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EARLY SETTLEMENT
The early settlers of McDonald County, like those of all other localities, located along the creeks and river
bottoms. Here were abundant springs of pure, cold water, the streams were alive with fish and an abundance
of game ranged near these water courses. The soil was extremely fertile, producing almost miraculous crops
of all grains and vegetables, while the uplands called “barrens” or “flat woods,” were considered almost
worthless for agricultural purposes.
Filled with a restless desire for pioneer life, the inhabitants of other states began to settle in these lonely
valleys soon after the state was admitted into the Union. Here, in the solitude of the forests, with only the
breeze whistling in the trees, the rippling of the water of the cries of wild animals and birds to wake the
stillness, these men made their homes. Here many, many miles from any town or post office they reared their
families, and here some of them have long ago found their narrow homes. The first settlement within the
present boundary of this county of which we have been able to learn was Valentine, commonly called Telty,
Miller, and wife Katy (Workman) and only son, Levi, who settled in Elk river bottom on what is now known
as the Peck farm, in Elk River township, in 1827. He brought a copper still with him from North Carolina and
for awhile manufactured whiskey. He also ran a set of burrs for grinding [corn?]. His machinery was oper-
ated by water power. In a few years his temporary cabin was replaced by a more comfortable log house
which, though sadly dilapidated, is still standing. Some fifteen years afterward they buried their only son on
the bank of the river, and in a few days departed for California where the old people died.
About 1830 a family by the name of Friend is said to have settled on what is now the Langly farm on Elk
river.
Abram, Elisha and Jacob Testerman, came in 1833, and settled on Elk River. Four years later (1837) Abram
Testerman and Margery Buzzard were married and settled on Indian creek about one fourth of a mile below
where the town of Lanagan is now located. This is said to be the first marriage in this county.
During the early thirties R. Lauderdale, P. Williams, Blevina Mathews and a few other families, in all about
forty persons, settled in this county. Lauderdale afterwards settled on Indian creek on the place now occupied
by Bob Lauderdale. Some of the others settled on Indian creek and the rest in the vicinity of the present site
of Pineville.
Among the other early settlers in this part of the county were Hugh L. Testerman, who came here in Sep-
tember, 1839 and is still living a quarter of a mile east of Pineville on the farm he has owned for more than
half a century. A family by the name of Nicely settled on the river below Pineville about 1840, two Noel
families and George Mosier, near the same time. About this time it appears that Augustus Friend owned the
Marshall farm, which he sold to Jacob Wallace in 1842. Mrs. Wallace afterwards sold to Marshall.
Hamilton Moffett and family, also his two married sons, Elma [Elam] and William, with their families
settled on Indian Creek and near the mouth of Elk Horn in 1840. Elma Moffett, father of J. H. Moff- who
now resides in Pineville, settled the place known as the old Moffett farm at the mouth of South Elk Horn. It
is now owned by Elihu Hendry. Prior to their advent into this county, Jonathan Blair a Presbyterian minister
had settled a short distance below the Elam Moffett place, and also owned the present site of McNatt’s mills.
He operated a small mill at that point in the latter part of the 30’s and early 40’s. John and Jim Mayfield and
Bill Cleveland lived on Indian Creek near Erie prior to 1839. Sometime in the 30’s John Hearrell lived on
Big Sugar creek six miles northeast of Pineville. Dr. Clark Wallace is also among the settlers prior to 1840,
and Joel Meador, who still lives on Indian creek.
Among the others who located in this county prior to 1840 are found the names of James W. Tatum, Eligah
Witten, and Pleasant Smith. Mr. Tatum still lives on Beaver valley one half mile above the town of Anderson.
The above comprises the principal part of those who came to this county prior to 1840-2, and settled within
the present limits of Anderson, Erie, Elk River and Pineville townships. I have had to rely wholly on the
memory of the older settlers for this information, which is substantially correct, although the names of a few
may have been overlooked or forgotten.
The early settlements in the other parts of the county will be given by the municipal townships.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION
Prior to 1833 Crawford county embraced all of Southwest Missouri. In that year Green county was orga-
nized and for two years Springfield was the county’s [……..????] area of McDonald County.
[????] Barry county was established which […????…] of the territory, which is now Barry, McDonald,
Newton, Jasper, Lawrence, Barton, Dade and part of Cedar counties. After considerable strife over the
location of the county seat, the town of Mount Pleasant was established and the county seat located there.
It
was about one and one-half miles west of the present site of Pierce City. In connection with this place we
give the following interesting reminiscence which was published in the Newton County News in July 1896:
“Away back in the thirties Newton, as well as a number of other counties, was a part of Barry county and
the county seat of Barry was Mt. Pleasant and was located about one and one-half miles west of Pierce City.
The court house was built of logs. A fine spring was one of the attractions of this county seat. Barry county
then embraced the large territory of what is now Barry, Lawrence, Newton and McDonald counties, and a part
or all of Jasper county. Capt. Ritchey, of Ritchey was born in that county seat and his father, the late Judge
Ritchey, was elected constable the same day on the Democratic ticket. Newton county was cut off from Barry
in 1837 and since that time McDonald county has been formed from part of Newton. The farm on which Mt.
