Butler county Missouri, "A View of A Growing Town" PAGE 9
Transcribed © BY: Susan (Sauerwein)  Opalka.    mopalka@alaska.net
contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives  
Rules for coping this work in on the first page of "A View of A Growing Town"



AS IT WILL BE.

We do not assume the role of Prophet, and do not expect nor hope to be
regarded in that light, but it is not necessary that a person be endowed
with ability to correctly prophesy, to foresee the ultimate result of the
"BOOM" in Poplar Bluff to-day.

"Where there is so much smoke, must certainly exist some fire," is a trite
saying, and generally a correct one.  The Poplar Bluff  "boom,"  just now
fairly on its feet, must certainly have something for its foundation.
There must, undoubtedly, be some cause for all this sudden growth and
manifest interest in the place by those of other countries.  There
certainly is, and the cause is a simple one.  For years this section of the
country has been regarded, by those who do not know, as a "hard"' country.
It has been viewed, by those who have not taken the trouble to investigate,
as a section where "revolver and hip-pocket etiquette" must be studied and
familiarized by the one who would live peace.  It has been looked upon as
unworthy of the notice of those in search of new homes, and has received
the cold shoulder from all who westward take their way, but this has been
all wrong, and it is only those ignorant of the true condition of things
who regarded it in this light.

For three years Poplar Bluff has been visited, and its true merits
investigated, by the stranger.  For three years we have had a constant
stream of immigration, and yet there is room for many more.  It has been
but a few weeks since a panel of one hundred jurymen were brought into our
Circuit Court to try a cause pending there; an investigation showed that
out of the one hundred men, picked up here and there, there were but
twenty-seven who had resided in the place longer than one year.  This will
give an idea of the stream of immigration pouring into Butler County.

From all the advantages this section offers, there can be no doubt but what
Poplar Bluff is certain to become a metropolis.  It is not complete to-day
by any means; there is not only room for more people and more industries in
our midst, but there is a demand for a number of enterprises which are
greatly needed.  At the head of the list we find the word--Bank.  Such an
institution, with a moderate capital, would pay here exceedingly, and the
men who would come here for that purpose will find a hearty welcome and
considerable assistance.  We need a Dairy, and to a man who desires to
engage in such an enterprise we offer a range within three miles of the
place, excellent water, and a market for the consumption of milk furnished
by at least seventy-five cows.  We need additional factories for the
manufacture of any and all descriptions of wooden material; and to such as
will engage in that business we offer mill-sites at reasonable figures, an
inexhaustible quantity of excellent timber, and convenient means for the
shipment of goods.  We need capital.  We need men who are anxious to place
their money in paying enterprises, and who have the energy and experience
to back it up.  We need labor.  We need men who have strong arms and
willing hearts, and who have no hesitancy to work.  Ours is not a bonanza
for the man who enjoys life most when, reclining easily on a dry goods box,
he can whittle away the short life given the human being, while abusing his
neighbor and discussing the political questions of the day.  We do not
offer downy chairs for the indolent nor soft places for the "castle
builder," but to the man with money we offer paying
investments--investments not in any artificial gold mine, but in the works
of nature; investments in our timber and our lands which cannot fail to
rebound to the benefit of the man who seizes the opportunity offered.  To
the man with willing  hands we offer employment in all shapes, and
guarantee to him who comes with true ideas of industry the necessaries of
life in abundance and plenty, and prosperity for himself and family in the
early future.

Poplar Bluff, as it was, stood as a lodge in some vast wilderness; as  a
neighborhood peopled by industrious men who were dependant on the "sweat of
their brow" for bread, and, as usual in new countries, with others who
resorted to "ways that were dark and tricks that were vain;" as a village
incorporated by an order of the County Court, and a place held down for
years by a peculiar chain of circumstances.  From all this it has risen to
receive the attention of the capitalist who is seeking for paying
investments.  It has come to claim the notice of the laborer who seeks a
home where industry and toil are appreciated; and to the eyes of all who
think of taking the historical advice of the renowned Greely:  "Go West,
and Grow Up With the Country."  Thus it stands, the land of profit to the
moneyed man, and the home and opportunity of the poorer one.

