Smith and Travis Finley, the commissioners who were appointed for that purpose by the legislature.

At the October term, 1841, held at the house of Jacob Martin, Judges Noland, Crowley and Kimsey on the bench, the commissioner, John Thorp, presented his plat of the town, which was ordered to be certified to the recorder's office for record.

On the following day, October 22, 1841, the original name of the county seat, Finley, was changed, and it was "Ordered that the county seat of Holt County be called and known by the name of Oregon, and which name is hereby given to said county seat."

First Sale Of Lots

The first sale of lots occurred on the 21st and 22nd days of October, 1841, and the commissioner was granted till the next term of court to complete said sale. His report of the same does not appear to have been rendered till the May term, 1842, of the county court, which was held at the house of the Widow Jackson, as the following entry of that period shows:

Street Scene, Oregon, Mo Second Sale Of Lots

We have already referred to the first sale of lots in the town of Oregon, which occurred in October, 1841. The embarrassment on the part of the court in view of their mistaken action in locating the town site on two different quarters, has already been mentioned. Probably in view of this perplexity it was ordered by that body, at their April term, 1842, that all persons who had bought lots in the town of Oregon, the county seat of Holt County, be allowed the privilege to relinquish said lots to the County of Holt, providing said relinquishment be made by May 14, 1842, and that the commissioner advertise this order. The records show that several purchasers availed themselves of the benefit of this order.

After various attempts to right the matter before the courts and the land office, on a memorial to congress rendered April, 1842, a special act was passed by that body to relieve the difficulty by legalizing the location of the town site ; and the space of twelve months was given the commissioner wherein to enter the land. On appearing a day or two before the expiration of the year, the authorities at the land office in Plattsburg declined, in view of the existence of the dispute, to accept the tender. The matter was finally decided in favor of the town by the United States Commissioner of the General Land Office, in Washington. On the 16th day of May, 1842, occurred, by special order, the second sale of lots in the town of Oregon, and the same was reported by Commissioner John Thorp at the June term of the Holt County Court, held at Mrs. Rachel Jackson's house.

Early Settlers And Buildings

In the fall of 1841, Daniel Zook, Sr., emigrated from Ohio, and settled in Holt County, in the neighborhood of what was afterwards the town of Oregon. He brought with him a portion of a stock of merchandise, and, though not regularly engaged in the business, is said to have sold a few goods during that fall. In the following winter he went back to Ohio, and in the spring of 1842, returned with his family, which included his son, William Zook, who afterawrds became a well-known banker of St. Joseph, where he died in the spring of 1876; John Zook, who died in the spring of 1843, in Oregon; Sarah A. Zook, afterwards the wife of W. Mill, of Holt County; Daniel Zook, Jr., for many years a member of the Holt County bar, and Thomas, his twin brother, who died young; Levi Zook, an early day capitalist of Oregon.

Daniel Zook, Sr., and his son William, built in Oregon, the first house in the place. This was on a lot on Missouri street, on the south side of the court house, and was purchased at the sale above mentioned. In this house they opened in June, 1842, the first stock of goods ever offered for sale in the town of Oregon. In the fall of the same year, Daniel Zook, Sr., died. On the occasion of his death, the county court located the present cemetery at the southeast corner of the town site, and the body of Daniel Zook, Sr., the pioneer merchant of the infant town of Oregon, was the first to rest beneath the sod of its virgin soil.

William Zook, on the death of his father, continued to sell goods in Oregon, till 1856. He was, however, engaged in business in Forest City, and elsewhere in the county, up to the period of his death. He also assisted in organizing the First National Bank, of St. Joseph and afterwards the Colhoun Bank in that city. Of both these institutions he was the first president. An eminently successful business man, he was also recognized as a liberal and public spirited citizen.

The second store started in the town of Oregon was opened by McLaughlin & Robidoux, in October, 1842. P. L. McLaughlin, the senior member of the firm and manager of the business, afterwards became a wealthy merchant and representative citizen of St. Joseph, where he died, late in life. Jules Robidoux, the other member of the firm, was a son of the founder of St. Joseph.

The first hotel in the town was built by Richard Linville, in the summer of 1842. This, though the second raised in the town, was not the second house completed. It was a log house, with four rooms below, and a hall running through the center. Above this were two rooms. This important structure for that day and locality stood on the northwest by north outside corner of the public square, the site of the present spacious three-story brick block, in which are the business houses of Moore & Springer and of D. Martin, the Masonic Hall, etc.

ty, assembled for the first time in the county seat, at their August term, 1842, on the eighth day of said month. The court house, however, not being completed, the unfinished bar room of Linville's Hotel was made to subserve the purpose of a court room. The building indeed was covered with a roof, but otherwise it presented the appearance of a vast pen. The interstices between the logs were neither chinked nor pointed. As yet, no floor had been laid ; the aperture for a window contained no sash, and the doorway was unprovided with a door.

This extemporized hall of justice, however, presented the redeeming feature of coolness, for its ventilation was unstinted. The assembled court assumed no airs of undue importance, and the luxuries and superfluities of chairs and tables were dispensed with, while the judicial wisdom of Holt County seated itself astride the sleepers of the building on which a floor was, some day, intended to be laid; and those who waited on its august decrees either stood or seated themselves on chunks of timber lying conveniently around. This picture of Spartan simplicity and lofty indifference to surrounding circumstances, was, several years ago, described by a representative citizen of the town of Oregon, who, then a small boy, and wonderfully impressed with a sense of respect for the dignity of a court, which, in his infant mind, was associated with the idea of authority to hang or otherwise punish people, could not restrain an expression of amazement and disgust at the astounding difference between the imaginary and actual court.

The first saloon in Oregon was started by Ross, the pioneer blacksmith, in the fall of 1842. His stand was on the north side of Nodaway street, one block west of the court house square, where it remained for several years.

The third store established in the town was moved, in the fall of 1842, by McIntosh & Banks, from a trading post at Iowa Point Landing, Missouri, about four or five miles southwest of Oregon. This completed the mercantile business of the first year of the existence of the county seat.

First School

The first school in Oregon was taught by John Collins. It was opened in the fall or winter of 1843, in a squatter's cabin, which stood in a hollow in the northeast quarter of the town. Among the first pupils who attended this initial school, to the number of about thirty, were Levi Zook, Isam Prior, John, Mary and Sarah, children of Roland Burnett, who had pre-empted the eighty on which part of the town was afterwards located ; George Russel, a nephew of Judge R. H. Russel, for nearly twenty years probate judge of Holt County; the children of the Thorps, of Jacob Martin, and of Larkin Packwood, who had pre-empted the other eighty on which the town was located ; Paris Pfouts, Cora Pfouts, afterwards the wife of P. L. Mc- Laughlin, and Col. Kelley's sons. Mary Burnett, one of the pupils above referred to, afterwards became the wife of John Collins, the teacher. Mr. Collins died in 1854. Sarah Burnett married Thomas Collins, later a well known attorney of St. Joseph. The winter of 1843-44, during which this school was taught, is remembered by the early settlers, as one of the coldest in the annals of the Platte Purchase. Snow birds, in vast numbers, were rendered so tame by the protracted snow and cold weather, that they would fly into the cabins of the settlers.

