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RAILROADS IN COOPER COUNTY SOME INTERESTING BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT RAILROADS IN COOPER COUNTY In the mid 1800’s, railroads became very important for the economic growth of many communities. The people in Cooper County knew they needed railroads to grow and prosper. They eagerly voted bonds to aid in constructing railroads, and land was purchased for four main railroad lines. If a railroad went through a town, the town usually gained population and businesses. The trains were fast and comfortable, making stage coaches unnecessary and soon after trains arrived in the County, stagecoaches ceased to be needed. There have been two major railroads that have traveled through Cooper County through the years. The major, longest lived and last railroad, was the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, also called the MKT, and the more minor railroad was the Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad. The MKT, first known as the southern branch of the Union Pacific, was organized at Emporia in 1867. Work was begun on the road at Junction City, Kansas, in the summer of 1869, and in November the line was completed to Council Grove, Kansas, a distance of 37 miles; in December it was finished to Emporia, Kansas, 24 miles farther; in Feb., 1870, it was completed to Burlington, Kansas, 30 miles farther down the Neosho valley; in April another 30 miles took the road to Humboldt, Kansas, and on June 6 the line entered the Indian Territory, (present day Oklahoma), thus securing the sole right of way, with a land grant, through that territory. The Osage Division of the MKT Railroad began as a railroad known as the St. Louis and Santa Fe Railroad, Missouri Division which was incorporated on April 20th, 1869. Completed in 1871, the railroad was a single-track, standard gauge steam railroad that ran approximately 38 miles from Holden, Missouri (in Johnson County) to the Missouri/Kansas state line. As the St. Louis and Santa Fe Railroad, Missouri Division quickly went bankrupt; the Katy Railroad officially completed the purchase of the charter on May 29th, 1872. However, involvement may have dated back to 1870 (at the inception of the line) when Levi Parson and Francis Skiddy set into motion their plan to see that the Katy Railroad would be the first to reach Indian Territory, and the only one allowed to tap the riches of Texas and the Southwest. To this end, Parson and Skiddy set into motion a much larger plan that included the chartering of the Neosho Valley and Holden Railroad in Kansas. The charter for the Neosho Valley and Holden Railroad in Kansas was issued on May 7th, 1870. On the same day, the Neosho Valley and Holden Railroad entered into an agreement allowing for the merger and consolidation of the company with the KATY Railroad. The Neosho Valley and Holden Railway Company was effectively a paper railroad and did not construct any railroad. The original plan of the Neosho Valley and Holden Railroad was to connect in the east with the St. Louis and Santa Fe Railroad, Missouri Division, and continue west To Emporia. However, the rail line never reached Emporia; it only reached Paola, Kansas (where it connected with the Missouri Pacific Railroad). This created an orphan line with no connection to the main lines at either Emporia, Kansas or Sedalia, Missouri. Research by: Harold Kerr II THE MKT COMES TO COOPER COUNTY Katy Engine exiting the Boonville Katy Bridge circa 1980. From the Wayne Lammers collection. As for development in Cooper County Missouri, on January 1, 1872 a contract was awarded for building the Northeastern Extension— under the name of the Tebo Neosho Railway—to Boonville in Cooper County, to Fayette in Howard County, and on to a junction with the North Missouri (Wabash) at Moberly, in Randolph County, Missouri. The MKT track reached Pl easant Green in Cooper County on April 24, 1873 and by May 18 it reached Pilot Grove. The end-of-track reached Boonville on May 31, 1873. A celebration to mark the completion of the Northeastern Extension was held in Boonville on July 4, 1873, after the rail reached Fayette, Missouri on June 20, 1873. United States Congressman John Cosgrove was on hand for this celebration. Before 1870, between Sedalia and Boonville, a span of thirty-four miles, there was hardly a house to be seen. Pilot Grove was laid out very soon after the railroad arrived, on May 30, 1873. Pleasant Green came into being on June 28. Clifton City, on September 29, 1873. These three towns became busy major centers of commerce for several years until the railroad was disbanded. Once the railroad no longer came through the towns, population dropped and businesses closed. One interesting spot along the rail was south of Boonville, a place called “Lard Hill.” Old timers in the area described how this came to be known by this colorful name: an old Irish lady who was untidy in appearance, had a shack full of children and no husband. Allegedly, a KATY train killed the family pig one day, and, since the pig was in an area where it had no business being, and was a terrible looking thing, the claims agent valued the loss at $5.00. The woman was extremely upset about this and went about to get revenge. She rendered the fat from the pig and every time she heard the train whistle for the Boonville train, she would send her children out to put lard on the tracks. After several times of the train slipping and sliding to make its way, the railroad gave the woman more money for her loss. Yet, nothing appears in the records to validate this story. Another story holds that disgruntled farmers in the area larded the rails as they were unhappy with the rail coming through their land. The MKT ran until 1989 when it was succeeded by the Missouri Pacific Railroad (a.k.a MoPac). In 1997 the MoPac became the Union Pacific. Sources: https://legendsofkansas.com/railroads3.html http://genealogytrails.com/mo/bates/railroad.html https://www.abandonedrails.com/bryson-to-paola THE KATY RAILROAND AND THE LAST FRONTIER, V. V. MASTERSON, © 1978 UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS, pp 150, 193-194, 198, 209-210 Katy Railroad Historical Society - There is a Katy Railroad Historical Society Museum located in Denison, Texas. They are a 501c3 organization. Memberships are available on the website. Their webpage: https://katyrailroad.org/ Their phone number: 903-327-5966 Boonville Katy Depot & Caboose #134. By Wayne Lammers on January 14, 2019. Caboose painting by volunteers on Sept. 14, 2017 by Wayne Lammers. OTHER RAILROADS IN COOPER COUNTY Map from 1877. MKT and river bridge (started 1873) top left, and Osage Valley and Southern Railroad (started 1865-68) shown in the middle of the map coming out of Boonville. Rails along the Missouri River had not started by 1877. The other line that came to Cooper County was the Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad. The Southern Kansas was one of five railroads to receive their charter from the first legislature in Kansas in 1855. The capital stock of the Southern Kansas was fixed at $3,000,000, and the company was given a franchise to build a road "from the Missouri state line due west of Springfield to the west line of Kansas Territory." A. J. Dorn, William J. Godfroy, James M. Linn, Joseph C. Anderson and others were named as the incorporators, and the act stipulated that work was to begin on the road within nine years. On October 17, 1860 a convention met at Topeka with about 125 delegates present, representing 20 counties of the territory. The principal work of the convention was the adoption of a resolution to the effect that a petition be presented to Congress asking an appropriation of public lands to aid in the construction of railroads in Kansas as follows: A railroad from the western boundary of the State of Missouri, where the Osage Valley & Southern Kansas railroad terminates, westwardly via Emporia, Fremont and Council Grove, to the Fort Riley Military Reservation, among other issues. In 1867 a company was organized under the name of the Osage Valley & Southern Kansas Railroad Company, proposing to construct a railroad from Boonville on the Missouri river to Fort Scott and $100,000 in bonds was asked of Bates County with a donation of the right of way. Chicago was to be the northern terminus, an "air line" to "just where you like it." The county officials did not seem to catch onto this scheme and no action of the bond question was taken. The Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad was chartered in 1857 by the Missouri Legislature to run from a point on the Pacific Railroad near present day Tipton, Missouri, to Emporia, Kansas. The charter was modified in 1858 to include an extension north to Boonville, Missouri. Grading on the line was completed to