Pleasant was located was settled by an old gentleman known as Uncle Sampson Lanna [Lahna?]. After Barry
county had been divided up into other counties Mt. Pleasant was no more a county seat, and a man by the
name of Wilds purchased the farm in 1870 and intended to build a castle above the spring, but through some
misfortune he committed suicide and the castle was never built. Nothing remains now of the once county seat
except the spring which continues to furnish its pure beverage as when in days of yore the county officers
quenched their thirst at its fountain. The train passes just by the old county seat spot now, but nothing can be
seen but a big field of waving corn and shocks of wheat.”
The first session of the county court was held at Mount Pleasant, February 16, 1835, and Barry county was
divided into townships. Nearly all of the present limits of this county, also the southwest part of Newton
county was designated as Elk River township. It was bounded as follows: Commencing at the southwest
corner of the State thence north on the line between Missouri and the Indian Territory to the divide between
Lost creek and Elk River, thence east on said divide to the line between Ranges 30 and 31 thence south to the
State line, thence west on Arkansas line to the corner stone between Missouri and Arkansas. The remainder
of this county, a strip eight and one-half miles wide off the east end, was included in Indian creek township
which also embraced a considerable part of the present limits of Barry county. Thus we see that Elk River
township has the distinction, by several years, of being the oldest township in the county. This section of
country, however, remained but a short time subject to the jurisdiction of Barry county. By an act of the State
Legislature, December 31, 1838, Newton county was established, and McDonald became a part of that
county. The boundary of Newton county extended two and one-half miles further east than our present line
between this county and Barry, that is to the southwest corner of section 26. T. 21R. 29 thence north, instead
of the center of section 33 as it is now. The north line was fixed on the section lines running due west to the
Nation line from the intersection of the four corners of section 13, 14, 23, 24T.28, R.29, making the new
county about 46 miles from north to south and about 33 miles from east to west.
Pursuant to the report of the commissioners and the order of the county court, the town of Neosho was laid
out in November, 1839 and the county seat established in that place. For the next decade this was a part of
Newton county.
An act was passed March 3, 1849, providing for the establishment of McDonald county, and the organiza-
tion was completed under that act, but was attached to Newton county for the purpose of electing a representative until 1857.
Considerable trouble was experienced in establishing the county seat, a more extended account of which
will be given in the history of the towns. The commissioners to select a county seat were James Mayfield,
Oliver Hickox and Joseph Pearson, of Newton county. They met at the house of J. C. McKay, which stood
near the confluence of the two Sugar creeks, and his residence was designated as temporary court house. An
election was called which resulted in the selection of Rutledge as the county seat where is remained until
permanently located at Pineville in 1857. During this contention between the two rival towns two sets of
officers were claiming title and rival courts were carried on, one at Pineville, the other at Rutledge. The first
election resulted in the selection of Murphy Brown of Rocky Comfort, John Oliver and Abram Testerman as
county judges, Burton McGhee, clerk, A. A. Hensley, sheriff and Tillotson Pearson treasurer. These officers
organized court at Rutledge in 1849 but Brown refused to take part in the transactions being of the opinion
that the court should be held at Pineville. J. K. Mosier, William Duval, Jr., and Benjamin Cooper organized
court at Pineville, which was then called Maryville. John B. King served as clerk, A. D. Flinn, sheriff and
collector, and J. J. Hackeny, treasurer. Court was held at J. C. McKay’s residence, above mentioned. Little
but trouble and confusion resulted from these rival courts and officers and many of the people refused to pay
taxes until the dispute was finally settled a few years later. The transactions of the Pineville court were
generally ignored, but according to the statement of some of the old residents, a few of the warrants were paid
several years later. The circuit courts were held regularly at Rutledge.
The first set of county judges were succeeded by A. Z. Holcomb and William Moffett, Testerman succeed-
ing himself. Moffett served two terms. Joshua Wimpey, also, served as judge about this time, but I have not
been able to get the names of any others.
McDonald county was attached to Newton county for legislative purposes until 1856. In that year an
election was held and Thomas Jones was elected as the first member of the House of Representatives from
McDonald county. Burton McGhee was his opponent in the race. Jones died at Jefferson City the next year
and Smith Elkins was elected to fill the vacancy.
In 1856 Smith Elkins was a candidate for reelection, his competitors for legislative honors being Dr. Will-
iam C. Duval, Claudius B. Walker and Moses Pollard. The first three were Democrats and Pollard a Know
Nothing. Dr. Duval was elected by a majority of 145, his opponent being James A. Scott. The doctor threw
all of his influence while in the legislature against secession until May 10, 1861, when he followed the
majority of his party in casting their lot with the Southern Confederacy. He attended the legislature in their
assembly at Neosho and took part in the proceedings, but was never connected with the Southern army except
as a surgeon.