First Preacher

The first to preach the Gospel in the town of Oregon was E. M. Marvin, afterwards the renowned Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His first sermon was delivered in the fall or winter of 1842, in the old frame court house, the building later owned by William H. Sterrett, on the northwest by east, inside corner of the square, or northeast corner of Washington and Nodaway streets, opposite the public square. The VanBuskirk- Proud Block now (1916) stands on this corner. In those days the future bishop, who achieved long before the period of his death, a national reputation, was a young circuit rider, and, in common with others of his calling and position in the newlytrodden west, was endowed with but few of the world's goods. It is said that on the occasion of his first appearance in his mis- sionary capacity in Oregon the seedy and dilapidated condition of his garments excited the compassion of the pioneer merchant of the town, who presented him with jeans sufficient to make him the suit of clothes of which he stood sorely in need, and which was gratefully accepted. William Zook, the merchant referred to, was at that time a member of no religious organization. He afterwards, however, united with the First Presbyterian Church in Oregon, in building, which, with Dr. W. H. Peter, he was largely interested.

F. S. Rostock, Sr., for many years a resident of Oregon, taught, in 1846, the first singing school in the town. He settled in Oregon in 1845, and for twenty years after pursued his avocation of teacher of vocal music. Mr. Rostock, a native of Germany, immigrated to Ohio, in 1832, and thence to Holt County in 1845. His son, F. S. Rostock, is now (1916) a business man in Oregon.

The first physician to settle in the town was Dr. J. C. Norman. About the same time, or shortly after, came Dr. Jabez Robinson and Dr. Carr. Dr. Norman settled in Oregon about 1842. He was the first physician to locate in the town, as well as the first in the county.

The first post office established in the county was, as before stated, in Lewis Township, near Thorp's Mill, and the first postmaster was R. H. Russel, for many years Judge of the Probate Court. On the establishment of the county seat Russel moved the office to Oregon, and appointed there, as his deputy, William Zook, in whose store it continued for some time after. The first to hold the office, by appointment, as postmaster of the town of Oregon was Dr. J. C. Norman. He was for many years a resident of the county and town, but subsequently moved to California, where he died in 1870. M. S. Norman, in later years a wealthy wholesame merchant of St. Joseph, a son of the late Dr. Norman, was the first white child born in the town of Oregon. His birth occurred in January, 1842.

The first tailor to settle in Holt County was G. W. Baxter, a brother-in-law of Peter and Blank Stephenson. He located in Oregon, in 1842, and built the second house in the town.

The log hotel described as standing on the northwest corner of Nodaway and Washington streets, and built by Richard Linville in 1842, was kept by him for several successive years. It finally became the property of Francis M. Pollock, who enlarged the building, weather boarded the entire structure without, and plastered it within. Previously to this Daniel Zook, Sr., and afterwards his son, William, had as a matter of accommodation entertained during the sessions of the courts, the officials and many of the attendants on the same. Pollock's improvements on the original hotel, however, added a reputation which gave the house a sudden popularity, and it was liberally patronized.

But alas, for the stability of human affairs. About 8 o'clock on the evening of July 8th, 1851, while a party composed of Daniel Sipes, Jr., commonly called "Buck Sipes," a lad of about seventeen years, and son of Daniel Sipes, who started in 1842, about four or five miles southeast of town, the first distillery in the county, Francis M. Pollock, the landlord, James Fortune, John Job, James Thorp, a hostler, and an Englishman, whose names are now unknown, were assembled in the bar room of the hotel, the building was struck by lightning, with the most disastrous results. The bolt fell upon the southeast corner of the room, the electric fluid communicating instantly along the wall to the northeast corner, and there exploded a barrel of brandy, one of alcohol and one of Bourbon Whisky.

The flaming contents of the barrels instantly flooded the room, enveloping in flames every occupant. Job, who at the time was standing near the counter, was knocked down by the concussion, and almost entirely consumed by the devouring element, nothing but his skull and a few scattering pieces of bone being afterwards recovered. Fortune and Pollock were badly burned, the former dying before daylight, and the latter at sunrise. The hostler died in about seven days, and Thorp a day or two after. The Englishman also died. The only one of the entire party who recovered was Buck Sipes. Standing near the window at the time, he was completely overcome by the instantaneous and powerful results of the stroke but fortunately, with the instinct of self-preservation rather than from any presence of mind, he dashed out the window sash, and jumped through to the street. In the frenzy of terror, he started on a run for his home, five miles and a half distant. Though rain at the time was falling in torrents, the flames from his burning clothes were not extinguished when he reached Mill Creek, a stream threefourths of a mile southeast of the burning building. He plunged into a mill pond, through which the stream ran, and waded through to the opposite side, thus completely extinguishing the fire in his clothing. He was terribly burned, and was confined to his bed eight weeks, in consequence of injuries sustained in the catastrophe. He ultimately recovered, but retained upon his person, up to the period of his death, which occurred in the spring of 1881, the marks of his terrible experience. Frank M. Pollock, who died as above stated about sunrise on the following morning, directed before he breathed his last, that he should be buried with his head to the east, thus facing the west. His reason for this request has been variously interpreted. He was a man of reputable standing in the community. He had served

The first livery stable in the town of Oregon was started by Alderson Keaton, in 1853. This was located on Nodaway street, two blocks east of the Court House Square. Samuel Stuckey, W. A. Cochran, D. A. Young and others have since conducted livery stables on this site. It is now occupied by a residence.

Mill

The first and only mill ever erected in the town of Oregon was built by Utt & Watson, in 1854. It was a steam flouring mill. The members of this firm were John H. Utt, later a representative citizen of White Cloud, Kansas, and Judge Samuel Watson, for many years an honored member of the county bench. The deserted structure, a tall frame building, on a lofty stone basement, stood for many years in the southeast part of the town, a gloomy relic of other days. It has long since disappeared. It was, when first built, provided with two run of burrs. In the following year a circular saw was added. In 1862 Judge Watson moved the machinery of his carding and fulling mill from Mill Creek to Oregon, and located it in this building. This change was made because of the failure of the volume of water in the creek, which had supplied the power of the original mill. The flouring mill was operated in Oregon four years, and the carding and spinning mill six years. In 1858, Utt & Watson dissolved partnership, whereupon John H. Utt, the senior member of the firm, moved the machinery of the flouring mill to White Cloud, Kansas. In 1864, Judge Watson sold his machinery for the manufacture of cloth to Daniel Kunkel, Sr., who moved it to his mill on Mill Creek, about one-half or three-quarters of a mile east of Oregon. An attempt was made by one John McIntyre, in 1878, to start a corn mill in the long-deserted building but the enterprise proved a failure.