Being the center of a beautifully timbered country, which has only lately
been opened and exposed to the outer world; populated by men who have the
interest of their city at heart and an eye to its advancement; by men of
all creeds and all politics; where freedom of speech and the natural rights
of persons and the rights of property are protected by good laws and strict
enforcement, Poplar Bluff throws open the door for immigration, and invites
the rich and the poor to enter.  If they be the former, the chances for
good investment are many; if the latter, they can always find use for their
industry.

In drawing to the close this little work, we assume the role of prophet
only thus far--to prophesy for this growing town a future bright and clear.
To illustrate, let us glance along the line of futurity, where, at the
very outset, we see the shadows which coming events cast before.  Away in
the buried past we note Poplar Bluff as it was years ago.  More closely to
our rear do we see the village of but a few years since passing away, to be
known only in history.  The place where the childhood hours of many have
been spent, and the parents of some lived and died; the spot where we all
have enjoyed prosperity or lamented adversity; where, as individuals, we
have met the reverses of fortune, and grappled with the anguish of heart at
one time, or greeted the bright dawn of success, and reveled in the rays of
happiness at another.  We see the venerable form of Father Time marshaling
the pleasant and the unpleasant portion of our lives to where they will be
known only in our recollections.  But close upon its wake we feel the
steady tramp of progress, bringing to our gaze the results of its work, and
, appreciative of what is expected of us, our greetings to the future grow
less and less familiar and more and more formal, until, perhaps, before
many of us can realize it, we find ourselves face to face with a town,
which, actuated by an innate sense of propriety, we greet with all the
dignity and ceremony due a metropolis which has risen from the name of
forest to lay just claim to the title of a flourishing municipality.  This
is our prophecy and whether it be when we still remain to feel the
substantial greatness of our home in this life, or are privileged to view
it from the shores of eternity, who is there among us who will not, in
common with the pioneers of our country, feel a commendable pride in
pointing to the clustered spires of the future city as our home, and that
unto which has been said by the angel of progress:  "Out of the depths have
I called thee, and thou hast heard my voice."

BUTLER COUNTY.

Its Timber, Soil and General Resources.

Among the many sources of wealth now being rapidly developed and brought
into public notice, in this part of the country, is the vast forests of
timber in Southeast Missouri.

The large quantities of poplar, oak, ash, gum, walnut, hickory and cypress,
with some other varieties of less importance, are now attracting the
attention of dealers in timber, and those engaged in the lumbering
interests, and will soon prove a vast source of wealth to this part of the
State.  No country has better oak than Southeast Missouri, and no country
can boast of finer varieties or more excellent qualities than Butler
County, where it is found in great abundance upon most of the bottom lands,
between Black and St. Francis Rivers, extending over a stretch of country
nearly thirty miles in length, from north to south, and from twelve to
twenty miles in width, from east to west.  The heavy and increasing drain
that has been, for the last ten years, made upon the oak of Ohio, Indiana,
Michigan and Wisconsin, to meet the demands of Eastern dealers, has well
nigh exhausted the supply.  Some of the largest oaks we have ever seen are
to be found along the belt of country bordering upon Black River, which, in
fineness of texture, and strength of fiber, are fully equal to the best
varieties of oak in Indiana or Michigan.

To capital and labor no avenues of industry offer a richer or more inviting
return than the present timber resources of Southeast Missouri.  With a
small capital, judiciously invested in machinery, suited to converting
these giants of the forest into lumber, staves and material for wagons,
carriages, etc., with a few hundred dollars expended in the labor of
fitting and placing the material and oaken products upon the market,
handsome fortunes may be readily realized.  And no part of the State--no
country--offers greater inducements to those desiring to engage in this
branch of industry than this country, as we have, in addition to the large
amount of superior oak and other varieties of valuable timber, easier,
cheaper, and better facilities for transportation than almost any other
locality.  With four railroads, the St. Louis & Iron Mountain passing
through the center of the county, from north to south, and Cairo, Arkansas
& Texas Division, dividing the county to the east, the Doniphan Branch, and
the Cape Girardeau Road, which, having been surveyed to this place, is
completed to a point fifteen miles northeast of this city, and Black River,
with its steamers, run mainly in the timber interest up and down the river.
South from the depot, at the junction of these roads, affords most ample
facilities for the shipment of all kinds of lumber and timber to any market
desired.