Burton McGhee served as clerk until 1854 when he was succeeded by A. A. Hensley, who was reelected in
1858 and held the office until the county government was suspended by the Civil War. Hensley was sheriff
and collector between 1849 and 1854. W. C. Price served one or two terms, about this time, and Demps
Lauderdale occupied the office when the war broke out. He became a Captain in the Confederate army and
died during the war of consumption. Joseph Hackney, Sr., was treasurer at Pineville, and Tillotson Pearson, at
Rutledge. J. P. LaMance held the office one or two terms before the war.
From the entries made immediately after the war, and from the statements of the older inhabitants, it
appears that the county was divided into seven municipal townships, as follows: Buffalo, Cooper, Elk River,
Pineville, Richwood, Rutledge, White Rock. It’s not possible to get the metes and bounds of the old divi-
sions, but from the best information Buffalo was located somewhat as at present occupying the northwest
corner of the county, Cooper embraced the southwest corner. Elk River and Rutledge covered substantially
the present limits of Elk River, McMillan and Prairie; Pineville, the central part, Richwood, the northwest,
and White Rock was practically as at present.
This closes the history of our county up to the beginning of the Civil War, and contains as complete a list of
the county officers and the leading events as it is possible to obtain. In 1863 the court house was burnt and
nearly all the records destroyed, so that the chief source of information is that derived from the old settlers
who located here years before the war, and on whose memory those old days and scenes of long ago are
indelibly impressed. In a few years more those old residents will have passed away and their descendants will
turn with pride to the works of history that have collated and preserved for all future times these interesting
reminiscences of men and times long past.
The people who had located here were generally from the south, more being from Tennessee than any other
state, and had brought with them the manners and customs peculiar to those localities. They lived in primi-
tive style, compared to the present, and were nearly self-sustaining. A cook stove was a rare exception,
nearly every one cooking by the fire place and oven. This, by the way, was not so inconvenient as might be
imagined. Many a delicious “pone”, rare venison saddle and luscious gobbler has been cooked in this way,
and the smell that ascended to heaven was enough to tempt the appetites of the gods.
A sewing machine had never been heard of, while the clank of the loom and humming of the wheel fur-
nished music almost as sweet, and more homelike than our present organs and pianos. The old fashioned
linchpin wagons, with the box shaped like a canoe, many with wooden spindle, could be heard for miles as
they groaned and screaked over the rocky roads. They raised their own cotton and wool, spun and wove it in
the cloth and made their own garments. The latter was the women’s work. Of course, every family cultivated
enough tobacco for home consumption. Wheat and corn were produced and, as we have seen, there were a
number of mills to do the grinding. Distilleries were quite numerous and manufactured the pure and unadul-
terated corn juice at twenty-five cents a gallon. The good people, both saints and sinners, could take their
corn to the still and lay in a good supply of cash. One didn’t have to get “sick” and tell a lie and sign his
name to it, then get a doctor to tell one and sign his name to it in order to get a drink of a decoction miscalled whiskey. No, he just followed the injunction of St. Paul, and took a little for his stomach’s sake, and his oft
infirmities, and of a quality that would have met the approval of that learned apostle. In this new country
subject to chills and malaria, and the scarcity of doctors and drugs, no doubt this pure liquor drove disease
and death from many a home.
Hogs and cattle could be raised with very little feed, the former being frequently butchered directly from the
mast, while deer, turkey and other game were found in abundance. As to shoes, every neighborhood had a
tannery and every man was a shoemaker. One man told me that his father said his store bill before the war
did not average more than five dollars a year. His family was quite large, and they lived comfortably. Instead
of doing without, they simply produced what was required. It is by no means intended to convey the idea that
all the people were poor or lived so plainly. Many families were quite aristocratic, had well furnished houses,
and gold watches and jewelry were worn quite extensively. Several parties owned slaves and carried on quite
extensive plantations. Almost any McDonald county farmer, along in the fifties could raise a hundred dollars
any day, and real estate mortgages were unknown. People were honest in their dealings and paid their debts,
and the latch string to every cabin hung on the outside. People were hospitable, extremely so. Partly because
it was born and bred in them, partly because, being isolated, and the settlements scarce and far between, it
was regarded as a treat to have a neighbor or stranger stop to dinner or over night. The familiar “Halloa,
stranger, git down an’ hitch yer hoss, and come in ‘n stay all night. The old woman ‘l have supper drecly.
Boys, take the critter and feed it,” has greeted the ears of many a weary traveler, and he would rest as secure
as tho’ guarded by a regiment of soldiers. Those are days to be remembered with pleasure; a bright period in
the history of our county.
But the questions is asked, how did they make any money? As before stated, there were but few families in
the county, and their farms were very productive. The range was exceedingly fine, and all kinds of stock
could be raised with little or no outlay. A farmer could gather up his hogs and cattle in the spring after the
grass was good, and drive them to St. Louis. There was range all the way and it mattered little that it took a
long time to make the journey. What his produce brought was clear profit. He frequently returned with
several hundred dollars. Horses were raised and taken directly to the southern market where they would bring
from $75 to $100. Thus an industrious man could soon acquire quite a snug sum of money.