Versailles, Missouri, in 1861, but was halted due to the American Civil War. After the war the Boonville to Tipton portion was completed in 1868 and leased to the Pacific Railroad. In 1870, portions of the line were graded from Warsaw, Missouri, north to Cole Camp, Missouri. Construction ended in 1872, when the line defaulted on bond payments. The Warsaw portion became the property of Benton County, Missouri, and was later used, in 1880, as the roadbed for the narrow-gauge Sedalia, Warsaw and Southern Railway between Sedalia and Warsaw. The line between Tipton and Versailles, Missouri, was reorganized in 1880 and 1881, as the Boonville, St. Louis and Southern Railway, and was then leased to Jay Gould's Missouri Pacific Railway. Boonville to Versailles RR, brakeman Earl Hays, on October 21, 1911. Two engines hit head on at 7:10 AM From the Wayne Lammers collection From the Wayne Lammers collection On January 13, 1880, a train wreck occurred on the Boonville Branch. The wreck occurred at 4:30 in the afternoon about three miles north of Tipton. Five box cars next to the engine jumped the track, tearing up the rails for about a hundred yards. There were passengers and baggage, as well as empty cars on the train, but these did not come off the track. No one was injured. The engineer, named Rosenhahn, gave the engine full steam when he saw that the head box car was trying to come onto his tender. This caused the coupling to break and the car broke away. Four of the broken cars were empty and one was full of merchandise headed to Boonville. No passenger or merchandise was late to arrive, due to good management of the situation. The line operated until June 1935, when successor Missouri Pacific Railroad asked permission of the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line. The last train operated was to Versailles on April 30, 1936, and the entire property was torn up except for a bit at the Boonville end, which followed 2nd Street. This line came up from Moniteau County through Kelly Township, where there was a station called Vermont Station. The name “Vermont” may have come from the fact that Nathaniel Leonard, a large property owner in southern Cooper County (over 1,500 acres in 1877) was born in the State of Vermont. The line went up through present-day Bunceton, Speed, and into Boonville. The Osage Valley and Southern Kansas was succeeded by the Boonville, St Louis and Southern Railway in 1881. This railroad was then succeeded by the MoPac in 1956, which was then succeeded by the Union Pacific in 1997. Sources: Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad Legends of Kansas Genealogy Trails The Tipton (MO) Times, January 15, 1880: The Missouri Pacific built a route from St. Louis to Kansas City, which came through the southern part of Cooper County. The line was completed through Otterville in 1860. The second railroad to come through Cooper County was the Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad, a branch line of the Missouri Pacific. It ran from Boonville to Versailles, with stops at Billingsville, Jo Town, New Palestine, Petersburg, Bunceton and Vermont. It was completed in 1868. This line was abandoned in 1937. The third railroad was originally called the Tebo and Neosho, and later the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (shortened to “KATY” or “MKT”). It was built through Cooper County in the early 1870s and crossed the Missouri River at Boonville going through Prairie Lick, Pilot Grove, Harriston, Pleasant Green, and Clifton City. It ceased operation in 1986. The tracks have been removed and it has been converted to a recreation bike trail and is now called the Katy Trail. Prairie Lick and Harriston are now extinct, and Pleasant Green and Clifton City are now just settlements with a few homes. Pilot Grove, although not the large thriving city it once was, is now the second largest town in Cooper County. The fourth railroad to come through Cooper County was called the River Route because it followed along the Missouri River. It was built by the Missouri Pacific and is now the Union Pacific. It was completed as far as Boonville in the early 1890s and then extended downriver to St. Louis in the early 1900s. It goes through Overton, Wooldridge, Boonville, Lamine, and Blackwater, but does not stop. All the above towns became prosperous while the trains regularly stopped there, but once the railroads left, so did business and the population. Today, Overton, Wooldridge, Lamine and Speed have no businesses, but there are still a few homes there. The Union Pacific railroad still carries coal and other freight, especially coal, on a regular basis as it travels past Boonville. Here is a 1897 railroad map showing the rails in both counties. The only one not showing is the Missouri Pacific or later the Union Pacific that goes from Boonville down the river route to Jefferson City which started in 1899. The railroad going from Sedalia to Boonville and then to New Franklin is the MK&T RR or the Katy. The railroad from Boonville south to Versailles is the Southern Branch of the Missouri Pacific which ended in 1938. The Missouri Pacific RR at the bottom of Cooper County had a short rail that ran through Otterville from Sedalia to St. Louis. OTHER NOTABLE TRAIN WRECKS Pilot Grove train wreck World War II was brought to a close for the Citizens of Pilot Grove on May 6, 1945, when a train carrying ammunition wrecked about a half mile north of town. The fire and smoke caused by the derailment of twenty cars of oil, three cars of artillery shells, and part on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, was visible for 35 miles, and it attracted hundreds of people to the scene. Flames and smoke leaped 400 feet into the air almost immediately; about 2 hours after the wreck the shells began to explode, and continued to explode for two hours. Shell fragments, casings, bags of powder, and some unexploded shells were scattered over the area. One shell landed near the depot, about a half mile away. Two crewmen were injured. It appeared that a brake beam on one of the cars had broken and was dragged along the track until it caught in a switch from a siding in town. Source: Pilot Grove Centennial book The Otterville 1948 collision of two Missouri Pacific trains left 12 passages and 2 Pullman employees dead, and 32 passengers and six crewmen injured. One train was creeping through a blinding snowstorm, at about 20 mile an hour, when the second train rammed into it. The trains were bound from Saint Louis to Kansas City. The accident happened two miles west of Syracuse, MO. Film Director Frank Ryan, his wife and three children died, as did the Ambassador to Spain and Argentina, Alexander Weddell and his wife also lost their lives. Source: Carolyn Aggelar THE RAILROADS BROUGHT PEOPLE TO COOPER COUNTY, AND ALSO MAY HAVE HELPED THEM MOVE AWAY Railroads have been credited with helping towns prosper and grow, and also may have led to the eventual demise of many Cooper County towns. Trains were especially helpful in moving animals and grain to major markets like St. Louis and Kansas City, plus allowing passengers to comfortably travel to where they wanted to go. Trains were a major travel improvement over stage coaches, wagons, or a horse and buggy. The change from rail travel to gasoline vehicles, started the decline of railroads. By the early 1920’s, transportation by train was being replaced by trucks and cars, which were faster and provided a more convenient, comfortable, and a direct way to travel. This change from rail travel to gasoline vehicles, plus the depression, caused area populations to dramatically decrease, as people moved closer to towns that were larger, had more shopping opportunities, still had trains, and/or offered more job opportunities with higher pay. Once cars and trucks became popular in the 1920’s, most trains were rerouted from going through the center of towns, to either bypass the towns, or were eliminated altogether. This was a big blow to farmers who depended on trains to haul their grain and cattle to major shipping points, such as At. Louis or Kansas City, and also eliminated passengers who had no other means of traveling from one city to another. The railroad business declined dramatically by the mid-1930’s. This led to the closing of Boonville’s Tipton-Versailles Branch line, and the Katy continued to cut back service despite the building of the new lift span bridge over the Missouri River in 1932. The hope that the lift span bridge would bring more business to Cooper County did not become a reality. Towns once serviced by trains that have almost, or totally disappeared, are: Petersburg, Vermont, Prairie Lick, Harriston, and Pleasant Green. It is interesting to see how the population of Cooper County increased and decreased with the advent of the railroads which covered much of the