HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY

A Fond Look Back

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.

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"New Town," Logging Camp Thrived Near Fisk

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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.

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    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.

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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.

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.

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.