ORGANIZATION AFTER THE WAR
From 1861 to 1865 no elections were held in McDonald county. In 1864 the vote for this county was cast at
Newtonia. Burton McGhee was elected member of the legislature and 26 votes were cast for Fletcher for
governor. Soon after the war the county government was again resumed, the officers being appointed by the
governor. Benjamin F. Hopkins, Enoch G. Williams and Isaac A. Harmon were appointed judges, John V.
Hargrove, sheriff; J. P. LaMance, treasurer. The first meeting of this court was November 6, 1866. On the
next day, November 7, Henry H. Fox was appointed assessor of the county, and Hugh L. Testerman, coroner.
On Nov. 8, Daniel Harmon was appointed public administrator; A. W. Chenoweth, county treasurer; Abner
M. Tatum school commissioner; John M. Boyd, road commissioner. At this term of court, the following
Justices of the peace were appointed: E. G. Williams, Pineville township; D. C. Hopkins, Elk River township;
T. R. Hopkins and Thomas Davenport, White Rock township. In December following D. C. Fox was ap-
pointed Justice of the peace for Buffalo township, David Davenport, for White Rock, Jehu Jones for Rutledge
township. In February 1866 Ransom Plumlee was appointed justice for Richwood township, and John F.
Lewis for Elk Horn. I. N. Williams was appointed treasurer. At this time the county court had jurisdiction of
probate matters and the principal part of the records of the court pertain to affairs of administration, appoint-
ments of officers and locating roads.
At this time the office of public administrator was certainly a lucrative one as the records show that in 1866
he had charge of the following estates: Samuel R. Cotter, John Stearns, James Williams, Benjamin Gooden,
George W. Martin, Anderson Carter, Tierney J. Cook, G. C. Culp, Solomon Lankford, David Brock, William
Burgess, Basil Lewis, Nathaniel Meador, Samuel B. Keeler, John D. Hendry, William G. Morris, Martin
Stafford, Harrison Ray, Robert Walker, Hugh Carroll, Alfred Martin, Mrs. Delilah McGhee, D. Y. Lauderdale,
Joseph Morrow, Jacob Carter, James T. Davenport, G. W. Nutting, W. Hamblin, John M. Harmon, Wilson
Gonce, S. H. Carroll, J. B. King, Smith Elkins, Thomas Woolsey, H. Carroll, Moses Pendergraft, J. T.
Haskins, R. F. Walker, Samuel B. Keele, Sr., James N. Appleby, John H. Hastings, John D. Henry, Francis A.
Carter, J. W. Cole, J. Wimpey, William Skinner, Matilda Mitchell, John Hevalison, Carroll Kirk, U. S. Young,
Sr., and Samuel Brown. It appears from the records that Benjamin [Ross?] was public administrator previous
to the appointment of Daniel Harmon, but how or when he became possessed of that office there is no record
to show.
[Much of the following two paragraphs have been lost…..]
In the records of the county court, […..] 1866 is the following order: Ordered by the [….] that municipal
townships of this county be [….] as follows: All territory including [….] 29 and 30 shall constitute a munici-
pal [……] be known as Fox township. Also, all [….] in ranges 30 and 34 which shall [……] Elk township.
The next order following establish..[…….] places in each of the three townships […….] at the residence of
H. H. Fox, in [……..] Pineville, in Pineville Township and at the residence of B. F. Hopkins in Elk township.
It was also ordered that each justice of the peace be furnished with a copy of the order giving metes and
bounds of their respective townships. Why this arrangement was effected and what disposition was made of
the various Justice of the peace does not appear. It evidently did not give satisfaction as in
the following August and November various changes were made and several precincts established, a more full
account of which will be given in the chapter on townships.
Among the interesting orders made about this time were those to cancel notes given for loans of the various
public funds. One signed by A. S. McGhee, dated September, 1854, for $185.98; One signed by T. A. B.
Pearson and Joseph Pearson May 17, 1854 for $100; one by M. A. Laughlin, Aug. 11, 1857 for $50. These
notes were cancelled by reason of their being void by limitation.
Warrants were drawn on the county treasurer in 1866-7 to pay for wolf scalps, at the rate of one dollar each
scalp, to Gilbert Bolen, E. F. Burns, Eleven Caulk, William Mooney, Isaac Martin and Wyatt Edmonds. The
party producing the scalp was required to prove that the wolf had been killed within the borders of the county,
to entitle him to the bounty.
TOWNSHIPS
- Anderson township was established by order of the county court at the March term 1896. The voting place
was established at the town of Anderson, from which the township derived its name. The K. C. P. & G. R. R.
enters this township near the northeast corner, runs entirely through and passes out on the south line a little
west of the center. Beaver valley also enters near the northeast corner and empties into Indian creek just
below the town of Anderson. The above-named stream meanders through the southern part of the township.
The first settlement was mentioned in the chapter on Early Settlement. The principal place is Anderson, a
nice little town, and one of the best trading points in the county. On Indian creek and the adjacent valleys are
many fine farms and prosperous families. The township was taken from Buffalo, McMillin, Pineville and
Erie townships and contains about 35 sections of land.