County. The railroads have been credited with helping towns prosper and grow, and also may have led to their eventual demise. When populations declined, the number of post offices did too. You will notice that many of the early, small Cooper County towns were named after a local grain mill, many of which were located on the Petite Saline River. Red = Missouri Pacific Orange = Osage Valley Green = Tebo/Neosho Blue = River Route This is the Union Pacific coal train #6040 going east through Boonville from the west on Feb. 5th, 2015 at 9:50 AM. It came from the coal fields in Colorado. We don't see as many of them here these days. They are using other sources of fuel nowadays in the power plants. This train does not stop in Boonville A hobo heating up his lunch on the MK&T Railroad. Circa 1890's by Max Schmidt Old Team Track unloading wheat in box car on 2nd street Boonville circa 1920's. From the Wayne Lammers collection. Union Pacific RR spur at Boonville, August 1998, long before the existence of the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel. By Wayne Lammers Union Pacific siding at Boonville circa 1978. Photo by Wayne Lammers. RAILROAD BRIDGES OVER THE MISSOURI RIVER In 1869, people began talking about building a railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Boonville, but it was not until 1870 that steps were taken to build one. Once the Tebo and Neosho railroad was turned over to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad, a charter was obtained for the building of the bridge, plus with an act of Congress, the building began is 1872. The bridge was completed in January, 1874. The first bridge was a swing-span bridge which was replaced a few years later by a lift-span bridge, which is the type that still stands. First image of the Boonville MK&T RR Bridge from the 1870's. From the Wayne Lammers collection Third Katy Bridge in 1880 First Katy Bridge Katy Bridge 1950's Todd Baslee climbing the Katy South Tower of the Boonville Katy Bridge. Photo by Wayne Lammers October 14, 2004 View from under the Katy Bridge View from on the river, looking west The bridges of Boonville Hot air balloon over Boonville Katy Railroad bridge circa 1980s. Photo by Wayne Lammers. Katy Railroad Bridge at sunset by Wayne Lammers, March 20 2014, at 5:58 pm. This is the Rocheport Bridge in Boone County with the Katy railroad below. Photographer unknown, October 8, 1960. Source: Farm Alarm REMEMBERING KATY CROSSINGS Kids from the west side of town crossed the Katy Railroad tracks on an unprotected path from Haller Street to Kemper, and on Spring and Morgan Streets, near the Katy Depot, at crossings protected by bright flashing red lights and loud warning bells, sometimes we counted 100 cars as we waited. Even though tragedy struck at Morgan Street in 1953, some still caught a short ride from Spring to Haller on the ladder of a slow-moving boxcar as a long train lumbered southwest up Lard Hill. The busy Katy bridge across the Missouri River provided crossings for Katy trains carrying freight from near St. Louis to Galveston, and for boys from Boonville carrying .22 rifles to the sloughs and sand bars along the north shore to shoot cans and bottles. Crossings by the latter were sometimes sanctioned and sometimes stealthy, depending on the operator on duty in the shanty on the Boonville side. There was no walkway, and if you were caught on the bridge by a train, it was loud and shaky holding onto a beam as the train roared past. My friend Kenny and I tried another crossing method, riding his motorcycle across from the north approach. Bump-bump, bump-bump, bump-bump across the ties. No trains came. The operator in the shanty just shook his head as we passed. He didn’t need to tell us not to do it again. By: Wayne Lammers Last train to cross the Boonville KATY bridge. Video by Wayne Lammers KATY BRIDGE DEDICATION Visitors' side of Katy Bridge Gov. Jay Nixon came to Boonville to help save The Katy Railroad Bridge. From the Wayne Lammers collection Old MKT Caboose Ribbon Cutting of the Katy Bridge on April 2, 2016 Governor Jay Nixon and Ann Betteridge Katy Trail Bikers crossing the USA on Trails. June 23, 2012. Photo by Wayne Lammers K A TY BRIDGE REOPENING CELEBRATED DURING BOONVILLE CEREMONY By Rudi Keller / rjkeller@columbiatribune.com | 815-1709 Posted Apr 3, 2016 at 12:01 AM BOONVILLE -- When the last train crossed the MKT Railroad bridge at Boonville in May 1986, Dennis Huff was the engineer and he called his friend Wayne Lammers to record it. The five-minute video explores the 1932 bridge and shows the 408-foot lift span in the up position, then cuts to the locomotive, with Huff hanging his arm out the window, as it approaches and passes. The 16 tanker, gondola and hopper cars pass within a few inches of the camera lens. On Saturday, Huff, Lammers and hundreds of others from Boonville and beyond returned to the bridge to celebrate its resurrection as part of the Katy Trail State Park. “It is nice to see a piece of history be preserved and put to some useful purpose,” Huff said before the festivities began. During the short ceremony, Gov. Jay Nixon was praised as the savior of the bridge by former Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, who in turn was dubbed Mayor of the Katy Trail by Boonville Mayor Julie Thacher. Nixon was attorney general in 2005 when then-Gov. Matt Blunt approved plans for the Union Pacific Railroad to dismantle the bridge for use as a second span at the Osage River for its line south of the Missouri River. Nixon took “the unusual and extremely brave step of suing the governor to set aside the decision,” Hindman told the gathering. Nixon argued the bridge was part of the deal that transferred the rail line to the state for trail use in 1990. The lawsuit ultimately was unsuccessful, but it delayed demolition until after Nixon became governor in 2009. Union Pacific’s second span at the Osage River was built with federal stimulus funds, and the Boonville bridge was deeded to the state . “This is really a fun day for me,” Nixon said before crossing the bridge with his wife Georgeanne Nixon. “I am not as excited about suing governors as I used to be,” he joked. Saturday’s ceremony celebrated the first phase of the bridge rehabilitation, costing about $900,000 and financed with a combination of private donations, city revenue and federal block grant funds. Visitors can walk about a third of the way across the river for views up- and downstream and a close-up look at the lift span. The next two phases are to complete a similar walkway on the Howard County side and, eventually, finish the crossing by putting the lift span into regular operation, said Paula Shannon, executive director of the Katy Bridge Coalition. The project cost is estimated to be $3.4 million. The ceremony brought many former residents back to Boonville to be part of the crowd of about 400 who attended the ceremony. “It is like going to a class reunion, almost,” Shannon said. The MKT’s days were numbered when Huff guided his locomotive over the river on May 23, 1986. The railroad had been in on-and-off merger negotiations with the Union Pacific for several years. A flood in October 1986 knocked the line north of the Missouri River out of commission. it was abandoned after the merger was approved by federal regulators. The state acquired the line under federal rail banking laws, and the trail now extends for 240 miles from Machens in St. Charles County to Clinton in Henry County. Because the bridge was left in the up position after it ceased being used, trail traffic goes over the river on a walkway attached to the Highway 40 bridge. The completion of the first phase is the realization of a dream, Lammers said. “It is a glorious day,” Lammers said. “It is one we have been working toward for years and years.” COOPER COUNTY’S LESSER-KNOWN CABOOSE Most of us have seen the beautifully restored KATY caboose which is parked on the short rails in front of the Chamber of Commerce building in Boonville. It is a beautifully-preserved reminder of the days when trains were the best way to travel and move agricultural goods to market. However, there is another caboose in Cooper County that represents the small town of Bunceton, that was once a very busy stop on the Osage Valley Railroad. It stands on a short railroad track next to the Kelly Township building, which was built to look like a train Depot. Inside the caboose is a museum. Here is a brief history of this caboose, shared by Gerald Ulrich, who was the Mayor of Bunceton from 1980 until 2006. The Cooper County Sheriff, Harvey Bunce, learned that a railroad would be built between Boonville and Versailles. He immediately purchased the land where the planned railroad would run. The town that received the train route was later named Bunceton, after Mr. Bunce. Many years later the Osage Valley