The pioneer religious organization of Oregon is the Presbyterian Church. The first Presbyterian preaching in Oregon, and possibly the first in this county was between 1840 and 1845 by the Rev. Elijah A. Carson, who in those early days, was pastor of the church in Savannah, Mo. In 1843 or 1844, a New School Presbyterian Church was organized in Oregon by the Rev. Tappan S. Reeve. This gentleman also preached in the homes of the Presbyterians before this organization and also ministered to those in it, but because of weakness it only lived about one year. Rev. Reeve, leaving Oregon, went to St. Joseph, where he organized the First Presbyterian Church of that city, helping with his own hands to cut and hew the logs to build their first house of worship.

The present organization came into existence Saturday, January 1, 1853, by the Rev. William Hamilton and the Rev. S. M. Irwin as an Old School Presbyterian Church, but that division in Presbyterianism, known as Old School and New School, ended with the reunion of 1870. The founders of this church were members of the Presbytery of Nebraska and were missionaries to the Indians of the Iowa and Sac mission, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma.)

The organization took place in the old court house building of Oregon, in the presence of a good congregation and just after a sermon had been preached by the Rev. S. M. Irwin from Psalms 48:12-13. The church was organized with ten members. They were: Samuel Dunn and wife, Joseph Evans and wife, Dr. H. W. Peter and wife, R. G. Emerson and wife, John Meyer and wife. John Meyer and Dr. Peter were chosen the first ruling elders, and on the following day, Sabbath January 2, 1853, they were ordained, according to the forms of the Presbyterian Church.

The church building was the first of its kind erected in Oregon. It was completed in 1853, chiefly through the efforts of William Zook and Dr. W. H. Peter, and cost about $2,500. The building was of brick, and modern in its day. It served the purposes of the congregation until 1899, when it became apparent that a structure more suitable to the needs of the communicants must be provided.

Under the leadership of Rev. H. A. Sawyers, then pastor, steps were taken, beginning in June, 1899, which eventually led to the remodeling and rebuilding of the structure. The new building of brick is of the colonial style of architecture and modern in all of its appointments. It is provided with a main auditory, a Sunday school room and other necessary departments. It is heated by hot air and lighted by electricity.

The new building was dedicated January 21, 1900, by the Rev. Duncan Brown. On the old building was a dedicatory slab marked "1853," which was the gift of William Cook. On the present church is a similar slab marked "1899," donated by Henry Cook, son of William Cook. The committee which had charge of the rebuilding of the church was Robert Montgomery, Ira Peter, A. Van Buskirk, James Scott and N. F. Murray. A handsome parsonage for the use of the minister was completed in December, 1908.

From 1863 to 1865, a part' of the "war period," the church was without a regular minister, and also had short vacancies at other times. But during these intervals some arrangement was made for temporary supply of the pulpit. The following named ministers have served this church: W. R. Fulton, 1853- 1860; Cornelius McCain, 1861-1863; Nathan H. Smith, 1865- 1869; William H. Cummins, 1869-1871; James Lafferty, 1871- 1872; James McClung, 1873-1875; George Miller, 1875-1881; W. E. Williamson, 1881-1882; T. D. Roberts, 1882-1893; H. A. Sawyers, November, 1894 to February, 1903; James McFarland May, 1903 to August, 1906; James M. Walton, April, 1907 to March, 1911; T. A. Claggett, April, 1912 to date (1916). The present membership of the church is 134.

Baptist Church

The second church building erected in the town of Oregon was the Regular (Hard Shell) Baptist Church. It was a small brick house, which stood on the north side of the graveyard. It was built in 1858. Twenty years after, the building being deemed unsafe, it was taken down and the material sold to different parties, S. C. Collins being the principal purchaser. This is the church that was organized as early as 1843, two and a half miles southeast of the town, and referred to as the first religious organization in the county. It moved to Oregon from Mill Creek on the building of the brick church. The Christians subsequently purchased a half interest in, and for a long period after, used this church with the Baptists. The earlier records of the former church, however, were lost. In 1879, about a year after the Baptists had taken down their building in Oregon, they purchased for the extremely low price of $350, a good frame building, worth at least $1,000, and converted it into a church. The circumstance of their securing so excellent a bargain was due to the fact that the district in which the building stood had been consolidated with another in which there was also a school house, and consequently this building was rendered useless for its original purposes. This church stood in a beautiful grove on the road leading from Oregon to Forest City, about three-fourths of a mile from the latter town. In December, 1881, the membership was thirty-one. This congregation has since disbanded.

Christian Church

The Desciples or Christians were first gathered together in this county in 1841, by Evangelist Cartwright, who preached to them in their homes, then at the old Mill Creek Baptist Church, alternating with the regular Baptists, who erected their little house of worship in 1845, just south of the Mill Creek school house. Judge Samuel Watson, now deceased, was the builder. These two organizations abandoned the Mill Creek church in

1858, and the Baptists erected a brick structure just south of the Oregon school house, near the cemetery, which was jointly used by these two organizations, until 1875, when it was razed by reason of being considered an unsafe structure. Stephen C. Collins bought the material and used much of it in the construction of his residence.

Following the work of Elder Cartwright came Elder Duke Young, who held meetings of the Desciples, at times at the residence of Israel Beeler, a short distance north of Oregon. Elder J. W. Kelsey held regular meetings about this time. As a completely organized body the history of this church dates from 1858, at which time Elder Young filled the pulpit. William D. Fields who in the early '70's resided north of Forest City filled appointments here and elsewhere. Prince L. Hudgins, of Andrew County, one of the most brilliant orators of his day, often filled appointments here and at other points in the county. Elders William Trapp and J. W. Tate, the latter from Graham, held meetings here, the former organizing a class in the Fairview district in 186 which in 1894 became known as the New Point Church.

In 1874 Elder William A. Gardner, afterward circuit clerk of this county, took charge. He went to California some years later, where he became one of the most noted evangelists on the Pacific slope. He remained in charge of the church here until 1879. It was through his efforts that this denomination erected its first house of worship, which was completed October 10, 1877. It was dedicated February 3, 1878 by Elder R. C. Barrow of Nebraska City, Nebr. Elders J. W. Kelsey and W. A. Gardner took part in the dedicatory services.