- Buffalo township lies in the northwest corner of the county. It derives its name from Buffalo creek which
runs through it, centering some four miles from the northeast corner and bearing southwesterly passes the
south line some two miles from the southwest corner. This township seems to have been organized before the
war, but the boundary was not as at present. The county court records also show that the township was
organized May 3, 1871. This was evidently but a re-arrangement of the township with regard to the voting
precinct, which for a short time included all the western portion of the county embraced in ranges 33 & 34.
There was a voting place on Beeman valley before the war. The present voting place is at May.
The early settlements in this township were confined to Buffalo creek including Sugar Fork, and Beeman
hollow. Campbell Price, father to our “Uncle Billy,” came to this county about the year 1836. He left Ten-
nessee in 1829. Stopped in Arkansas one year, then moved to Spring river where he remained a few years,
then settled on Buffalo creek. Daniel McRae came about the same time. James Woldon settled on Sugar
Fork about 1837. James Beeman settled on the old Owens farms, at the mouth of Beeman hollow between
1837 and 1840. The Dobbses, Benegee Brown, James Crabtree, Richard and Simeon Price, George Nutting,
M. Burns, Henry Barlow and a few other families were located here prior to or just after 1840.
Hart and May are the two post offices and trading points, each having a small country store. Formerly all
the settlements were along the bottoms and valleys. On Buffalo are some very fine farms, those of W. C.
Price, R. Harrington, H. D. Roark, Martha Owens and Samuel Ledford being among the best. W. C. Roark,
deceased, settled in Roark valley along in the fifties and made a good farm, where he reared a highly respected family. In late years the Flat Woods are being put into cultivation, and are proving quite productive.
- Center township was named from the central location it occupies on the east side of the county. It was
organized pursuant to an order of the county court, May 9, 1872. Big Sugar creek, Mikes creek, Trent creek
and Little Missouri are the principal streams. The voting place is at Powell, which is, also, the principal
trading point.
This township was established, with several others, May 9, 1872. There had been a voting place in that part
of the county for many years before that time. Once it was at the residence of Henry H. Fox, and at another
time at a log school house near Powell;
also at Yonce’s store. This part of the county was known as Cooper township for a while, then was designated Fox township.
The early settlers began to locate here about the time settlements were made in other parts of the county.
M. A. Laughlin, J. S. Laughlin, Jubal Duwees, Billy Offield and Whittenburg settled on Big Sugar about
1834. Phillip Michael from whom that stream is named, settled on Mike creek in the early thirties. John
Stafford, father of Claib Stafford, came from Tennessee in 1836, and settled on Mike creek. He afterward
improved the place where J. H. Cowan now lives, where he died about 1856. Of four children but one, Claib,
now lives in this county; he still occupies part of the old homestead. Thomas Ethridge lived on Mike creek
when Stafford cam here in 1836. Snyder lived where Powell now is. John Trent settled on Trent creek about
this time, and the families of J. Dotson, Billy Carnott and Barney Bixbey located about this time or soon after.
John Puckett and son Jim came soon afterward. The Coopers came in the early forties and put up a mill at
Powell on the place now owned by Mac Harper. L. Sherlock ran a distillery near there about 1838 and later.
This township is five miles north and south by seven and one-half miles east and west, and contains 37 1-2
sections of land. The valleys are extremely fertile and contain many productive farms. The uplands are
considerably broken but of late years are being put into cultivation and produce small grains, grass and fruits
abundantly.
- Cyclone Township was established by order of the county court at the June term 1896. It was named from
Cyclone post office, at which the voting place was established. Big Sugar creek is the only stream of any
importance in this township. J. A. Foster has a small stock of goods at this place and a grist and saw mill is in
operation. There were but few settlements made in the present limits of this township in the early days, most
of them being above or below. A man by the name of Tyner is said to have located on the farm now owned
by John Millison, in the early thirties. John Heraldson settled just north of the Billy Warren farm about 1838,
and Levi Click, on the Barney Turner place in 1840. John Ferguson is said to have settled on Big Sugar prior
to 1840, John Stafford, who formerly lived in Center, and a few other families lived here when the war broke
out. They, however, left the county during that troublesome period and, a number of the old settlers say, that
John C. Hampton was the only man living within the present limits of this township when the war closed.
The surface of this township is similar to Center, many productive farms being found in the valleys and
creek bottoms. It is six miles east and west, and five miles north and south, containing thirty sections of land.
Samuel Claiborn, who formerly lived on the Ab Johnson farm, was a prominent character of this vicinity for
several years before the war. His true name was Sams, but many years before, he had killed a man in Tennessee, and changed his name to conceal his identity. He moved from here to Hickory county where he died at
the advanced age of 98 years.
- Erie Township was established June 9, 1872. The name is derived from the village of Erie, for many years
the principal trading place and only post office in the township. The voting place is at this village. Indian
Springs is in the northeast, and Donohue (now called Goodman) is in the northwest part. Indian creek runs
almost diagonally through the township from northeast to southwest. Some of the best farms in the county
are in this locality and the McNatt Mills, now operated by F. A. Sears, is noted throughout this part of the
state as one of the oldest and best milling properties in the southwest.