Aside from our oak we have large amounts of gum and ash, adapted to the
manufacture of all the various kinds of furniture suited to the wants and
demands of the different markets of the country.  Manufacturers of timber
have in the past, to a considerable extent, overlooked this place and the
many advantages it offers over almost any other locality in older portions
of the country.  The material would cost far less here than at Chicago,
Dayton or St. Louis, while the expense of labor and other supplies
necessary to its manufacture would be correspondingly lessened.  Already
attention has been given to this subject by capitalists, as the mills,
factories and machinery at various points in the county bear evidence, but
there is yet room for many others of a like and even of a different
character, where, with economy and prudent management a fortune is of easy
access.

An establishment for the manufacture of cars to supply the demands of the
South and West, can be sustained and supported here at far less expense
than at Dayton, Ohio, which now, to a large extent supplies the principal
demands of the roads, South and West, with their passenger coaches.  The
same is true of the establishments in Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati for
the manufacturers of furniture, carriages, and the various implements of
husbandry, suited to the demand of the country and the wants of the farming
interests South and West.

But it is not to timber interests and the resources afforded thereby, that
we are to look for the material and resources of our county.  Great as the
timber interests are, they promise, at no distant day, to be out rivaled by
the mining and manufacturing interests.  There are, within the borders of
this county, some of the finest deposits of Iron ore that are to be found
in the State of Missouri and, although they have never yet been worked to
any great extent, yet they have been sufficiently developed to prove that
they are practically inexhaustible, and of the finest quality.  There are,
also, in many places, the strongest indication of Lead, Zinc and Copper.
These, taken in connection with the great timber supply from the almost
inexhaustible supply of Charcoal for smelting purposes, can be obtained,
and the abundant and never failing water supply, makes the mineral deposits
of Butler County a fine field for the investment of capital and employment
of labor with good results.  But we must not forget that upon the
agriculturist, the farmer, the tiller of the soil, depend, at last, the
solid and permanent support and substantial wealth of any country, old or
new, and we shall now try to show, in as few words as possible, the
adaptability of Butler County to this line of business enterprise.  Butler
County contains about 725 square mils of territory, or 461,000 acres.  Of
this about 50 percent is low lands, or what may be termed bottom lands;
about 30 per cent are level up lands; and about 20 percent are hilly and
rocky lands.  Upon the lower or bottom lands are to be found the heaviest
growths of timber.  The soil of these lands is generally a dark, sandy
loam, very warm, rich and deep, and well adapted to the raising of wheat,
corn and other grains, as well as all kinds of vegetables and fruits,
especially berries and peaches, plums, apricots, and the like.  Some of
these lands are subject to occasional overflows from the Black River and
St. Francis river, (the Mississippi River overflows never reach us by some
fifty miles) but these lands which overflow at times are valuable for the
immense growth of grass with which they are at all times covered in a wild
state,  and will all produce the tame grasses equally as well as they do
the wild ones.  The level up lands are of the different grades of clay
soils, and intermixed with sand at times; are well adapted to the raising
of the various grains, fruits and vegetables, but are not so strong and
productive as the bottom lands, yet, with proper cultivation, produce good
crops, and are especially adapted to fruit raising, to the various grasses,
etc., as well as being very excellent locations for sheep ranches, as the
supply of grass is abundant, water plentiful, and at the same time high and
dry; no mud to contend with.  This country affords many rare opportunities
to the general farmer; the stock raiser; the fruit grower, and the
vegetable gardener, as well as the manufacturer and capitalist.  The
nearness to great and ever increasing markets assures the producer of
grain, fruit, vegetables, cattle, sheep, hogs, and horses, or whatever it
may be, a ready and advantageous means of disposing of his products, being
so near to St. Louis, the great metropolis of the West.  The fruit and
vegetables gathered in Butler county in the evening may be found upon the
breakfast table of the residents of St. Louis the next morning thereafter,
showing the advantageous location of this county for marketing all kinds of
small fruit, vegetables, etc., while the climate is such that the seasons
are from two to three weeks earlier than in the vicinity of St. Louis, and
from four to six weeks earlier than Chicago, Ill., thus enabling the
producer to get his products into market at a time where they command the
best prices.
Here is the Stockman's home par excellance.  Run an extended line of
comparison, commencing at the extreme northwest with Washington Territory,
and drop down to the lower latitude in a southeasterly direction, through
Oregon, Idaho, Dakota and Wyoming, to Colorado, not forgetting to pay our
compliment to Nebraska and Kansas, we will journey on through the Indian
Territory into  Northwest Texas, where the Ranchmen hold undisputed sway.