In the summer of 1909 plans were made for the remodeling and rebuilding of the church. This work was done during the year at a cost of $3,800. The church has a Sunday school room, main auditory, baptistry, vestibules and other features essential to a modern church. It was dedicated May 15, 1910, by Elder C. M. Chilton of St. Joseph.

Methodist Episcopal Church

The first Methodist Episcopal Church, of Oregon, is an outgrowth of the original organization instituted in the year 1841, and organized by Rev. Edwin Peary within the limtis of what is now Forbes Township, as fully set forth in our report of that locality.

The structure of the M. E. Church, in Oregon, stands on Main street, on the first corner south of the public square. It is a neat frame building, 55x35 feet in extent. The original edifice was erected in 1866. In the course of succeeding years, the superstructure appeared insecure; and, in 1879, it was deemed advisable to take down the building, which was accordingly done. The present ne&t and well appearing edifice was erected in 1879, on the foundation of the old building, and completed in 1881. Its cost was about $3,000. We have referred to the fact that the Rev. E. M. Marvin, afterwards Bishop of the M. E. Church, was the first minister of the Gospel to preach in Oregon. The church edifice of this denomination, however, was not the first house of worship erected in the county; that distinction belonging to the Hard-Shell Baptists.

Prior to the year 1864 there exists no records of this body. On the 9th of June of that year the church was reorganized in Oregon, by the Rev. Edward Rozell, with the following members: Benjamin Allen and wife, Edgar Allen and wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Bunker, L. D. Barnes and wife, Jacob Cronk and wife, Dr. J. A. Callan and wife, Rev. Dr. A. J. Evans and wife. Dr. Evans was the first recording secretary of the quarterly conference at Oregon. The other members, some of whom, perhaps, did not join the organization until 1865, included Dr. Reuben King and wife, A. Hoblitzell and wife, Mrs. Nancy Jackson, for thirty years a resident of the town of Oregon; Mrs. Elizabeth Kreek, Samuel Whitmer and wife, John Proud and wife, Joseph Martin and wife were members in 1865. George W. Lucas, originally from the state of Iowa, where he was at one time a member of the House of Representatives and afterwards of the State Senate, was a prominent member of the church in Oregon, and died at his residence near that place, January 2, 1882, at the advanced age of seventy-four years. Silas Pierce, now deceased, became a member of the church in 1868. Andrew Gemeker and wife, also deceased, united with the church here in 1869. The ministers of the Oregon church since its organization and the year of their appointments, have been: Edwin Perry, 1841; William Sellers, 1858; J. W. Caughlin, 1859; Edward Rozell, 1864; F. S. Biggs, 1866; Samuel Huffman, 1867; J. L. Hatfield, 1868; J. G. Boyle, 1869; William Hanley, 1870; F. H. Graham, 1871; S. W. Thornton, 1872; Oscar Williams, 1874; W. L. Edmonds, 1875; S. H. Enyeart, 1877 ; Isaac Chivington, 1879; James Showalter, 1880; Samuel Caruthers, 1881;

The German M. E. Church

The first to preach in Oregon for this church was the Rev. Henry Hogrefe, a circuit rider. The first services were held in 1847, at the residence of F. S. Rostock, Sr. They continued regularly for three successive years to meet at his house for religious services, till about the year 1850, when the congregation purchased for a church, a school building which stood on the site of the present brick edifice, opposite the Normal School. The Rev. Henry Hogrefe was succeeded by Rev. Ellis, and the latter by Rev. Charles Walters. Rev. Keeniky was the first presiding elder. In 1859, the present brick church, above mentioned, was erected at a cost of $3,650. The church was then organized by the Rev. M. Muehlenbrock, with the following members: F. S. Rostock, Sr. and wife, George Meyer, Daniel Kunkel, Philip Rostock, Ferdinand Simero, Michael Spoerle, Fred Mart, Jacob Herman, Herman Schulte, Andrew Gemaker, Jacob Kuentzle, Jacob Mart, C. Schlotzhauer, Philip Schneider, Philip Kollmer and Henry Hogrefe. The wives of the above mentioned were also members of the church and organization.

Evangelical

The Evangelical Association began work in Holt County about forty years ago, with three members - Father Bucher and wife and Father Adam Rung, deceased. The following year Joseph Anselment and family and Henry and Daniel Zachman and families moved from Marion County, Ohio, and formed the

The Evangelical Association organized a class in Oregon in 1884, which consisted of Daniel Kunkel, Sr., and Eliza Kunkel, Pauline Kunkel and Daniel Kunkel, Jr., Elizabeth Schlotzhauer, Anna Rostock and Mary Vogan, to which was added soon after Daniel Zachman and wife and A. C. Morgan. From this little organization has grown one of the most zealous and active bands of Christian workers to be found in the county.

At the close of a tabernacle meeting held in Oregon in July, 1895, the presiding elder, Rev. J. H. Tobias, called a meeting in the parsonage, where it was decided to build a church in Oregon. A subscription was immediately circulated and practically all of the funds needed were subscribed at the time. The St. PauTs Church of the Evangelical Association of Oregon, Missouri, was the name given to the new church edifice. It was dedicated to the service of the Master January 12, 1896, amid happy sacred song and eloquence. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Bishop Breyfogle of Redding, Pennsylvania. Presiding Elder Tobias also participated in the services. The pastors who have served this congregation are: A. E. Flickinger, 1895; J. H. Kiplinger, 1896; A. Solt, 1898; J. W. Keiser, 1899; H. E. Meyers, 1900; H. E. Bower, 1902; B. H. Hobbs, 1905; E. T. Boehringer, 1908; G. W. Weidemeir, 1910; F. C. Dissinger, 1914; W. C. Johnson, 1916.

Colored Baptist Church

Pursuant to appointment and warrant of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Missouri, the D. D. G. M. Crane proceeded on the 10th of May, 1852, to institute in the town of Oregon a subordinate lodge, under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge. After producing his authority the D. D. G. M. administered the proper obligation to the petitioners for charter, delivered to them their warrant and hailed them by the name of Oregon Lodge No. 54, I. O. O. F.

Masonic

Oregon Lodge, No. 139, A. F. and A. M., was organized in a room in the original court house building, later owned and occupied as a store by H. Sterrett and now the Van Buskirk- Proud block. This organization was effected August 15, 1853, by virtue of a dispensation granted by the Grand Lodge of Missouri. The officers constituted in said dispensation were : J. W. Moodie, W. M.; James M. Tuton, S. W., and Galen Crow, J. W. The lodge was set to work by the Worshipful Master, who appointed the following officers: William E. Price, Secretary; Samuel V. Cannon, Treasurer; John F. Jackson, S. D.; C. E. Cayton, J. D., and Jacob Mosier, Steward and Tyler.