In addition to the names of early settlers mentioned in Chapter II, the following have been secured: Ira Yates
settled on the place now owned by Mr. Dalton some time in the thirties. John Mayfield informs me that his
father located in this county in 1840, instead of prior to that time as elsewhere stated. He came from Monroe
county, Kentucky, and settled on the place which Mr. Mayfield now owns. A man named Kell had settled on
the place now owned by George Allman before the Mayfields came. About the same time Harris lived on the
John Harmon place at Erie and a family named Antney, on the Ebbinghaus farm. The Lees came about the
same time and settled where John Boyd lives. Dan Harmon says that William Cleveland, a half blood Indian
was the first settler on Indian creek. He owned a place where Erie now is which he sold to Mark Harmon,
who came to this county from Green county Tennessee several years before the war. He, also, informs me
that the first school ever taught in Erie township was in a little log house at the mouth of Elk Horn. Moses
Pollard was the teacher, having been employed by Mark Harmon, Jonathan Blair also, was the owner of a
Negro woman.
- Elk Horn township lies in congressional township 23, and includes part of ranges 30 and 31. It was established practically as at present, by order of the county court, May 9, 1872. The name was derived from the
two creeks in its western part. Bethpage is the principal trading point, post office and voting place. Besides
the two Elk Horn valleys, there are extensive Flat Woods in this township and a large percent of its territory is
in improved farms. The land is generally productive and it has appearance of being one of the prosperous
sections of the county. According to the order of the court, it is six miles from east to west and seven from
north to south, containing forty two sections.
This part of the county was mostly overlooked by the first settlers, there being no large streams as in most
of the other townships. There were a few however, who came here in an early day. In 1847 there is said to
have been but one house between where McNatt’s mill now is and Mitchell’s prairie. This was Bullard’s, a
family of that name having settled on the flat woods prior to that time. Mitchell lived on Mitchell’s prairie
some time in the early forties, and it may be earlier. The Brocks came in an early day, and there was a small
German settlement near the Barringer place along in the forties.
Elk River township lies south of the river in range 33, extending to the Arkansas line. In 1835, when this
was a part of Barry county Elk River township comprised the southwest corner. Though changed several
times, and given other names, this township dates back to the organization of the county. In its present form it
was established in the reorganization in 1872. It has the distinction of being the place where the first settlement was made in the county, (1828). This is the first that can be designated, but down near the river near
where the John Marshall farm now is, there is an old grave yard, grown up with brush and briers until it is
almost impossible to get to it, and in such a secluded place that hundreds of our people do not know it is
there. In this abandoned burial place are a number of tomb stones, all made out of native limestone, large,
broad stones, nicely dressed. The lettering is almost defaced by time, but one, at least, indicates a death in
1807. Whether a settlement was made there prior to that time I have not been able to ascertain.
Noel is the principal town and is one of the most important railroad points in the county. Elk River, Butler
and Mill creeks, are the streams, and some of the finest farms in the county are on the river bottom. The
voting place for many years was at the Marshall school house, but in 1896 it was moved to Noel.
- McMillin township was named from John McMillin, who lived just above the present site of Coy. It was
created by order of the county court, May 9, 1872. Patterson and Buffalo creeks are the principal streams
which flow through it while the river forms the southern boundary. The voting place is at McMillin school
house. Tiff City is the principal town.
The settlement of this township dates back to between 1835 and 1840. Abner Sherman, a native of Ohio,
located in 1842. David Cummings came out as Missionary for the Indians when they were removed to the
Territory, and settled the farm just above where Tiff City now stands. Uncle Andy Smith was a local preacher
in 1842, and lived on the place where C. L. Moore and his wife were killed in 1894. Eleven Caulk was
among the first settlers on Patterson Creek and owned slaves. Finley Lane settled here in 1845. The Ollivers,
James Bly, Allen Williams, and several other families settled along the creek in the early forties. W. B.
Mitchell came from Tennessee in 1852; Bradford Seabourn in 1858. One of the first establishments of this
township was a distillery. Alfred Oliver erected one near where Mathew Kincannon now lives, way back in
the early days. The building was of logs and was three and a half stories high. It had an immense brick
chimney some sixteen feet square. William Houghton, who afterwards owned the Langley farm on the river,
ran a distillery at Enterprise. He also raised horses for the southern market. He would trade twenty gallons of
whiskey for a pony mare which he would keep for breeding. It is said he raised fine horses and made quite a
fortune. James Bly operated the distillery afterwards. He owned several slaves. Of course it was against the
law to sell liquor to Indians then, as it is now, but a profitable business was carried on with them. When a
pony or other article, or money was to be exchanged, the property was left at a convenient place where it was
taken care of by the distiller. The Indian would then make a search in the woods and “find” a lot of whiskey.
It was a remarkable coincidence that the value of the property and that of the liquor found was about the
same.
