Butler county Missouri, HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY A Fond Look Back part two, WRITTEN BY: ROBERT MANNS Butler County Historical Society June 29, 1999 ****************************************************************** HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY MISSOURI A FOND LOOK BACK part two ****************************************************************** 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 The History Of Rombauer  One of my old time friends, Maude (Daniels) Zoll, was very familiar with all of the comings and goings around Rombauer in the early days. Maude was born in 1881 at Harviell. Her mother was Eva (Reading) Daniels, and her father was Austin Daniels. Austin's Grandmother Brown reared him. Grandma Brown was from the Rombauer area. Austin died of pneumonia when Maude was 3. After his death, Maude and her mother went to live with her Grandmother Reading on Mud Creek north of Rombauer. Mrs. Zoll remembered being told that her father played the violin, and that he had a pet pigeon that would dance when the violin was played. Austin was born in 1859 and worked in the timber around Harviell and later, Rombauer, where he met and married Eva Reading, Maude's mother. Around 1885, a man was found dead in a hollow near Mud Creek. Maude's Grandpa Reading, who was Justice of the Peace at the time, was notified. A gold watch and papers found on the dead man's person showed him to be related to the world famous evangelist, the Rev. D.L. Moody of Chicago. Upon notification, Rev. Moody and his song leader, who was also related to the man, came to Rombauer by train, claimed the body, and returned to Chicago with it. The hollow where the body was found has since been known as "Dead Man's Hollow". It is still shown this way on present day forest service maps. Maude Zoll taught her first school in 1900 at the Blue Water School north of Collin's store in north Butler County. From 1901 to 1904, she taught at Little Brushy School where the church is now located on Highway T. The Hamtown school in early days was located west of Mud Creek just north of the Clevlen farm. It was a log structure. The seats were logs split with the flat sides up. These were supported by wooden legs. A spring near the school furnished drinking water for the school. The schools at Lade Briar were farmed out of the Hamtown district. Lade school also had a spring for drinking water. In 1911, Maude gave up teaching and married A.W. Zoll from Stoddard County. A.W. and Maude moved to Rombauer after marriage. The front of their home in Rombauer was used as a grocery and post office. Living quarters were in the rear and upstairs. Bess Zoll, A.W.'s sister, ran the post office, and A.W. worked for the Leming Mill in Rombauer. Maude Zoll later became the ticket agent in Rombauer for the Frisco railroad. This was a job she continued until her retirement in 1941. In 1911, Rombauer consisted of a row of houses behind the Zoll home. The town had a lodge hall, three stores, and ice cream parlor, a cafe, a large rooming house, a depot, Dr. Bryant's office, and two large lumber mills. The tram railroad belonging to the Leming mill ran south to Lowell Jct. near Ash Hill, then south to Batesville. The present Highway 51 is where the tracks used to run. Spurs ran off this train to bring the logs to the mill. The Frisco railroad also ran through Rombauer prior to 1900. The first postmaster at Rombauer was Henry Sanders, and his wife took over as postmaster. Mr. Sprangler gave land to survey the town of Rombauer. The town was named for Judge Rombauer of St. Louis, who was a friend of the Sprangler family. Judge Rombauer's daughter once came from St. Louis by train to view the town named for her father. Some of the early residents of Rombauer had relations back in England. Because of this fact, people in Poplar Bluff thought some of the people in Rombauer were of royal blood and considered them upper-class. In 1900, the Rombauer school sat on the hill overlooking the town. This was later owned by Chester Hamm. The Sprangler home, where Bob Richardson now lives, is the oldest home in Rombauer. Some early settlers around Rombauer were the Spranglers, Southerlands, and Adamsons, and Tarpleys. George Fuller, Arch King, and Columbus and Levi Owens were others. Darrel Owens was the son of Columbus and Lena King (Brown), who was the daughter of Arch King. Arch King was a longtime county treasurer for Butler County. In this century, the little town of Rombauer played an important role for Butler County. Much timber was harvested in this area. This fact is attested to as over a hundred men were employed at the Leming Mill in Rombauer alone. OVER THE YEARS I thought it might be interesting to look back in history at a few firsts in Butler County. I'm sure we've overlooked many firsts, but here are just a few for starters. In 1539 Ferdinand DeSoto became the first white explorer to set foot on what is now Butler County. In 1819 the first settler in Butler County was Samuel Kittrell from Kentucky, who settled on Cane Creek. In 1850 the first post office began in Poplar Bluff with Jesse Gilley as postmaster. In 1854 Dr. James T. Adams was the first surgeon to locate in Butler County. In 1859 the first brick courthouse was erected in Poplar Bluff. In 1861 Poplar Bluff's first mayor was Daniel Kitchen. In 1872 the first railroad came to Poplar Bluff. In 1894 August Winkler opened the first jewelry store in Poplar Bluff. In 1905 the first rural route mail was delivered on horseback in Butler County. In 1906 the first auto in town was owned by a Mr. Busby. It was made from a buggy and was turned by a tiller rather than a steering wheel. Neal Williams and master blacksmith H.E. Kernek built the second car in town. It was painted a