At a regular meeting held in their hall October 3, 1853, James Foster, H. M. Upton, F. S. Rostock, Sr., and E. R. Brown were initiated in due form. This was the first "Work" done in this lodge. They were all subsequently, in due time, passed and raised. The lodge prospered abundantly, and continued to work under dispensation, holding their last session by virtue of that instrument, May 7, 1855.

The first meeting under charter, which designates the organization as Oregon Lodge, No. 139, and is dated May 31, 1855, occurred in Oregon June 16, 1855. The officers mentioned in the charter are: John W. Moodie, W. M.; James Foster, S. W., and Daniel Zook, J. W. The other officers mentioned in the report of that meeting are H. Patterson, Treasurer; Daniel Zook, Secretary; G. W. Crow, S. D.; G. W. Bratton, J. D., and

The first election under charter, for officers, occurred June 24, 1855, with the following result: James Foster, W. M.; Levi Zook, S. W.; G. W. Bratton, J. W. ; Hiram Patterson, Treasurer; Daniel Zook, Secretary; G. W. Crow, S. D.; Henry Meyer, J. D.; F. S. Rostock, Steward and Tyler.

In 1856, the Odd Fellows began, in connection with the Masonic fraternity, to erect the large three-story brick structure which stands on the northwest corner of Washington and Nodaway streets, fronting the former fifty feet, and extending back on the latter one hundred feet, thus forming the northwest by north outside corner of the court house square. Finding themselves unable to complete the structure, after having excavated the cellars and laid the foundations, they sold out to James Foster, a prominent attorney and capitalist of the town, as well as an active and influential member of both orders, who proceeded to complete the building. The Odd Fellows either purchased from him afterwards, or reserved the right to build the third story for their hall, which they afterwards did, selecting the corner site.

The Masonic fraternity did likewise with the north half of the third floor. Thus the entire third floor of the building is owned by these two bodies. About the close of the war James Foster sold his share of the building, including the entire two lower stories to Cotterell, Reeves & Co., who occupied the southwest room as a general store. In the spring of 1867, Cotterell, Reeves & Co. sold the south half of the building to Hoblitzell Bros. T. W. Collins became, in 1869, proprietor of the whole first and second floors. He subsequently sold to other parties.

The other Masonic organizations in Oregon, included Reystone Royal Arch Chapter, No. 46, originally chartered in Oregon, was subsequently moved to Mound City, in which chapter of this work its history will be found. Holt County Council, No. 15, R. and S. M., was chartered July, 1872, with E. L. Allen, T. I. G. M.; R. N. Howell, T. C. Dungan. This body surrendered its charter in 1880

The first woman's club in the State of Missouri was organized in Oregon January 6, 1872. It was known as the Woman's Union. The charter members were Mrs. S. Q. Goslin, Stella A. Goslin, Mrs. M. M. Soper, Mary Curry, Anna Bachelor, Anna R. Irvine and Elvira Broadbeck. The club was formed for the mental, moral and physical improvement of woman, according to the announced purpose at the time of its inception. The club has maintained its identity through the vicissitudes of the years that have passed and it is now one of the well established societies of Oregon.

Other Societies

The Rnights of Pythias organized a lodge in Oregon on the evening of December 12, 1893, with a charter membership of thirty-eight. Dr. J. T. Thatcher was the first chancellor commander; D. C. Anderson, vice-chancellor and C. L. Evans, prelate.

The Fraternal Aid Association organized July 16, 1892. The first officers were: George F. Seeman, past president; C. H. John, president; Andrew Kreek, vice-president; H. E. Denny, secretary.

Meyer Post, G. A. R., was organized December 20, 1882. O. C. Hill was the first commander; A. C. Ware, senior vice; J. A. Nies, junior vice, and D. P. Dobyns, adjutant.

The Woodmen of the World established their Oregon camp November 9, 1894. The officers were: J. W. Kreider, council commander; F. M. Green, advisory lieutenant; John Markt, clerk; E. C. Meyer, banker.

Normal And Public Schools

We have already referred to the fact that the first school taught in the town of Oregon was a private enterprise, inaugurated in the winter of 1843, by John Collins. The people of Oregon have always been known for their earnest appreciation of the advantages of education, and early availed themselves of such means and appliances for promoting the cause as the law provided.

Prior to the year 1857, the town of Oregon included two school districts, known as East and West, numbered respectively 14 and 15, each being provided with a separate building.

In 1857, these two districts were united, and a new brick building was planned and commenced. The structure was twenty-four by sixty feet, two stories high, and included four rooms and two halls. This building was occupied in the fall of 1858, by Cyrus Cook, as principal; G. W. Bayless and Mrs. C. Cook, as assistants.

In the spring of 1873 bonds were voted and arrangements made for the erection of a new school building to cost $25,000. The old building was torn down and an entirely new structure was erected in its stead. The new building was used as a public school with a normal department, which at that time was one of the best equipped and most efficiently managed schools in the country. This high standard has been maintained to the present day.

modeled on the latest and best plans of that day. There was a basement under the entire area of the building which contained twelve rooms and was heated by hot air. The appliances for promoting ventilation were complete in every detail. The structure was surmounted by a tower, rising ninety-six feet above the main entrance to the building. From the belfry in the tower could be seen, in a clear day, Highland, White Cloud, Iowa Point, Troy and other towns in Kansas, as well as Rulo, Nebraska. Eastward several Missouri towns were discernible toward sundown, if the atmosphere was clear.

But fine as this building was when built, the time came when it was found inadequate. The development of the times brought about needs and requirements which were not known in the early '70's and, as in all other things, Oregon must have the best. Therefore it became necessary to have a new high and public school building.

In February, 1915, a petition was submitted to the Board of Education asking that a bond proposition for a new school be submitted to the voters. In April following the taxpayers voted favorably upon a proposition to issue bonds for $25,000 for the rebuilding of the high school building which had been in service for about forty years. The contract was let in July to William I. Schragg of St. Joseph and the building was ready for occupancy in January, 1916.

The new building is of brick with stone coping, 60x75 feet, three stories, including the basement, which has a nineteen-foot ceiling. In this is the gymnasium, 30x60 feet, with a seating capacity of 200. It has also rooms for manual training, baths, etc. The floor above the basement has four recitation rooms, superintendent's office, hospital room, laboratory, etc. The second floor is occupied by a study hall and gallery. Its seating capacity is about 500.