Railroad was sold to the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Mr. Ulrich thought that if a caboose could be placed in Bunceton, it could be used as a museum. He contacted the Missouri Pacific Railroad to see if a caboose could be acquired. Missouri Pacific agreed to donate a caboose and donate it to the Chamber of Commerce. After making many connections with area groups the deal was done. Several area groups started working to get donations to pay for the concrete slab, and two trucks to haul the caboose. Riley Rock Quarries donated the trucks and trailers, and two giant cranes to lift the caboose onto the concrete slab. They also donated the fuel used for the haul and the drivers donated their time. It was a dangerous trip as there were several high wires that the caboose had to pass under. However, everything went without a hitch! The trickiest part was to haul all that weight over an old bridge, but that too worked perfectly. The city is proud of the fact that they raised the funds needed for this project and did not go into debt for moving the caboose, or for the new city hall. This was a wonderful community project. WHAT IS A CABOOSE? Although rarely seen on a train today, a caboose was always the last car on a train. The caboose served as a trainman’s “home away from home”. Since most trains ran on 12-hour shifts, the caboose was where the men ate their meals (brought from home) and slept. At one time it also served as the Engineer’s office. It is interesting to note that a caboose is an American invention, and never really caught on in Europe. On the top of the caboose was a cupula. This was a raised box surrounded by windows so that the tracks could be observed in all directions by looking through the windows above the roof of the train. As trains became more mechanically controlled, the need for the cupula to see the tracks hazards was replaced by a strange word for a strange railroad car, that somehow survived for more than a hundred years, from the days of oil burning lamps into the computer age. The origins of both the car and the word, are surrounded as much by legend as by fact. One popular version dates the word back to a derivation of the Dutch word "kombuis," which referred to a ship's galley. Use of cabooses began in the 1830s, when railroads housed trainmen in shanties built onto boxcars or flatcars. Even in the United States, technological change began eliminating the need for cabooses before the turn of the century. The spread in the 1880s of the automatic air brake system invented by George Westinghouse, eliminated the need for brakemen to manually set brakes. The air brakes soon were followed by the use of electric track circuits to activate signals, providing protection for trains and eliminating the need for flagmen. Friction bearings were replaced by roller bearings, reducing overheated journals and making visual detection by smoke an unlikely event. Trains became longer, making it difficult for the conductor to see the entire train from the caboose, and freight cars became so high that they blocked the view from the traditional cupola. The increasing heaviness and speed of the trains made on-board cooking hazardous and unnecessary. New labor agreements reduced the hours of service required for train crews and eliminated the need for cabooses as lodging. Cabooses, when used at all, were drawn from "pools" and no longer assigned to individual conductors. Eventually, electronic "hotbox" and dragging equipment detectors, which would check moving trains more efficiently and reliably than men in cabooses, were installed along main lines, and computers eliminated the conductors' need to store and track paperwork in the car. Source: Union Pacific A Brief History of the Caboose

EARLY CHURCHES Very early church. Notice two entrance doors – one for men, one for women. Segregated seating divided by a wall. Drawing by Florence "Winky" Friedrichs Adapted from “Discover Cooper County” by Ann Betteridge The settlement of the County and the organization of the first churches took place at the same time. Throughout the centuries, missionaries often accompanied the first advance of civilization, and such was their coming in Cooper County. The first Americans who rushed into the Boonslick area were predominantly Protestant, and it was a race between the Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians. Later, by steamboat, came the Episcopalians, the German Catholics and Evangelicals. By arriving in family or neighborhood groups from various “Old Countries,” they continued their old community in the new. The pioneer considered his church to be of primary importance. When a new settlement was established, a church would usually be organized. The pioneers lived humble lives and many practiced their faith each day. The early churches were held in the people’s homes, which were log cabins and huts. The early preachers preached the same gospel that is preached today in huge magnificent buildings. They had a faith that was earnest and simple like that of the early Christians. An interesting story about an early minister named Reverend Pennywell Peter Woods, who was one of the first ministers of Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, organized in 1820 just north of Bunceton. He grew up as a Presbyterian, believing Baptists were unworthy of respect from honorable and high-minded persons. His brother joined the Baptists, disgracing the family. Peter read the New Testament to learn about the true church and the true baptism, placing a red string at each mention of sprinkling and a blue string for each mention of immersion in the Bible. All the strings were blue and he threw his Bible down in disgust. But soon he was a pioneer itinerant Baptist preacher. It is not known when Peter first visited the Boonslick. Samuel Cole, the youngest son of Hannah Cole, stated the first preacher in the area was Peter Woods, and the Cole family history states that Peter Woods conducted the first worship service on the south side of the river in Hannah Cole’s cabin in 1811 . THE FIRST ORDAINED BAPTIST MINISTER IN COOPER COUNTY Luke Williams was the first ordained Baptist minister in Cooper County. He preached without fee or reward as the early settlers had nothing with which to pay him. Cooper County was little more than a wild territory. He used to say, “I need no money to travel among brethren and friends.” He traveled on foot over a large part of the territory when visiting the members. When he was not engaged in preaching, he supported himself and his family by working on his farm. An early settler recalled a church meeting he had attended before statehood, at which Luke Williams was the minister. Luke Williams was dressed in a complete set of buckskin clothes. Many of the worshipers were likewise attired. The lady was new to the area, having just moved there from North Carolina. The appearance of the congregation so upset her that she cried during the entire service. Also, at the service, grease from bear meat stored in the loft of the house where they were worshiping, dripped down and spoiled her shawl. At that time, in the wilderness, the shawl could not be replaced. THE FIRST CHURCHES IN COOPER COUNTY In 1817 , the first church building in the County was built. It was named Concord Church, and was located about six miles south of Boonville near Bunceton. It was a Baptist Church and the first minister to preach there was Luke Williams. Later, Luke Williams was pastor of Mt. Nebo Baptist Church from 1820-1823 . When he died, the church members gratefully provided for his widow. About the same time, in the same area, a small group of Baptists were meeting in various homes. Eventually, in 1837 , the Vine Church was constructed across the road from the Concord Church. The Concord Church and the Vine Church merged in 1847 . The Church celebrated their Centennial anniversary in 1917 , and disbanded in 1919 . The cemetery is still there, but no trace of either church remains. Other early church congregations that were founded were: 1818 Nelson Memorial United Methodist – Boonville 1819 Pisgah Baptist – Pisgah 1820 Cumberland Presbyterian – New Lebanon 1820 Mt. Nebo Baptist – Pilot Grove 1821 First Presbyterian – Boonville 1821 Otterville Presbyterian Church – Otterville The Nelson Memorial Church was the first Methodist Church in the Western Conference in Missouri, and held the very first religious service in Boonville in 1817 . It built its third church at the same location in 1915 . Early churches were held in homes until sufficient funds were raised and the actual church could be built. Most of the early churches were built from logs, similar to the way early homes were built. Later, many churches were also built from wood, but the logs still had to be cut, sawed into planks and smoothed with planes - all by