Caldwell County MO Archives History .....GROVES IN EARLIER CALDWELL COUNTY HISTORY 
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Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 4, 2008, 1:32 pm

GROVES IN EARLIER CALDWELL COUNTY HISTORY
	Narrators:  Thos. Watson, Mrs. Mary Kautz and Others

     In the history of Caldwell county, some 50 years and more ago, there was 
much talk of "groves", scarcely ever "woods."  These groves were usually named 
from the owners of the land and were used for large and small picnics, Fourth 
of July celebrations, camp meetings and political meetings.  People always 
took their basket dinners and ate on the grass.
     Two miles south of Hamilton was Dodge's Grove, very popular for picnics, 
which people of the present generation are apt to call "Dodge's woods."  
Mallory's Grove about a mile west of Hamilton (now cut down) was used for 
picnics and a large camp meeting early in 80s.  Hubbard's Grove 6 miles due 
north of Hamilton, in Daviess county was the ground of a successful Fourth 
celebration, a year when Hamilton did not celebrate in the 80s.  McDaniels 
Grove also out of the county, being one mile east of Cameron, was far enough 
away to make you feel you had been some place and yet near enough.  It got 
several Caldwell county picnics.
     McCray's Grove 3 miles south of Kidder was the favorite picnic grounds 
for that town, both for church and society groups.  
     There were several well known groves south east and east of Hamilton.  On 
the east road from town, lived the Clampitt family and near their home was the 
Clampitt grove, small, but used a great deal by the young set of that 
community.  Mrs. Kautz tells of the days back in the 60s, when the young folks 
would go to the big Clampitt house for a dance or play party, they used to tie 
their riding horses to the trees in this grove.  There would not be room any 
other place.
     There was a grove at Henkin's Bridge in N.Y. township, popular in the 90s 
and even now for picnics.  Early in the 80s, the Universalists held a camp 
meeting at a smaller grove at the Ponce-De-Leon spring, but that place fell 
into disfavor when the spring ceased to flow its mineral waters.
     Mrs. Kautz went to a grove picnic at Rutherford Bridge in N.Y. township 
which was a grange picnic (the grange was a farmer's organization in the 
70s).  The Holiness church, which attracted some attention in the county in 
the early 80s, held a big camp meeting at Sackett's Grove at that time, and 
several people from Hamilton hired rigs from the livery stable for the day to 
go down and look on.  At Plumb's Grove, in Barwick district near Kidder, the 
M.E. church used to hold their quarterly meetings occasionally.  Mrs. Crockett 
(whose maiden name was Plumb) recalls such a meeting when she was a young 
girl, and says that it was a great experience.
     There are some communities which include the word Grove in their names:  
Elk Grove down in Davis township, Locust Grove - a school district in Hamilton 
township, Wolf Grove - a school district in Breckenridge township.  Black Oak, 
a hamlet in Rockford township, was originally Black Oak Grove, and was so 
called in the Civil War times, in reports of activities near that place.  Both 
the Union leader Capt. Noblitt and the Confederate Thrailkill camped there.
     Interviews  1933-35.


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