The first newspaper printed in the county was the Holt County News, issued Wednesday, July 1, 1857, in Oregon. The editor was J. H. C. Cundiff, a man who figured prominently in the stirring times which preceded the Civil war. He sold the paper to Cook & Watrous, April 8, 1859. On April 29 of the same year, J. W. Biggers became a member of the firm and from the editorial head one read, "published by Cyrus Cook & Co." On July 1, 1859 Cyrus Cook became the sole owner, and on November 11, of that year A. Watrous, Jr., became the owner. On May 11, 1860, Charles W. Bowman, who afterward established the Sentinel, became associated with Watrous in the publication of the News. Watrous & Bowman ceased publication of the News November 24 of the same year. A. R. Conklin, of the Forest City Courier, took charge and continued the publication until February 2, 1861, when J. Robinson and J. W. Biggers took charge.

About this time war's black cloud began hovering over the country and publishing newspapers was a precarious occupation. There was an issue of the News May 11, 1861, but on the 18th there was none. The situation was considered dangerous. An extra was issued on the 15th calling upon all loyal citizens to assemble in Oregon on Saturday, the 18th, for the purpose of military organization, "to defend our homes and families," as announced by the call, which was signed "Many Citizens."

Events crowded themselves in quick succession during the few days next succeeding the publication of this extra. The editorial management was changed and passed into the hands of J. W. Biggers July 20, 1861, and four days later a sudden termination to this journalistic enterprise was brought about when the office and fixtures were seized by Col. E. Peabody of the 13th Regiment.

The Holt County Sentinel, the only paper now published in Oregon, was first issued June 30, 1865, and was the second newspaper venture in the town. It is the second oldest newspaper in northwest Missouri and for more than thirty years has been under the able management of D. P. Dobyns and Thomas Curry, both experienced and capable newspaper men. Mr. Dobyns, who was connected with the paper before the partnership was formed has been its editor for more than forty years. The Sentinel has one of the best equipped plants in this section of the state, being pritned on a power press, from type set on a late style type setting machine. None of the modern appliances which are of so much service in the production of a newspaper are lacking. It is a long step from the primitive hand press and hand set type on which the paper was first printed to the up-todate plant in which it is now produced.

D. P. Dobyns is at the head of the editorial end and Thomas Curry looks after the business and mechanical departments. While, as stated, the mechanical part of the plant is well nigh perfect, the editorial department is among the foremost in this part of the country. This is due in large part to the elaborate and comprehensive historial library which Editor Dobyns has compiled during the last twenty or thirty years. It is the most complete reference library of its kind in the west and has attracted such attention from the metropolitan press that special men have been sent to. Oregon for data concerning the library from which they have written many Sunday and other "feature" stories.

The Sentinel was founded by Charles W. Bowman, now a resident of Washington, D. C., where he has a position in the census department. A. N. Ruley succeeded Mr. Bowman in the management of the paper February 12, 1869. Mr. Ruley did not long remain in charge of the shears and paste pot. He sold the property to Adam Klippel, July 9, 1869. Mr. Klippel was editor of the Sentinel from that date until 1876, when on November 17th. he passed the editorial and business management over to W. W. Davenport, while D. P. Dobyns had charge of the mechanical department.

The name was changed January 7, 1881, to "The County Paper," at which time D. P. Dobyns became the publisher. It was during the spring of that year that the Missouri Valley suffered inestimable loss from the overflow of the Missouri River. Transportation being shut off and the supply of print paper being exhausted one issue was printed on manila wrapping paper gathered up about town.

In the spring of 1881 Mr. Davenport retired from the paper and it passed to the ownership of D. P. Dobyns and W. F. Waller. In December of that year Mr. Waller retired and Mr. Dobyns became sole owner. On August 19, 1883, the paper became the property of the present owners, D. P. Dobyns and Thomas Curry and the name changed to The Holt County Sentinel. The Sentinel Printing and Publishing Company was incorporated in November, 1914, with a capital of $10,000. D. P. Dobyns is president and Thomas Curry secretary-treasurer of the company. The Sentinel has always been consistently Republican in politics.

The Missouri Valley Times was established in Oregon in 1874 by William Kaucher and John M. Hasness as a Republican paper. Captain Kaucher disposed of his interest to Henry

Shutts in 1876 and the name was changed to the Holt County Press. The politics of the paper also changed and it thenceforth advocated the principles of Democracy. In June, 1877, Mr. Shutts sold to Clarke Irvine. In September, 1881, Mr. Irvine sold to his son, Leigh, who associated himself with J. M. Hasness in the publication of the paper. Hasness retired from the partnership in 1884 and the following year Clarke Irvine again became the owner.

In December, 1887, Mr. Irvine sold to a temperance syndicate composed of B. O. Cowan, Vine Hovey, James Scott, S. T. Lucas, and Niel Hoblitzell. They secured R. A. Grimes of Kansas City as editor and changed the name to The Advocate. As is usually the case when a number of inexperienced men attempt the management of a newspaper, this syndicate did not long remain in the journalistic field.

On March 17, 1888, the property was bought by William Kaucher and J. W. Kieff. In a few weeks Mr. Kieff sold his interest to Frank Evans, who with Captain Kaucher conducted The Advocate until the fall of 1888, when Evans became the sole owner. In September, that year, he changed the name back to the Holt County Press. Mr. Evans remained in the field until May, 1890, when The Press suspended and the material was sold to an ambitious journalist in Plattsburg.

The Holt County Republican was the beginning of another newspaper venture in Oregon. H. H. Hoskins, who had been publishing The Sun at Forest City, moved his plant to Oregon February 13, 1892, and began the publication of his paper. It suspended in September following. The mechanical plant was bought by J. S. Rigdon, who came here from St. Joseph, and established the Holt County Democrat, the first issue appearing November 27, 1892. The Democrat was laid away in the journalistic graveyard October 19, 1893.

In October, 1894, the paper was revived by Ed. S. Hayes, who had been in the newspaper business in Forest City. He formed a partnership with R. C. Benton, then county clerk. Mr. Benton retired after a few months and Elder James T. Craig, became interested with Mr. Hayes. John M. Hasness bought the plant in October, 1896. He sold a half interest to his foreman, W. S. Dray. In April, 1897, Hasness sold his interest to Dray who moved the plant to Mound City, where it was merged with several others in the publication of the Jeffersonian.

The Gossip, a weekly semi-magazine, devoted to social news and local gossip, was established by Grant Holtz and Frank Evans, November 6, 1883. It suspended after three months' existence.

Das College der Leute, a four-page monthly publication, managed by the high school students, made it appearance September 15, 1912. It was discontinued at the end of the school term the following spring.

The history of banks and banking in Holt County dates from the founding of the first institution of the kind by Levi Zook and James Scott in October, 1866. Their banking house was situated in the historic court house corner, where the Van Buskirk-Proud block now stands. The partnership continued for three and one-half years when Mr. Zook retired and Mr. Scott continued the business until June, 1871, when the bank passed to the ownership of R. Montgomery & Co., the "company" being a Mr. Phillips, who came with Mr. Montgomery from Illinois.