fire engine red. Charley Fuller, a railroad conductor, brought the first factory-made auto to Poplar Bluff in 1907. The first factory built cars in Poplar Bluff were first driven by the Morrison, Ruth, Begley and Quinn families. These cars had names on the radiators like Maxwell, Ford, Hudson, Chevrolet and Studebaker. The first sale room was located at 111 Bartlett Street by H.H. Scheer. William N. Barron brought the first steamer automobile to Poplar Bluff in 1907. In 1909 the first Kroger store was also located at 111 Bartlett St. It replaced the auto sales. Mr. Armstrong ran the first Kroger store. It was later taken over by Mr. Singleton who moved it to a larger building. The first gas station in 1907 was located on the south side of Henderson Avenue near the railroad tracks. In 1910 the first motorboat in town was owned by Mr. Brewer, who was a partner in the Holcomb Machine Shop. In 1910 the first taxi in town was a "Saxon" auto and it cost a nickel to ride. In 1910 the first 10-key adding machine in the world was manufactured by the Dalton Adding Machine Company in Poplar Bluff. In 1911 the first telephone exchange came to Poplar Bluff. The first city light plant was built in 1917. In 1927 the first tornado hit Poplar Bluff on May 9 at 3:15 p.m., destroying much of the downtown business district. prehistory of Butler County It was a sunny day in early April, and gusts of light wind blew over the low hills above the St. Francis River. By the time I reached the high bank above Indian Ford, my boots were heavy with mud. Looking down the meandering river, with its heavy growth of cottonwood and cypress, my thoughts went back hundreds of years to a time when early men stood at this same spot and viewed this same scene. The cut in the river bank below me showed plainly the ancient approach to the ford. The cut had been made by a hundred years of wagon wheels and hooves pulling out of the river. Not for another fifty miles downstream to Chalks Bluff, would the river again be fordable. Nearby on the sandy bank, I noticed flint chips and realized that ancient men occupied this river bank long ago. These people must have been remarkable to stay alive in the living conditions that existed at this period. Armed with a few crude weapons, these people adapted themselves to their natural surroundings in a variety of ways. They came in the spring and again in the fall. The insects kept them away in summer, while the cold kept them away in the winter. When they came, they lived in small camps, hunting and gathering as they traveled the woodland trails from Black Mingo to the southern end of Crowley's Ridge. Their winters and summers were spent around rock shelters and caves in the hill regions of Missouri-such ass Graham and Tick Cave. The prehistory of Butler County is no longer a speculative mystery. It is a factual, yet still incomplete, picture of man's adjustment to his natural and cultural environment in early days. Careful archaeological research has revealed to us the secrets of a forgotten race. It is becoming increasingly more evident in our time that the key to preserving our own civilization may come from lessons we have learned by finding out more from the past. The Lasting Romance of Railroads        Today, men have walked on the moon.  Scientists have, with computers, solved many of life's mysteries.  Yet, despite all of the marvelous advances in  so many areas of life, people continue to be fascinated by railroad trains.  The romance of the rails captivates the minds of people today much as it did in the past.      I grew up in Poplar Bluff where the sound of a locomotive whistle and train bells in the night were commonplace.  As a boy, I watched many of the trains arrive and depart from the two local railroad stations.       I remember the "Sunshine Specials" that came on the Missouri Pacific.  I also was fascinated by the small blue diesel that came daily to the Frisco station.  It was known as the "Bull Moose" and bore a small set of moose horns above the front engine light.  Railroading was very much a part of Butler County history.      The railroad line from Mingo to Poplar Bluff, 17 miles, was completed on Sept. 1, 1901.  It was completed on to Pocahontas, Ark., on June 1, 1903.      In 1908, my great-grandfather, Columbus Montgomery, purchased a farm in Texas.  He and his family were living at the town of Torch below Naylor at the time.  They came on this train from Torch to Poplar Bluff with all of their belongings.  Here, they boarded the Iron Mountain train for Texas.  My Aunt Buelah, who was 8 years old at the time, remembers the train stopping at the Red River near Texarkana for everyone to view the red bluffs along the river.  The trip took five days from the time they left Torch.      In 1916, the railroad was sold under foreclosure.  It was deeded to the Frisco after foreclosure and became known as the Frisco line.  On March 1, 1965, the railroad was  granted permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line, and operations ceased.      Railroads have their fans and their critics.  Railroads are still a highly visible part of many communities, such as Poplar Bluff.  Railroads still arouse a wide range of emotions, and, as a result, few people are without opinions about railroads.  Regardless of all this, one fact is certain.  Railroads have shaped the history of Butler County and will continue to do so in the future.      My Uncle Walter built the local Frisco station after the 1927 tornado.  Today, it has been turned into a railroad museum.  Myself, like many others, still have an adventurous feeling when I hear a train whistle in the night.  It makes me feel like a part of the past is still with us. Part two of a two parts This page is a part of the MOGenWeb, a USGenWeb project