Butler county Missouri, HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY A Fond Look Back WRITTEN BY: ROBERT MANNS Butler County Historical Society June 29, 1999 ****************************************************************** HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY MISSOURI A FOND LOOK BACK part one ****************************************************************** File contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Mary Hudson mahud@rollanet.org with permission of Robert Manns USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non- commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. Unauthorized use for commercial ventures expressly prohibited. 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Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** TRANSCRIBED for use on this page by, Mary Hudson, and Mary Collins with the permission of Robert Manns Railroads, Timber Put Butler co. On Map The coming of the railroads to Butler County in the late 1800s brought with it a booming timber industry. The largest hub factory in the world was located in piedmont. The largest spoke factory was in Poplar Bluff. Henry Ford purchased the wooden wheel spokes for his autos here. Each year, 1,500 railroad cars of railroad ties were shipped from Butler and Wayne county to allow westward expansion of America's railroads. Butler County supplied nearly all of the hickory sucker rods to the early oil industry in Pennsylvania. An oldtime friend, Homer L. Chapman grew up in the middle of these history-making times. Homer was born in 1892 near the Kinyon School in Poplar Bluff. He was the son of John T. and Molly Chapman. His father, John, earned a living in the lumber mills around town sharpening the cutting blades on the wood planners in the mills. Homer moved with his parents to Qulin in 1903. This was the same year the railroad came to Qulin. This was tram railroad owned by the Brooklyn Cooperage Company. Softwood logs were hauled to the Poplar Bluff mill to make sugar barrel staves. In 1904, this tram was organized as the Butler County Railroad with Wm. N. Barron as president. The railroad began handling freight and passengers at this time. A town was laid out in 1907 and given the name of Melville. When the post office was names, it took the name if Qulin because there was already a post office south of St. Louis called Melville. It is said, John Kelly, the first postmaster, took the name Qulin from the first letters of his five daughters' names. One was Quincy, one was Unice, we are not sure about the other three of hat this is really true. I once heard a different story from Judge Henson on how Qulin really got its name. In 1903, the timber in the "Swamps" as the area southeast of Poplar Bluff was called, consisted mostly of oak, hickory and a variety of softwoods. Cypress was found mostly in the crane Roost area west of present day Qulin. It was not uncommon to cut trees 125 feet tall and 6 to 7 feet in diameter at the base. The large hickory logs were purchased by the Oil Well Supply Company, who had a sucker mill on Palmer's Slough in east Poplar Bluff. All hickory trees were cut off at ground level and no stumps were left. This was because the logs had to be 25 to 30 feet long without any limbs or knots. Only the first cut of the tree was used to make the eight cornered sucker rods. The hickory rod had to be clear-grained throughout its length. A few of these are still stored overhead in Linc Hinrich's old workshop on B Street. Sucker rods were used in the well to pull the oil to the surface. They are made of steel today. The Oil Well Supply Company was owned by a Pennsylvania company. It was later purchased by George Switzer, who continued its production of the rods. Norman Gamblin, who worked at the mill, later purchased the mill and turned it into the lumber yard. The large softwood logs went to the Brooklyn Cooperage Company in Poplar Bluff owned by the American Sugar Refining in Brooklyn, N.Y. Softwood staves were made into sugar barrels. These barrels were shipped to Cuba and other sugar producing countries for return of raw sugar to the refinery in Brooklyn. The American Sugar Refining Company had tow other subsidiaries in Butler county. They were the Butler County Railroad and the Great Western Land Co. William N. Barron, president, and general manager of Brooklyn Cooperage Co. was the principal organizer of the railroad. Mr. Barron along with J.W. Driver of Mississippi County Arkansas, Dr. John Wagner of Greenville, and Sen. Langdon Jones of Kennett, were the first organizers of the St. Francis Flood Control District. This meant the salvation of thousands of acres of cut over swamp land in southeast Butler county. Over 200 miles of ditches and 50 miles of levees were to help drain the land for agriculture, (In Butler County) In 1912, this organization became known as the Inter-River Drainage District with William N. Barron as president. Not until 1919 after World War I did the district sell bonds an begin digging canals in the county. Homer Chapman was assistant