In 1872 Mr. Zook again engaged in the banking business, having purchased Mr. Phillips' interest. The firm name was changed to Zook & Montgomery. It was during this partnership that the location of the bank was changed to the rear of a store conducted by Ira Peter. The room fronted on Nodaway street and was reached by a narrow stairway leading from the sidewalk.

Mr. Zook disposed of his interest to M. S. Norman in January, 1875, and the firm became known as Montgomery & Norman. This was continued until January, 1877, when Albert Roecker took over the Norman interest. Montgomery & Roecker continued at the location mentioned until the fall of 1877, when they moved to a building they had erected half a block north, which at the time of its erection was reckoned the best and most modern bank building in the county. In January, 1890, Levi Zook and his son, Charles D. Zook, purchased an interest and the business was incorporated under the name of the Montgomery & Roecker Banking Company.

In 1895, upon the death of Levi Zook, his son, Charles D. Zook, succeeded to his interest. The following year Mr. Montgomery retired, having disposed of his interest to Mr. Zook and Guy L. Cummins. Since 1896 the corporate name has been the Zook & Roecker Banking Company. Owing to ill health Albert Roecker retired in January, 1911, and Lewis I. Moore purchased an interest in the company.

dent, the banking company decided in 1912 that it had outgrown its quarters. A contract was let for the rebuilding of the structure which had housed it since 1877. When the work was done the bank moved into new quarters excelled by none anywhere for convenience and beauty. The new building was occupied in February, 1913.

The office of cashier has been filled by the following named : A. Roecker, 1890 to 1912, when Guy L. Cummins, the present cashier was elected.

The Citizens Bank came into existence February 7. 1890, on which date a charter was issued to George Anderson, George W. Quick, Daniel Zachman and Warren B. Davis. Daniel Zachman was elected president at the first meeting of directors and he has held his position ever since. Cave J. Hunt was the cashier in the beginning and served until 1915, when he was succeeded by William Schulte, who still holds the office. George Anderson was vice-president from the date of the organization of the bank until his death in 1898. He was succeeded by B. F. Morgan, the present incumbent. This bank has a capital of $20,000 and a surplus of $14,000.

The Citizens Bank has prospered practically from the day it first opened its doors for business. It is now one of the most substantial banking enterprises in the county and has an excellent reputation among its patrons and the public generally.

In March, 1910, this bank occupied new and handsome quarters in what had been known up to that time as the Watson building. It was completely overhauled and refitted with the latest and most modern equipment. The improvements made at this time cost upwards of $10,000.

Improvements In The Town

Prior to the summer of 1876, when James A. Reeves & Co. erected, at a cost of five thousand dollars, their spacious twostory brick business house, on the corner of Main and Nodaway streets, there was, with the exception of the court house, but one brick building in the town, and that was the three-story block on the northwest by north outside corner of Washington and Nodaway streets, in the third story of which are located the halls of the Odd Fellows and the Masonic Lodges. Shortly after the erection of Reeves' building Daniel David erected, on Washington street a two-story brick business house, twenty-six and a half by fifty feet, with a one store rear extension of twenty-five feet.

The sun of August 6, 1877, set upon a row of dingy, rickety, dilapidated, and altogether hideous looking frame buildings on Nodaway street, fronting the public square, presenting a spectacle alike discreditable to the enterprise of the citizens of the town, and offensive to the gaze of the stranger arriving in the same, and especially striking in its contrast with the neat and attractive structure of the court house, and the luxuriant growth of the beautifully-kept park, in the center of which that then primitive temple of justice reared its graceful proportions. In the eternal fitness of things, however, it was decreed that this abuse of the bounty of the Giver of All Good, should no longer be tolerated. The morning of the 7th of August rose upon another scene. The eye-sore, the blot upon the fair picture of Oregon's wealth of vine, of fruit tree and of graceful shade was a sheet of devouring flame. In one short hour naught but the smouldering embers and foundation stones remained to tell the story of departed hideousness and delapidation. The people silently acquiesced in the justice of the visitation, only regretting that they had not long before taken down the old rat harbors, which would have afforded fuel and kindling wood for a considerable period of time. They went to work and rebuilt their town speedily and with a hearty will. No ephemeral frame buildings, with ginger-bread decorations, however, rose upon the ruins, but neat, elegant and substantial brick structures, which would be creditable to a city of many times the population of Oregon.

The rebuilding of the destroyed houses prompted others (for enterprise begets enterprise) also to build, and by the fall of the first summer the handsome row of contiguous buildings were put up by the following parties, and at the cost annexed to their several names: F. and G. Seaman, $2,000; T. I. Kreek, three buildings, two at a cost of $3,000 each and one at a cost of $1,250; N. Stock, $2,500; Dr. M. Lehmer, $2,200; William Hawkins, $3,200, and Amos Castle, $1,600. These buildings constitute a solid block of two-story structures of uniform height, and generally corresponding external appearance. In the same season the Christians erected on Nodaway street, on the corner one block south of the court house square, a neat brick church, with graceful spire. Before the close of 1877, the brick banking house of Montgomery & Roecker, on Nodaway street, was completed and occupied.

The spirit of enterprise which manifested itself in the rebuilding of the burned district did not die out after its first effort. The town has kept pace with the progress of the times both in the erection of business houses, and the building of modern homes. There are few towns of like size anywhere in which are to be found more good homes than in Oregon.

Among the more important public buildings built in recent years is the Hotel Woodland, which was completed in 1892 at a cost of $15,000. It was formally opened to the public by Landlord Charles K. Soper, March 3, 1898. It is a three-story structure and has recently been modernized by the addition of a heating plant and other features that make the stay of the guest comfortable.

The Van Buskirk-Proud business block at the northwest corner of the square was erected in 1890 at an approximate cost of $10,000. It is two stories and a credit to the enterprise of the men who built it. It consists of two modern store buildings, with second floors devoted to offices of professional men. The building on the corner - the Van Buskirk portion of the block - is now (1916) occupied by the post office, while the other portion houses the drug store of E. O. Phillips.

The crowning effort of the enterprising people of Oregon, however, was the building of the short line railroad connecting the town to the Burlington's main line at Forest City. It began active operations early in 1909 and represents an investment of about $90,000. Further mention of this enterprise will be found in the chapter devoted to railroads.

Several frame buildings in the west side of the square were destroyed by fire in 1891. They were replaced the following year by brick business houses erected by L. I. Moore, T. L. Price and Fred Seeman.