hand. Some were built using bricks that were usually made on site. Building a church without modern tools was a true labor of love. Often, churches also served as early schools until rural one-room schools became available. Sadly, many of the early churches are gone without a trace of where they had once been. Some were torn down and a new one built, and if the congregation dwindled down in size, or a new church, closer to town claimed the congregation, the original church was abandoned or used for another purpose. A few churches were damaged or destroyed during the Civil War. Abandoned churches were often torn down and the materials used elsewhere by thrifty settlers, leaving no trace as to where the church had been. Some churches were destroyed by tornadoes or lightning, and others by fires. Churches then and now were not without serious disagreements between the members. The Mt. Nebo church was very prosperous until about 1826 , when there arose a division due to a difference of opinion on the question of paying ministers and sending missionaries among the “heathen” nations. After considerable excitement, and several stormy meetings, the two factions separated. John B. Longan, who was leader of the faction who favored paying the ministers and sending abroad missionaries, drew off a large majority of the members of the congregation, and built a church at Henry Woolery's mill, which was called "New Nebo” Church. The opposing faction continued in possession of "Old Nebo” Church," and still holds services. There seems to be no record of what happened to the “New Nebo” Church. The Civil War caused divisions within the churches. Many of the early parishioners were originally from the South and favored secession, while others strongly favored staying with the Union. Many churches did not hold services during the Civil War as members feared for their safety. Small towns flourished during the heyday of railroads, but once the railroads left the area or bypassed the towns, businesses closed, populations moved and the membership of churches suffered a reduced number of parishioners. Several of the early churches in Cooper County were founded by German immigrants. It was very common for these immigrants to conduct their services and teach their schools in German only. This changed quickly once World War I started. It is wonderful that so many of the early County churches are still in existence, and that they are still ministering to the needs of their parishioners. (See chart below for church name, date of founding, when the latest church was built, if it is still active, the location, plus if a church is associated with a cemetery (If the congregation built more than one church, the most recent date is listed.) Unfortunately, dates of the construction of a 2nd or third church seem to vary, depending upon which early history book you read. Founding dates are believed to be fairly accurate. Also, many of the records of the early churches, and some not so early, are cannot be found. If a church no longer exists, it is not listed. LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES & Their History Name, location, date established and cemetery, church information and records: Cooper County Churches General Information on Townships and Old Cooper County Churches BLACKWATER TOWNSHIP Town Blackwater Churches Blackwater Church of Christ - 307 Scott Ave. 660-846-2821 Blackwater United Methodist Church - Established 1887, Not Active BOONVILLE TOWNSHIP Towns Boonville Windsor Place Unincorporated town: Billingsville Churches Christ Episcopal Church – Established 1835, Active, No cemetery First Baptist Church – Established 1843, Active, No cemetery First Christian Church D.O.C. – Established 1887, Active, No cemetery First Presbyterian Church – Established 1821, Active, No cemetery Morgan Street Baptist – Established 1865, Active, No cemetery Mt. Hermon Baptist Church – Established 1868, 13394 B Hwy. Active, Cemetery Nelson Memorial Methodist Church – Established 1817 Active, No cemetery St. Johns United Church of Christ Billingsville – Established 1855, Active, Cemetery St. Mathew AME Church – Established, Active, No cemetery Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church – Established 1851, Active, Cemetery West Boonville Evangelical Church – Established 1893, Not Active, Cemetery CLARK’S FORK TOWNSHIP Unincorporated towns: Clark’s Fork and Lone Elm Churches Zion Lutheran Church – Lone Elm. Established 1896, Active, Has Cemetery Trinity Lutheran Church – Clark’s Fork. Established 1863, Active, Has Cemetery CLEAR CREEK Unincorporated Towns C lear Creek Pleasant Green Churches Pleasant Green Methodist Church – Established 1825, Active; Cemetery St John’s Catholic Church Clear Creek – Established 1850, Active; Cemetery KELLY TOWNSHIP Town Bunceton Link to general information Churches Federated Church of Bunceton – Established 1871, Active, No Cemetery Bunceton Baptist Church – Established 1887, Active, No Cemetery Bunceton United Presbyterian Church – Established 1860, Active, No Cemetery 5 additional cemeteries listed – Chilton, Hopewell, Howard, Masonic and Woods. LAMINE TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Town Lamine Churches Old Lamine Church of Christ – Established 1843, Active, Large cemetery Douglas Weekley-660-621-1167 Peninsula Baptist Church – Established 1873, Active, Large Cemetery Other Cemeteries William Henry Ashley – Burial Site (where the Lamine and Missouri rivers meet) ; Herndon Family Cemetery , Higgerson Family Cemetery , Hoke Family Cemetery , Samuel McMahan Family Cemetery , Thomas McMahan, Jr. Family Cemetery , Thomas McMahan, Sr. Family Cemetery Schuster Family Cemetery , Turley Family Cemetery LEBANON TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Town New Lebanon Churches New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church – Established in 1820. Stopped holding services in 1968. A cemetery is associated with this church Cemeteries New Lebanon Cemetery Additional Information Cooper County MoGenWeb Cooper County MoGenWeb Chapter 4 NORTH MONITEAU TOWNSHIP Unincorporated town Pisgah No map exists, but Pisgah is on Missouri Route O, 8 miles east of Bunceton Churches Pisgah Baptist Church – organized June 19, 1818, present building erected 1926 – Active membership Pisgah Baptist Cemetery nearby South Moniteau Township Overview MoGenWeb Pisgah Baptist Church Missouri Gravestones SOUTH MONITEAU TOWNSHIP No towns No churches Cemeteries Renshaw Smiley OTTERVILLE TOWNSHIP Town Otterville-First called Elkton, organized in 1836 Unincorporated town Clifton City Churches Otterville Methodist Episcopal Church South – organized in 1869 Active; No Cemetery First Baptist Church of Otterville – organized in 1866 , Active, No cemetery Otterville Presbyterian Church – organized in 1882 , Active, No cemetery St. Joseph’s Catholic Church – Clifton City – established in 1882 , Active, Cemetery More information about Otterville Presbyterian Church Other cemetery Shackleford PALESTINE TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Towns Speed Bellair Churches Bellair Methodist Church – established 1860, Not Active, No cemetery Speed Bethel A.M.E. Church – organized 1887, Not active, No cemetery Speed Union Church – organized 1891, Active, No cemetery Concord Baptist Church – established 1817, Disbanded 1919 – demolished. Earliest church in Cooper County – Large Cemetery Other Cemeteries Briscoe Cemetery on Highway 5 – Monument to Hannah Cole, first woman settler in Cooper County Tuscumbia Free Will Baptist Cemetery – located near Ravenswood on a locked property – Charlie Leonard has to unlock it. Other Family cemeteries: Eweing Family, Lowery Family, Charlie Leonard has to unlock the gate. Waller Family Cemetery PILOT GROVE TOWNSHIP Towns Pilot Grove Chouteau Springs – extinct town Churches Mt. Nebo Baptist Church – established 1820. Located 3 miles northeast of New Lebanon Active; Cemetery associated with this church Pilot Grove Baptist Church – organized in 1876, Not Active, No Cemetery Saint Joseph Catholic Church – organized in 1883, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church – organized 1866, Active, Cemetery is associated with this church One church with 4 name changes: St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church – 1873 St. Paul Evangelical and Reformed Church St. Paul United Church of Christ : Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage and Death records located at this site Pilot Grove Community Church – Active, Cemetery associated with this church Other Cemeteries – Mount Vernon, Pleasant Hill, Saint Joseph, Saint Martin’s in Chouteau Springs PRAIRIE HOME TOWNSHIP Town Prairie Home Churches Prairie Home United Methodist 544 Hwy. – Dr. 660-841-5226 Unincorporated towns organized 1881, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Prairie Home