paymaster on the railroad in 1916. He rode a pay car on the railroad and pay day was every two weeks. The payroll for the Brooklyn Cooperage Co., the railroad, and the Great Western Land Company amounted to $165,000 for every two-week period. These wages were paid in good coins from the pay car at various points along the railroad. In all the years that gold was carried on the pay car, there was never a holdup committed. In 1918, Qulin became the main headquarters for the Butler County Railroad and the railroad shops were located there. By 1919, all trains laid over in Qulin and were coaled and watered there. Mr. Barron named some of the towns along the railroad. Broseley was named after his wife's hometown in England. Fagus after a softwood tree in England. and Piggott after his wife's sister's last name in England. Barron Road inn Poplar Bluff is named for him. It was a token of gratitude for a man who had done so much for Butler county during his lifetime. He truly was a man that got things done and took little credit for himself. Early Days At Qulin In early days, Menorkenut slough began south of Fisk and emptied into Black River north of the present town of Oglesville. Water ran in the slough year round. The largest flood occurred in August, 1915, when flood waters from both the Black and St. Francis rivers ran over the railroad tracks north of Qulin. Mosquitoes were so bad that year that breathing and working outdoors was difficult. Buffalo gnats were also so numerous that livestock suffered. By 1918, nearly a thousand people lived in and around Qulin. Most who didn't have a business, or worked in one, worked in timber. Most of the timber workers lived in the hotel or the numerous rooming houses in Qulin. these workers rode railroad flatcars to and from the logging camps daily. Business houses in Qulin grew with the coming of people. As early as 1903, J.R. Nentrup opened a store where Arthur Davis used to live. J.A. Hefner (father of Joe Hefner) bought Nentrup out in 1918. Mr. Nentrup then built a new store where the funeral home now is located. This store burned in 1932. In 1912, A.C. Ross opened a store and butcher shop where Mary Piatt had her beauty shop. In 1912, the Bank of Qulin was organized and located between the A.C. Ross store and the J.R. Nentrup store. Albert Kaich, Sr. was president of the bank; Homer L. Chapman was vice-president; and J.R. Nentrup had a substantial interest in the bank. Albert Kaich, Sr. and his son were killed when their automobile slammed into the vie Street Bridge during the 1927 Poplar Bluff tornado. The Bank of Qulin closed in 1932 due to the depression. During world War I, while most of the Qulin townspeople were watching a show brought by the railroad, the Kilgore distillery, the flour mill, and the hotel, near where Alice Bulger used to live, burned to the ground (Some blamed German saboteurs). Some hard feeling were held toward the German communities of Glennonville and Corola, but no one ever knew for sure how the fires started. Some wheat separators were also sabotaged about this time by placing dynamite caps in the wheat shocks around Qulin. As a result of these events, the leading citizens of the town formed the Qulin Vigilantes to protect the town. Homer Chapman, J.R. Nentrup, and Mayor Tom Wilkerson headed the vigilante committee. Two men patrolled the town each night. Many residents in Qulin traded at the George Banks store across from the depot on Front Street. In the second floor of this building, George Banks stored caskets. These varied from plain wooden boxes to carved wooden caskets. The dead were not embalmed in those days and were buried right off to prevent deterioration. Mr. Kilgore came to Qulin in 1914 and built a government distillery across the street from where the Parks family lived. During World War I, when flour was rationed, people had to eat corn bread. The grist mill in Qulin ran day and night to supply the demand for meal. John B. Marshall made bricks from clay found on the Wilson place. no kiln was used, and the bricks were stacked and fired in the open. These bricks were shipped to market on the railroad. Life was not easy in then "swamps" of southeast Butler County in the early part of this century. People learned to make the best with what they had. Harvesting of timber resources did provide a decent living for some. Agriculture replaced the timber resources when the timber ran out. Early Qulin As Wild As The Old West Two things in history helped shape the early destiny of the "swamps" in southeastern Butler County. One was the local option law passed by the Missouri General Assembly prior to 1900. This bill allowed counties to determine whether they would be wet or dry concerning alcohol sales. The second thing was that two dry counties lay just three miles east of Qulin. The fact that Kilgore's distillery was located in Qulin gave rise to an abundant supply of liquor to be sold. East of the railroad was Front Street in Qulin. Between 1906 and 1920, several saloons sprang up along Front Street. some of the more notorious saloons were