Right here we find everything thrown together with a rich profusion, no
where else to be met with, from nature's bountiful hand every material
element which is conducive to the wealth of the Stockman.  A beneficent
climate; pure water from every hill and vale, and a great variety of
nutritious grasses, supplemented by uncounted number of toothsome plants,
rich in nitrogenous and carbonaceous properties, until, in such degree with
the phosphate lime, as to give rapid promotion to the growth of bone and
muscle and the speedy accumulation of fat.  As to the question of variety
it is not necessary to invite the attention of such as have half practical
experience of their value.  To the far northwest and all the way down south
to the westward of the 100dth meridian, there is no other grass of special
merit but the Buffalo grass.  Eastward of that meridian, in Nebraska and
Kansas, the list soon begins to increase in variety.  From that latitude on
South we are greeted with the more valuable of the prairie grass, including
the far-famed blue-stem or broad blade, the best fattening grass there is.
The greatest boon given to man, when nature has so lavishly scattered her
treasures.  But after so swift and extended flight upon the wing of
thought, occupying but a few minutes of time and accomplishing hundreds of
miles in distance, we will fold her pinions and settle down at home to
contemplate the prospect around us.  Butler County has more miles of
unfenced grass; a greater variety and better grass; a more luxuriant growth
than any other county in the State.  Besides that, this broad domain of
nature's pasture is subdivided by the season into summer and winter range.
After the sun's return to this part of the world from his long annual
journey across the middle line, and with the bright warm beams of his
smiling face loosens the icy bands of winter, wooing vegetation back to
life and luxuriance again; the forest soon takes on full leaf and covers
with its aborescent shadows the face of the earth which invites not in vain
to its balmy protection against the fierce rays of the noonday sun after
the summer solstice comes.  But after these life-giving influences are
responded to in a full growth of grass and the many plants which delight in
the rich soil of this part of the earth, cattle and sheep find here a
paradise in which to revel.  Here may be found water in unlimited supply on
every hill and in every valley.  As to the number of valuable grasses here
to be found no one but a thorough botanist could answer.  In Kansas it is
claimed that they can count up as many as one hundred and more different
varieties.  No doubt, including with our numerous grasses all the
nutritious plants which our cattle and sheep find profitable, the list may
be stretched out indefinitely.  All the teeming millions of wealth now
going to the waste may in time be utilized and carried to market in the
carcass either of the fat bullock or mutton.  This rich pasture is to be
had here all the year round by shifting to the low ground during the winter
season, without the loss of the privileges of any of the conditions
previously enumerated--grass, water or shelter.  The immense other points,
is ,in itself, worth millions to this part of country.

Finally, we say come and see.  The gates are ajar, and hundreds of citizens
in Butler County are here to welcome the new comer to a place in their
midst.  We have in brief, presented some of the advantages of our country.
To prove the truth of the assertions herein contained, let the doubtful one
come and see.  As before stated, we have a country for the rich and poor.
It requires money to open up our resources through the energies of the poor
man.  The only qualifications necessary for a warm welcome are honesty and
industry.  The time to secure homes and opportunity is now, and Poplar
bluff and Butler county are beckoning the searchers for homes to a place in
their midst, where they can live a life of comfort and lay up for their
children a sufficient providence for a rainy day.