Baptist Church – organized 1890s, Active, No Cemetery St. Peter’s United Church of Christ – organized 1877, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church – year established, unknown. Disbanded 2019, still standing. Cemetery is associated with this church 5 Additional Cemeteries – Ellis, Harris, New Salem, Providence and Robison SALINE TOWNSHIP Towns Wooldridge Overton Pleasant Grove Churches Wooldridge Baptist Church – organized 1900, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Pleasant Grove Lutheran church – was organized 1855, Active, Cemetery associated with this church St. Peters Pleasant Grove – organized 1848 Active, Cemetery associated with this church REFERENCES: Church Histories TRAVELING MISSIONARIES AND CIRCUIT RIDERS Before there were churches and ministers, and when weather permitted, a traveling missionary would preach to the settlements. People would come in wagons or by foot to hear the message of God. This would also be a time to exchange the news and visit with others. “Brush arbors,” where protracted meetings would be held, were assembled from branches of trees for shade from the hot sun. The meetings would sometimes last for hours and lead to the organization of a permanent church. Later, when funds were available, churches would be built. Revivals would be held in the summer, fall, or spring. At this time many new members were added to the church. The Revivals sometimes lasted for several days. The traveling missionaries, often called “Circuit Riders” would travel on foot or on horseback, stopping at homes as they went. This was a very strenuous and hard life and many of the circuit riders died in their 30’s or early 40’s. They were dependent on food and shelter at the homes that welcomed them, and in the early days of Cooper County, homes were few and far between. They were subject to bad weather, getting lost on the open prairie and had no protection from those who would cause them harm or rob them. In later years, Revivals or Camp Meetings were held in tents, but the goal was always bringing folks back to or into the church. Pilot Grove Township was distinguished in the early years by the number and variety of camp meetings which were held there. The Presbyterians and Methodists were rivals for the honor of conducting the biggest and best camp meeting each year. People attended from great distances, as it was a social event as well as a religious one. Methodist Circuit Riders Methodism became prominent in Missouri in the early 1800’s through “circuit riders” who were lone preachers on horseback who spread the Word of God to rural settlers, and relied on these same settlers for food and shelter. These early preachers had no church or congregation of their own, as all preachers were itinerants. Their circuits were of varied sizes, depending on the number of settlers in their circuit area. In the new Territory of Missouri, on the south side of the Missouri River, their circuits were very large, and it usually took the preacher about six weeks to complete. The circuits varied from 200 to 600 miles. Circuit Riders were usually young, single men with an agricultural or artisan background. They could read and write, but were normally not well educated. However, when they felt called to preach, they received a course of study in the Bible, the Methodist Hymnal, and were well versed in the theology of John Wesley. They were paid a salary of $80 per year. They had to supply their own horse, saddle and bridle and all their clothing. Some complained that the food they received was poor and they often had to sleep on the floor of a shed. But, homes at that time were very small and already crowded. In 1816 there were only eight preachers to cover the entire area that was to later become the state of Missouri. They ministered to those who lived on scattered farms or in small villages that would be unable to support a full-time minister. If possible, the circuit rider preached every day in what ever building was large enough – barns, taverns, homes, under trees or in “brush arbors. They often started as early as 5 AM in the summer so that farmers could get out to the fields to work, or were done in the evening after farming work was done. Wherever there were enough people in an area, the preacher would start a class and appoint a lay person to conduct classes in order to keep the people together until the circuit rider made his rounds and returned. These classes became a basis for a new church to be established. The preacher was not looking for Methodists, he was looking for anyone who wanted to hear the word of God and eventually become a Methodist. Camp meetings and revivals were held at least once each year and often lasted for week. People would come from miles away for these revivals and a for a chance to meet friends they had not seen for a year or more. Many new members to the church would be added at this time, plus weddings and baptisms performed. “Sermons were practical, moral, and dramatic. Methodist doctrine fit well with the spirit of the frontier. The emphasis of free will, and grace, unlike to the limited grace and predestination preached by the Presbyterians and Baptists appealed to those independent souls who had moved to the frontier and who felt They were in control of their destiny”. (1) Boonville was incorporated into a circuit in 1818 by a local preacher, Justinian Williams, and by 1840 became a station and became the second largest in the state of Missouri. Stops for the early circuit riders included Boonville, Pilot Grove and a German settlement 12 miles south of Boonville. Reference: Circuit Riders to Crusades by John O. Gooch, Ph.D. Circuit Riders to Crusades pages 10, 11 Baptists During the first five years of settlement in this area most services were held in homes by a passing missionary or circuit rider. In 1815 , Luke Williams, who later preached at Concord and Mt. Nebo, held services at Hannah Cole’s Fort. He was born in Virginia, in 1776 , and settled in Cooper County in 1816 . The other missionary who preached in the Fort was James Savage. Both of these men were of the Baptist denomination, which was the prevailing one in early Cooper County. In early Boonville, Missouri, there was no "German Church" where first- and second-generation immigrants could worship in the custom familiar to the then fewer than forty families who had migrated Westward during the early 1800's. In 1849 two German circuit riders, the Reverends Rauschenbach and Kroenke, were in Boonville on a regular but infrequent basis for the Evangelical United Church of Christ. Then, in 1850 , the Rev. Hoffmeister, an Evangelical minister serving Moniteau County, agreed to conduct services twice a month at Boonville. His ministry at Boonville was brought about as a result of the amount of $250 annually provided by the Presbyterian Church Mission Board's decision to support a church for their German friends. New Lebanon The Cumberland Presbyterian Church of New Lebanon established a seminary in that trained young men to become circuit riders and ministers EARLY CHURCH DISCIPLINE The discipline of the early church was strict. Instances of discipline involved: card playing, drinking liquors in excess, fights between members (pulling off their coats in an “affray”), marriage troubles, dishonesty in horse trading, making false statements against the pastor and non-attendance at church. No servant or servants were allowed to sell beer, cakes, cider, melons, or anything of that kind within one mile of the church. Churches were affected by the Civil War. Some churches were destroyed or burned, and congregations had to work together to heal the wounds of war. The healing in most cases came slowly. Black members, who had before worshiped with the white members (blacks were forced to sit in the back of the church building), formed their own churches and cemeteries. Some of the early churches had two entrance doors. Some also had a partition through the center section of the building separating the men and women so there would be no “distractions” during worship. BAPTISMS Some of the churches conducted baptismal services at a nearby creek. After the Sunday morning service, the congregation would go to a nearby creek and after a service of prayer and singing at the water’s edge, the pastor immersed the candidate for baptism. An amusing incident was told in connection with an early baptismal service. A crowd of people had gathered on the banks of the stream where the baptism was to take place. Simons climbed up a small sapling which stood on the edge of the creek. John Hutchison, thinking that this would be a fine opportunity to have some fun, took out his pocket knife and began cutting away on the little tree where it was bent over by the viewer’s weight. Lower and lower bent the tree but the victim was so interested in