Hugh Dunagee ran a tan yard near where the Morrison school house now is. M. Sliger, also, ran a tan yard
at the McMillin place. He sold to John McMillin who continued the business until after the war. David
Harlin, a part Cherokee, settled the Keenan Farm along in the thirties. Mathew Kincannon came out from
Tennessee when the Indians were removed, and settled on what is now the Hafford farm. John Walker, in
those early days, settled where Henry Manning now lives. A free Negro called Free Lewis settled the
Morrison farm, where Charley Keenan now lives.
- Mountain Township derives its name from the broken and hilly surface of the country, the hills in places
assuming almost the proportion of mountains. Big Sugar Creek is the principal stream.
It was established as a separate township by order of the county court, May 9, 1872. The voting place is at
Schell’s mill, and the post office there is called Mountain. This is the principal trading point in the township,
and considerable business is done there.
The first settler of which an account could be obtained came in about 1840 or 1841. John Rose, James
Boles and a man by the name of Clemons came at that time. Along in the early forties Charley Boles and a
family named Moore came. Clemons had a corn cracker at the mouth of Otter creek. In 1847 Henry Schell
bought the mill and located there. His son Henry now owns the land. Mrs. Elizabeth Schell, widow of the
elder Henry, is now 78 years old, and has a pretty vivid memory of the early days. Her father, Jacob Yocum,
settled in Stone county in 1825. For a number of years he paid the Indians an annual rental of thirty bushels
of corn for the privilege of living among them. he kept a small farm, and hunted and trapped during the fur
season. Ruben Burnett now owns the place settled by James Boles. John Carter owned a Negro couple who
had three or four children. Henry Schell brought a Negro boy to this county with him. He afterwards sold
him for $400 and deeded his land with the money. On the Berry Moore place is an old orchard that was
bearing fruit before the war. Many of the trees were still bearing good fruit a couple of years ago. Phillip
Schell states that the people of that township held an election to express their opinion in regard to secession.
He states that all except a man named James Guess voted against going with the Confederacy. Guess voted
for secession, and went south soon after the war broke out. He soon repudiated his action and went North at
the first favorable opportunity. The balance of the citizens of this township, after the war came up, allied
themselves with Confederacy. This township is nearly five and one-half miles square. It contains nearly
twenty-five full sections, five half sections on the east side, and five fractional half sections on the Arkansas
line.
- Pineville township is one of the original divisions having been established when the county was first
organized. Pineville, the county seat, is the principal town, while Lanagan, the railroad station, is not far
behind in business importance. The two Sugar creeks and Elk river are the principal streams but there are
numerous valleys that contain many productive farms. The history of its first settlement is more fully treated
in the early settlement of the county and in the sketch of the town, and in the chapter on County Organization.
Until 1896 it contained much more than at present, but in that year considerable was taken off to form Anderson township, and several sections off the east end to form Cyclone township. This leaves Pineville near the
north line instead of practically in the center as before.
This being the county seat and most of the roads in the county leading to it, the people of this township
experienced more of the ravages of war than any other portion of the county, detachments from both the
Northern and Southern army alternately passing through.
- Prairie township occupies the southwest corner of the county. It is named from Cowskin prairie which
extends over the greater portion of its surface. Southwest City is the principal town, not only of this township, but of the entire county. Saratoga Springs is a small village near the east side. Honey creek, which runs
through the southwest corner is the only stream of any consequence. This township contains quite a body of
prairie land and is the most productive of any portion of the county of the same size. The large fields of
wheat, corn and other crops that can be seen at a single stretch over the prairie forms a striking contrast to the
usual monotony of the timbered regions.
Until a few years ago the voting place was at a school house on the prairie not far from J. P. Barnwell’s, but
Southwest City being the trading point for nearly all the people of the township, they petitioned the county
court to change it to that place, which was accordingly done.
This part of the county was quite thinly settled until some time in the fifties, when considerable land was
entered. A few families settled on Honey creek prior to that time. In June, 1842, Burton McGhee located
where Southwest City now is and established a trading point there. About the time the Indians were removed
to the Territory, settlements were started at various points along the state line some two or three of which
were within the present limits of this township. After McGhee put up his store people settled near there, and
Southwest soon became a point of considerable importance. W. Gonce, Jessee Ware, J. P. Maddox, S. J. Hess
and Mark Howard located there a few years later. The two Fields families, R. Caldwell, H. Remington, H. D.
Budd and John McGhee are mentioned among the early settlers. Robert Shields, a native of Pennsylvania,
but later from East Tennessee, came to this county in 1846 and settled on the farm on which his son George
R. still lives. S. Briedlove, R. F. Cleveland, B. S. Ervin and John Hays all had entered land in the fifties.
There were a few settled on the river between 1837 and 1840, but their names have not been ascertained.