the Smith and Hoy, which was located near the present water tower, the John Carter saloon across from Smith and Hoy, and the George Gray saloon near where John Barker lived. The Ches. Moore poker house was also popular hand out in the 1920s. Many people came from the dry counties of Stoddard and Dunklin, along with (1)Clay County, to the south, to drink and gamble in Qulin during this period. Many who worked in the logging camps were transients and people wanted by the law in other states. All of these people together on Front Street drinking led to much trouble for the town. This fact is attested to by the fact that 21 people are buried in the old city cemetery north of the present water tower that were either murdered or killed in gunfights on Front Street. Other victims were buried in later years in the new (2)cemetery on the Oglesville road. To keep the peace in the early days, the town employed a town marshal. One of the best known marshals was Texas Jack Graham from Texas. Texas Jack was a tall, husky fellow who feared nothing and kept the peace from 1914 to 1918. It is a known fact that, on one occasion, Texas Jack made 36 arrests in one day for drinking, fighting, and killing. Henry Wilkerson was marshal from 1920 to 1924. Tol M. Johns was marshal after Wilkerson. One of the best remembered gunfights occurred while Tol Johns was marshal. Wild Bill Bailey (who went barefoot most of the year) had a shoot-out with Bon Goodman. Several shots were fired by each man before the fight ended. Much of this sounds like scenes from the old west, but people are much the same all over. When conditions are right, these events occur. Butler county was no exception. "New Town," Logging Camp Thrived Near Fisk In the early timber era of Butler County after 1900, some people lived in logging camps. One of these camps, south of Fisk on the St. Francis River, was called "NewTown." A tram railroad ran from New Town south on River Branch road to Qulin. The steam engine used on the track was referred to as "Old Sue" by the timber workers. South of NewTown was a log skidder, which consisted of a cable with tongs and operated by a dolly engine. This cable ran a half mile back from the railroad and skidded logs to the track to be loaded on the railroad cars. Hickory logs were moved to the skidder by oxen with the use of a "lizard." The lizard was a forked log used to lift one end of the log so it could be pulled by the oxen. Men working near the skidder in the timber rode to work on flat cars pulled by "Old Sue." Gas boats, as well as steamboats, hauled logs on both the St. Francis and Black rivers. Most of these boats had booms for loading logs on the barges they pushed up and down the river. These boats were shallow draft boats, which could operate in much shallower water than the larger steam boats on the larger rivers. Stern wheelers operating on Black River were the "Louisa" and the "Belle of Carola," which ran regularly from the colony at Gille's Bluff to Poplar Bluff. Other steamboats running from Newport to Poplar Bluff were the "Clari I," the "Roy," and the "Alma Jane," and the "Bull of the Woods." All of these boats carried staves and pushed barges loaded with logs. On its last trip up the river, the "Clari I" sank three miles below Poplar Bluff. The coming of the railroads helped do away with the use of the steamboats to move logs. Some steamboats did continue to operate on Black River until World War II. Some of the stern wheelers carried passengers up and down the river on excursions for a fee, usually on Sunday afternoons. the "Belle of Doniphan" carried passengers down the Current River, then north up Black River to Poplar Bluff and then made the return trip. Life was hard during these early days, but it was an exciting time to be alive. Life on Black River Near the Turn of the Century   Over the years, an old-time friend Charles A. McNece has told me many things about the area. Charles A. lived on the south side of the Black River near Qulin. He was the son of Charles F. and Inez T. [Miles] McNece. Charles F. was born in Lawrenceville, Illinois, and moved to Powe in 1902, as their first son, John W. was born in Lawrence County, Illinois. At Powe, Charles F. engaged in the store business with his brother John until 1910. Charles A. was born in 1907 at Powe. Charles F. bought a farm near the Hargrove bridge in 1910 and moved his family there. Charles A. was acquainted with Capt. Ansel of the government snag boat. Capt. Ansel was a tall, large man who owned a pair of colt pistols with handles trimmed in gold. Charles A. remembers that two of the gas towboats that operated on Black River belonged to Dick Pierce and Tom Tinsley. Both boats had a log loader and was pushed by barges. Another boat, owned by a Mr. Mingo, peddled groceries and supplies for Ira Walker and Pierce, who had a store on Vine Street in Poplar Bluff. It made bi-weekly trips down river to boat landings. The landing at the Hargrove bridge was called Harves' Landing. It consisted of a few houses and a steam operated sawmill owned by a Mr. Winn. Winn once