the baptism he did not notice what was happening. At last the tree was cut in two and Simons fell into the water with a loud splash. The crowd laughed so long and loud that the minister almost dismissed the crowd, but finally they became quiet and the service was finished. Although the church was noted for its strictness, this illustration shows the members could also enjoy a good laugh. The grasshopper invasion of 1875 caused much concern. Tuesday, May 18th, of that year was set aside as a day of prayer to God for his blessings upon the local churches and the nation in the removing of the insects that were devastating the land. People from different churches met together on that day to pray. CHURCH PROGRAMS WERE SUCCESSFUL Churches began to have Sunday Schools in the early 1900 ’s. At this time the women of the churches were forming missionary and prayer societies and they began to become active in their churches’ programs. Vacation Bible School started in the 1930 ’s and 1940 ’s. Many people in the county reflect with happiness upon their experiences at Bible School. Many of the churches in the County continue to have Bible Schools each summer. Some of the churches have a day each week set aside for church instruction. Three churches in Cooper County have their own church school. A history of these schools can be found in the website section on schools. RESOURCES: LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES in Cooper County Name, location, date established and church information and records: A list of churches will come up. Click on the one you wish to read about and watch for a blue arrow in the upper right had corner. If you do not see the arrow, click again. If you wish to study several churches, close the one you were just looking at and click on a new name. Resources at the CCHS Research Center – (listed in genealogy section of this website) List of all Cooper County Churches we have information on in our files list of all church history books at the Center List of all church Centennial books “Cooper County Church Sketches” by Florence Chesnutt available at CCHS Research Center for only $9 Map of Churches in Church Sketches At one time there were three Black churches in Boonville: Sixth Street Church, which has been razed, Saint Mathew’s A.M.E. Church (1881 ) and Morgan Street Baptist (1865 ). Pisgah also had a Black church which was formed after the Civil War. Prior to the war Blacks and Whites worshiped together. There is a small Black Church near Prairie Home (Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church) which was disbanded in 2019 . Resources : LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES in Cooper County Name, location, date established and church information and records: Missouri Genealogical Website Church Records in Cooper County A list of churches will come up. Click on the one you wish to read about and watch for a blue arrow in the upper right had corner. If you do not see the arrow, click again. If you wish to study several churches, close the one you were just looking at and click on a new name. Resources at the CCHS Research Center – (listed in genealogy section of this website): List of all Cooper County Churches we have information on in our files: List of all church history books at the CCHS Center List of all church Centennial books “Cooper County Church Sketches” by Florence Chesnutt available CCHS Research Center $9 See below – History of some of the oldest Cooper County churches and a Tour Map Winki Book.pdf

20TH CENTURY WARS PARTIAL TIMELINE 1938 : The (U.S.) Naval Reserve Act permitted the enlistment of qualified women as nurses. 1942 : The Women's Reserve of the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve program (officially nicknamed the "SPARs"), was first established in 1942. 1942 : YN3 Dorothy Tuttle became the first SPAR enlistee when she enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve on the 7th of December, 1942. 1942 : The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was authorized by the U.S Congress in July 1942 to relieve male Marines for combat duty in World War II. 1942 : U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on 30 July 1942. 1942 : The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded. 1942 : The name of the U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially changed to Women's Army Corps (WAC). 1943 : The U.S. Women's Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the Army Air Forces as "Air WACs." 1944 : Public Law 238 granted full military rank to members of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps , who were then all women. Source: Wikipedia MEXICAN EXPOSITION In 1916 , Pancho Villa, a Mexican bandit, made a raid into New Mexico. General John J. Pershing, of the United States Army, led a force to capture him. Troops from the U.S. tried to find him but failed. Company B, 3rd Infantry of the National Guard from Cooper County went to help in the capture of Villa. This included 67 men under the leadership of Capt. R A. Johnston. They were called to Federal service June 18, 1916. Because of the outbreak of World War I, they had to return. Pancho Villa was never captured. THE KOREAN WAR (1950 ) The Korean War was the first war in history when troops of a world organization, the United Nations, acted as “police” to fight a nation who was attacking another nation. The war began on June 25, 1950 , when troops of Communist-ruled North Korea attacked South Korea in an attempt to unify the country by force. The United Nation Charter had outlawed all aggression so the United Nations asked member countries to aid South Korea. Sixteen countries, who were members of the U.N., sent troops and aid to South Korea. Russia aided the North Koreans by supplying guns, ammunition, planes, and equipment. Communist Chinese forces also entered the war on the side of North Korea. The war ended on July 27, 1953 , when both sides agreed to settle the problems of Korea at an international conference. Several Cooper County men served in the Korean War. KOREAN WAR WEBPAGES HISTORY CHANNEL BRITTANICA IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS UNITED STATES ARMY DIGITAL HISTORY NATIONAL ARCHIVES THE ATLANTIC KOREAN WAR PROJECT EISENHOWER LIBRARY TRUMAN LIRARY NAVY HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS VIETNAM CONFLICT North Vietnam wanted to conquer South Vietnam. Again, Cooper County men served their country. VIETNAM WAR WEBPAGES PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS GULF WAR Iraq took over Kuwait. Kuwait was a major oil supplier to the United States. The war was mainly fought to protect the Persian oil fields. Troops from Cooper County served in the Gulf. GULF WAR WEBPAGES PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS Central Missouri Honor Flights The Central Missouri Honor Flight is a non-profit 501c (3) organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. The group transports our heroes from throughout Central Missouri to Washington, D.C., to visit and reflect at their memorials at no cost to them. Since their inception in 2009 , they have transported thousands of veterans to Washington on 61 flights. Top priority is given to senior veterans – WWII survivors, along with other veterans of Korea and Vietnam who may be terminally ill. They are a totally volunteer organization and are funded by donations from individuals, organizations and businesses who wish to see our aging veterans honored before it is too late. Of all the wars in recent memory, it was WWII that truly threatened our very existence as a nation and free society. Now, with more than 640 WWII veterans dying each day, time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out. The picture is of Kathy Wilkerson, a registered nurse from Pilot Grove, who has volunteered for 19 Honor Flights. She is serving here as a Guardian for Kathy Griggs who served as a Marine in the Viet Nam War. The last Honor Flight out of Columbia was in November of 2019 . They did no Honor Flights in 2020 due to COVID, and flights are currently suspended for 2021 . WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Over the years, women have served their country in various ways in the military. Many were nurses, some were doctors, and some were spies, but until the beginning of the Second World War women were rarely active in the military and were not considered to be enlisted, so they were not eligible for any military benefits. But, during the early days of World War II, with many men being called into the Armed Services, women who had never worked before went to work taking men’s places in factories and business, and some into the actual armed services in minor roles. Wikipedia has excellent information on how each military branch accepted women and the various jobs that they did. Especially interesting is information on women pilots who flew the new planes to the airports where they would be then flown into battle by Navy and Airforce pilots. The women had excellent safety records. Unfortunately, women pilots and other women in the Armed Services did not receive the same benefits of the enlisted men, but this has now been changed. “ Hello Girls ” 8 female soldiers who changed the course of US ... - Army Times Partial timeline from Wikipedia 1938 : The (U.S.) Naval Reserve Act permitted the enlistment of qualified women as nurses. 