Richwood Township is situated in the northeast corner of the county, and is five and one-half miles from
north to south. It was established as a separate township by order of the county court May 9, 1872. The
principal town is Rocky Comfort, a nice little village near the northeast corner. One fork of Indian creek
takes its rise at a spring in this town and meanders through the north and west part of the township. Mike
creek and Kings creek, also rise in this township. The southern part is somewhat broken and hilly, but most
of it surface is comparatively level. Although it was not settled to any great extent as early as some other
parts of the county, it is now thickly populated and much of it is in a high state of cultivation. The soil is
generally productive, especially for small grains, fruit and meadows. There are more orchards here than in
any other part of the county except where the Ozark Orchard Company have invested in the last two years.
There appears to have been a few people in this part of the county along in the thirties. A. J. Duncan settled
in 1836. There were a few Indians in the neighborhood as late as 1840. The Lambersons, Christians, T. F.
Tomlinson, and a few other families whose names could not be ascertained, were here about the latter forties
and early fifties. John Davidson settled in this county in 1853. Mrs. Ford, mother of John A. Ford, located
near Rocky Comfort in 1843. Isaac Plumlee settled in this township in 1853.
White Rock Township was in existence soon after the organization of the county, and the voting place about
where it is now. There was a church where Jane now is and one of the first free schools in the county was
established there. Milo Martin taught a subscription school there in 1853, having the whole township in
which to work, and secured thirty scholars. He organized the school district that fall.
William A. Davenport settled in this township in 1836, on the farm now occupied by Joah Brown. his
father, Martin Davenport, came the next year. William DeHaven lived on the Bookout place about that time.
There were a few other families whose names have not been learned which came about the same time.
William K. Young came to this county in 1848, and he says there were a number of families here than and
several more came soon after. When he came a man named Bramlet lived on the Bookout farm, and Jacob
Roe lived across the creek from Elijah Evan’s place. Dr. Davenport came in 1853; he practiced medicine here
for twenty years. Along in the fifties, J. H. Slinkard, J. W. Brown, Gilbert White, John Coffee, Morgan and
several others settled in this locality. Little Sugar creek and Little Missouri are the principal streams; Jane
and Caverna are the two villages. The township is six miles square, except the fractional sections on the state
line. The surface is generally broken, but the soil is extremely rich and the farms all productive.
Courthouse History
When McDonald County was created in 1849, two communities, Rutledge and Maryville (which was later named Pineville), competed fiercely for the county seat. An 1850 confrontation in Rutledge resulted in death to three participants. About six years later a log courthouse, reportedly built in Rutledge, was demolished in one of the acts of hostility that continued to occur between the antagonistic factions.
From the time of organization in 1849 until winter of 1857, McDonald County operated with two courthouses and two sets of officials. The General Assembly appointed commissioners to select the legal county seat. They settled the matter by relocating the county seat at Pineville.
The first courthouse in Pineville, a one-story, frame building, built in 1858-59, measured 30 feet square and stood at the corner of Third and Main.
The next courthouse, a two-story, brick house built in 1861, was located on the city square site in Pineville. The Freemasons planned a third-story addition to this courthouse for their lodge room. Whether or not the third story was ever built remains a matter of conjecture, but J. A. Sturges, an attorney who came to McDonald County in 1881 and interviewed old-time residents of Pineville for his history, maintains it was built. Bushwackers burned the courthouse in 1863, destroying most records.
In November 1866 the court appointed a representative to rent rooms for county use and to sell the bricks and bats from the old courthouse. Roman Malach, a local historian, noted a payment of $25 made to Z. P. Cogswell for making plans and specifications for the new courthouse, begun in 1869. In December of the same year the court accepted the low bid of $4,949.50 from contractors Willis R. Cox and Zachariah Smith. Construction began in 1870 on a two-story, brick building measuring approximately 42 by 48 feet. The court accepted the building in June 1871. Sturges claimed the old courthouse was on the same plan; another source, 1849-1949, 100 Years of History and Progress, maintained that part of the 1861 building was in the 1870 building.
In 1905 the court made a $1,500 appropriation for an addition on the east to provide vaults; in 1943 the building was stuccoed and painted white. The courtroom was paneled, the ceiling lowered, and the room was rewired with new light fixtures in 1969.
The County Court bought a $10,000 lot north of the city square for the 20th century courthouse in 1977. Hood-Rich, architects and consulting engineers from Springfield, designed the one-story, 72-by-84-foot, masonry building. R. E. Smith Construction, Joplin, received the building contract in December 1977. Ground breaking took place December 21, 1977. The amount of space, 5,500 square feet, was about the same as in the old courthouse.
The Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1977, as amended by the Public Works Employment Act of 1977, under the U.S. Department of Commerce, provided a grant of $145,000. Local contributions of about $20,000 completed the funds.
Dedication and open house were planned for July 1978 to coincide with Jesse James Days, when a festival air reigns throughout the town, with street dancing, music, a brush arbor wedding and a showing of the film Jesse James. In 1938 Twentieth Century Fox brought Tyrone Power, Randolph Scott and Henry Fonda to Pineville and the 1870 courthouse to shoot the Missouri epic. The occasion has been celebrated ever since. As one resident said, "It's the greatest thing that ever happened in McDonald County." The old courthouse, immortalized in the film, was leased for possible commercial development in 1980.
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