One of the most important improvements made in the town since the first day of its existence was the building of the electric light and water plant. Bonds to the amount of $25,000 were voted in December, 1897, there being but one tax payer who voted against the proposition. The survey for the plant had been made by Phillips & Young in 1896. The contract was let March 7, 1898. Upon the completion of the plant a jubilee celebration was held September 29, 1898, when the town was filled with invited friends who came and joined with the people of Oregon in celebrating the success of the enterprise, which was a very important one for such modern conveniences were not common in the smaller towns at that day.

The power plant and pumping station are located at Forest City, about three miles west, at the edge of the Missouri River bottom. Here excellent, inexhaustible wells have been sunk and the necessary machinery installed. Service is furnished both Oregon and Forest City. The plant represents an investment of about $50,000, as several additional bond issues have been authorized by the taxpayers since the first election for that purpose was held.

The initial steps for the organization of the Oregon Canning Company were taken in January, 1891. A company was organized with N. F. Murray, president; H. T. Alkire, vice-president; J. T. Thatcher, secretary and C. D. Zook, treasurer. The company was incorporated for $10,000 and built its plant at the northern end of the town on ground particularly well suited for the purpose. The plant began operations in August, 1891. J. R. Linville was the processor, or technical man in charge. The product of this company took the first prize at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

George Anderson bought the property in March, 1892, and operated the plant until his death in 1898, when it was sold to L. I. Moore. Joseph Murray bought an interest in this enterprise

The first telephone line in Oregon, according to a contribution from Clare B. Irvine, printed in the Holt County Sentinel a few years ago, was built in April, 1887. It was built by and at the expense of Dr. J. T. Thatcher, W. R. Hoffman and Clare B. Irvine. The line extended from the north side of Nodaway street - opposite the court house - to Forest City.

Dan M. Martin and son, M. R. Martin, installed in Oregon the first telephone exchange. It was opened for business January 1, 1898. At that time a telephone was more of a luxury than it is today when it is considered by most people one of the necessities. In 1899 the line was extended to Forest City and an exchange established in that town. The two plants were operated by the same management and were equipped with the most modern appliances known to the industry at that time.

In 1911 Mr. Eccles bought Dan Martin's stock in the Forest City lines and in 1913 Ira H. Murray bought a majority of the stock in the company for $27,000.

The Farmers Mutual Telephone Company put its first line into operation in Oregon in February, 1903. In 1910 the company was incorporated and moved its offices into the quarters it is now occupying. This company reaches the majority of the farmers in the country tributary to Oregon and in addition has a large number of subscribers in town.

The city of Oregon was chartered by a special act of the legislature November 5, 1857. On March 24, 1870, the act was amended so as to extend its jurisdiction over subsequent additions.

The elections for Mayor are held on the first Tuesday in April, each year. Those who have filled this office, since the organization of the town government, are: Daniel David, 1857 ; B. B. Frazer, 1859; Peter Price, 1860; Daniel David, 1861. There was no civil government from 1863 to 1864. William Hawkins, 1864 ; James S. Hart, 1865 ; S. C. Collins, 1866 ; A. Walters, 1867. He failed to qualify and William Smith was elected in May following. James S. Hart, 1868; G. M. Edson, 1869; R. D. Markland, 1870; Samuel Stuckey, 1871; Henry Shutts, 1875; Samuel Stuckey, 1877 ; M. H. Soper, 1879; James Limbird, 1880 (resigned in January, 1881, to go to the legislature as representative.) Clark O. Proud filled the office until the election in April, 1881, when James E. Cummins was elected. S. F. O'Fallon, 1882; W. R. Hoffman, 1884; H. T. Alkire, 1888; C. O. Proud, 1889; L. I. Moore, 1890; H. E. Denny, 1892; James E. Cummins, 1894; H. T. Alkire, 1896; Henry Shutts, 1900. Mayor Shutts was reelected in 1902, and died in 1903. Robert Montgomery was selected to fill out the term. G. W. Murphy was elected in April, 1904 and served until his death in November, 1909. R. C. Benton completed the term. B. F. Morgan was elected in 1910, but resigned in October, 1911, and Dr. F. E. Markland was chosen to fill the vacancy. W. H. Richards was elected in 1912 and served until 1916, when he was followed by George R. Murray, the present Mayor.

Postmaster

Prior to the establishing of the post office in Oregon the people received their mail by the star route system from Thorp's Mill, where R. H. Russell was postmaster. This office was established in 1839, the year that envelopes were first used. The office at Thorp's Mill was maintained until the town of Oregon was well under way when Postmaster Russell, without waiting for the consent of the post office department or any one else, named William Zook as his successor and the office was moved to Oregon, where Mr. Zook had opened a stock of goods. This was in 1842. The following named have since been appointed postmaster at Oregon on the dates given: John C. Norman, January 17, 1843; George W. Kelley, December 9, 1845; John Dozier, February 7, 1848; Galen Crow, March 19, 1851; Henry

The office continued as a fourth class post office until June, 1892, when it was made a presidential office. It became a money order office July 14, 1869. A postal savings bank was established in connection with the office December 19, 1911. The first rural free delivery route was established February 1, 1901, with John Lukens as carrier. The office now has five routes, covering 130 miles and serving 467 families.

Paved Streets

Deterimned that their town should not be lacking in any respect as compared with others of like size, the people of Oregon, late in the year 1915, took up the matter of paving the principal business streets. There was an active response on the part of the property owners when the matter was officially brought to their attention and within a short time after the matter was first agitated the city council awarded a contract on May 25, 1916, to Reinert Brothers Construction Company of St. Joseph for paving Washington street, extending from the railroad station to the south side of the court house square. The contract for Nodaway street, extending east and west on the north side of the court house park, and the two blocks necessery to complete the work around the court house block, was let to the A. Jaicks Company of Kansas City. J. R. Leslie, of St. Joseph, was the engineer in charge of the work. These improvements represent an expenditure of nearly $50,000.

Transmission Company

The St. Joseph Transmission Company was incorporated in 1916, with a capital stock of $60,000. The officers are D. M. Martin, president; W. H. Richards, vice-president; George Lehmer, treasurer; M. R. Martin, manager. The company was formed for the purpose of buying electric current from the St. Joseph Railway, Light, Heat & Power Company and distributing it to customers in the several towns in Northwest Missouri. A line has been built from St. Joseph and the success of the enterprise seems assured.

The first baseball club organized in the county was in Oregon, April 12, 1867. T. C. Dungan was chosen president; Ira Busick, vice-president; C. B. Bowman, secretary and Jonas Lehmer, treasurer.

The first band was organized in Oregon, April 12, 1869. The citizens raised a fund for the purchase of the instruments. The members were S. W. Morrison, Moses Bennett, Daniel Kunkel, A. J. Martin, Jack Masters, Ge