placed rice in the boiler of the mill to help clean the flues. The boiler blew up, sending part of the boiler across Black River. The Mingo boat traded for furs and sometimes made change in furs. In 1913, Mr. Hitchcock, a Civil War veteran, and his family lived in two, dry-docked cabin boats at Harves' Landing. McNece recalls a gunfight on the Hargrove turn bridge in 1921. It was between Tom Blanton and Bill Zumwolt. Zumwolt was killed before he could seek protection behind the steel sign at the center of the bridge. A ferry did operated on the site before the Hargrove bridge was constructed in 1916. McNece recalled that, as a youngster, he chopped cotton near Calvin School in Broseley for 75 cents a day. Sometimes he was paid off in redeemable trade tokens. He also remembered that Jim Norman, an old-timer at Fagus, once killed a mule with his bare fist. Jim's father was a notable bushwhacker during Civil War days. Hogs ran wild in the swamps year round. Farmers marked their hogs with metal tags in their ears. Hogs were rounded up in catching pens in the fall for marketing and butchering. Life was a little different in those early days in Butler County. Remembering "Hammtown" and Those Who Lived There         Development in the hills regions of North Butler County came later than Gillis Bluff or the Cane Creek area.  The Hammtown area, named for the early settlers Gilbert and Kearbey Hamm, was settled prior to 1900.  Jake Potillo and his wife Ellen (Inman) Potillo moved to the Hammtown area around 1900.  They had three children, August Potillo, born in 1902, and Mark Potillo born in 1906.  Mark and August had one sister, Mrs. Laddie Chronister, who once lived north of Fisk.       Ellen Potillo was born in the Hammtown community and was the daughter of Shadrick Inman, who lived northeast of Hammtown on the old Doctor Bailey farm.  Shadrick was the father of Jim Inman.  Jim Inman and wife the former, Mattie Frances Whiffen, were parents of sons; Adfred, Clyde, Paul, Billy, and Herman Inman and daughters, Loretta Inman Mabury and Imogene Inman Knapp.  One girl, Ruth, married Dewey Brown.  Dora (Meadows) was a half-sister to Jim Inman.       The only road to run near the Potillo farm in those days was the old military road cut during the Civil War.  This road tied in with the Dealtown road just north of Poplar Bluff.  Jake taught school, and his sons, Mark and August, did what farming was done.  Mark and August earned extra money by cutting mine props and hewing ties.  These were hauled to Poplar Bluff on a wagon and sold for cash.  Both of the sons later attended college at Cape Girardeau, and they, too, became teachers.       Kearbey Ham was preacher at the Hammtown Church during this early period.  Descendants of the first Hams still reside in the county.  Jake Potillo died in 1936, and August cared for his mother, Ellen, until her death in 1954.       The following were some of the families in the Hammtown community.  Joe Patterson lived on Indian Creek where Mr. Powell used to live.  He was the father of Okie, Earl, and Raymond Patterson.  Joe also had two daughters, Hattie and Effie.  William Mangrum, who lived one mile west of the  Potillo farm, married Effie Patterson and later moved to Poplar Bluff.  Tom Eddington married the other daughter, Hattie.  Two sons, Norman and Harold, were born to Tom and Hattie.  Norman was a long-time Shell Oil dealer in Poplar Bluff and contributed much to area Boy Scouts.  Bill Mayes, the father of Johnny Mayes, settled in the area prior to 1900 where Ruth Porch now lives.  Bill had three daughters, Ruth Porch, Georgia McKinney, and Lizzie Inman.  Ralph Mayes, the pastor of the Third Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff, is the son of Johnny Mayes. Elmer Stucker Sr. and his wife Molly lived east of the Pattersons prior to 1900.  Maude (Daniels) Zoll, the former railroad agent at Rombauer, was the stepdaughter of Sid Clevlen.  Roy Clevlen was Maude's half-brother.  Morrison Clevlen, who later moved to Poplar Bluff, was a cousin of Roy and Maude.       South of the Potillo farm in Franklin Creek was the Sam Wright place.  Sam had three sons, Bob, Curt (who ran a grocery store for years on what is now South Broadway in Poplar Bluff, and Parm Wright.  Sam also had seven girls.  Their names were Stella Trusdale, Ethel Geedwin, Polly Atkinson, Pearl McCarthy, Avril Tarpley, Alice Deckard, and Gertie Crunk.  Bob Wright married Mary Duley, whose father was Jim Duley.  The Duley farm was located where the Rombauer Foothill Road meets Highway T.       Dora (Meadows) Holloway, half-sister of Jim Inman, taught school at Baskey, Lade, and Hammtown in the early days.  Dora was the mother of well-known Poplar Bluff realtor, James "Bud" Holloway.  Some of the residents living in the Hammtown area today attended school with Mrs. Dora.  It is common knowledge that students thought very highly of Mrs. Holloway. 1. Clay County to the South, is in Arkansas 2. Cemetery mentioned here is, Qulin Cemetery Part one of a two parts This page is a part of the MOGenWeb, a USGenWeb project