1942 : The Women's Reserve of the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve program (officially nicknamed the "SPARs"), was first established in 1942. 1942 : YN3 Dorothy Tuttle became the first SPAR enlistee when she enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve on the 7th of December, 1942. 1942 : The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was authorized by the U.S Congress in July 1942 to relieve male Marines for combat duty in World War II. 1942 : U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on 30 July 1942. 1942 : The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded. 1942 : The name of the U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially changed to Women's Army Corps (WAC). 1943 : The U.S. Women's Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the Army Air Forces as "Air WACs." 1944 : Public Law 238 granted full military rank to members of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps , who were then all women. Information for each Branch of the Military that women have been, and are now members of: WAC - Woman’s Army Core WAVES - Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service WASP - Women’s Air Force Service Pilots SPARS - United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve MILITARY MUSEUMS If you have an ancestor who was in a military unit, there are over 250 military museums in the US that you can access online, or in person, to learn more about the unit and possibly even your ancestor(s). There are probably more military museums in the US than you can visit in a lifetime. Just google the branch of service and the state, and you will find tons of information. Below are the military museums in Missouri. Also check all of the military resources under the genealogy section at the beginning of the research section on this website. MISSOURI MILITARY MUSEUMS Jefferson Barracks - 345 North Road, St. Louis, MO 63125 Phone: 314-615-8800 Soldiers Memorial Museum - 5700 Lindell Blvd., St Louis, MO 63112 Phone: 314-746-4599 Soldier’s Memorial Military Museum -1315 Chestnut St., Saint Louis, MO Phone: 314-818-6780 Museum of Missouri Military History - 2405 Logistics Road, Jefferson City, MO, 65101 Phone: 573-638-9603 John Mahaffey Museum Complex - 495 S. Dakota Ave., Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 Phone: 573-596-6780 Fort Leonard Wood Driving Tour - 316 Missouri Ave BLDG 100, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 Phone: 573-336-6355 Branson Veterans Memorial Museum - 1250 W Hwy 76 Country Blvd., Branson, MO 65616 Phone: 417-336-2300 Air & Military Museum of the Ozarks - 2305 E. Kearney St., Springfield, MO Phone (417) 864-7997 Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii : The USS Missouri Memorial Association is dedicated to preserving the Battleship Missouri and sharing her story and place in history. The Battleship Missouri Memorial is an American icon that stands in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Battleship welcomes visitors from around the world and is conveniently located less than three miles from the Honolulu International Airport and just eleven miles from Waikiki.

HARLEY PARK Harley Park “Gifted Park to Citizens of Boonville” Major Wm. Harley was an Irishman having been born in Don Donald, county Antrim, fourteen miles from Belfast, Ireland, on May 6th, 1793. He came to America in 1811 at the age of 18 years. He then moved to Howard County as a merchant during his later years of the 1830’s. He died at his home in Boonville on November 8, 1891. On June 2, 1887, for years before his death, Maj. William Harley and his wife, Cornelia, presented a deed to the mayor, councilmen and citizens of Boonville and their successors, eight acres of land in west Boonville, to be used as a public park with certain conditions specified in the deed. This beautiful park, Harley Park, is located on elevated ground one-half mile west of the M.K.&.T depot on Morgan Street. It is claimed he was the oldest Mason in the United States, having joined that historic fraternity in Louisville, KY in 1818—-73 years before his death. By: Wayne Lammers April, 2023 Here is the entrance to Harley Park taken by Max Schmidt back in ca 1890's. At center left is the ball diamond with an entrance at bottom left. The mud road is Santa Fe Trail. Much has changed since then This is at Harley Park's Look Out, looking to the west over the Missouri River. Mother and son walking at Harley Park The Cooper County Baseball Association Little League baseball field J. Melton and Big Sky Park Elston Joseph Melton was born in Jefferson City on November 17, 1891, and grew up around California, Mo. After high school, he attended the Chicago Art Institute before turning to newspaper work, first in California, Mo., then in Miami, Ok., and finally back in Mo. at Clayton. During the Great War, Melton served in the navy at US Naval Base 17 in Scotland. After the war, he returned to the newspaper business working for papers in Pilot Grove, Sedalia, Boonville, and Caruthersville working as a printer, reporter, editor, partner, and even owner/publisher. He sold The Caruthersville Republican in September 1925 when Governor Sam Baker appointed him deputy state oil inspector for southeast Mo. Melton launched the Boonville Republican in April 1929, publishing it as a weekly for four years before turning it into a daily. A year later he merged it with the Boonville Daily News. Fourteen months later, he sold out and stepped down as editor. Although the majority of Melton’s time up to 1935 was spent in the newspaper business, he did have other interests. After selling his share of the Boonville Daily News in 1935, Melton continued to write, doing special pieces for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian and a syndicated column called “Pen Pointers.” In 1936 he published “Will Rogers, Kemper Valedictorian ’98.” It was probably during these two years that he started writing his history of Cooper County, Missouri, which was published in 1937. That same year, he published “Billy Aikors history of 1937.” Along the way, his daughter Mary grew up and married Harry Eugene Hall. The couple gave Mary’s parents four grandsons. Mark Melton Hall was born in 1949 and Michael Owen Hall followed in 1950. The twins, Dale Todd Hall and David Paul Hall, were born in 1952. Then tragedy struck. In June 1961, Mary died unexpectedly at the couple’s home in Canton, Mo., leaving behind a husband and four pre-teen sons. In January 1968, a $1,000.00 certificate was donated to the City of Boonville by Mr. & Mrs. E. J. Melton to start a trust fund as a memorial to their daughter, Mary Melton Hall. The Park Board members were to be trustees and administer the funds with the interest being used for improvements and plantings in an area west of Harley Park to be known as “Big Sky Park.” On May 6, 1968, the Boonville City Council unanimously approved an ordinance which created and defined the Big Sky Area of Harley Park along with its trust fund. Today, on Riviera Dr. , a plaque can be found on a large rock overlooking the area. It reads: “Harley Park, ‘Big Sky Area,’ In Memory of Mary Melton Hall, Denoted by E J Melton Family.”

THE MEXICAN WAR In May, 1846 , a call was made for one company from Cooper County to join troops already in Mexico. Sixty-one men volunteered. The company was organized and assembled in Boonville, where they were trained in military duty by their Captain, John C. Stephens. They departed May 28, 1846 , on the steamer L. F. Linn, for St. Louis, where they were to be armed and equipped. When they arrived in St. Louis, they were ordered to report to Jefferson City. When they got to Jefferson City, they were told to be in readiness and were then allowed to return home. Even though they never saw any battle, the volunteers were welcomed home by large, cheering crowds. The 1865 Missouri Constitution bans the practice of slavery. Missouri was still very much a divided state over the issue of slavery at the end of the Civil War. Many citizens, including Radical Republicans led by Charles Drake, fiercely opposed the institution of slavery and pushed for a new constitution. Among the amendments were the emancipation of slaves and determining voting privileges for loyal citizens to the Union. The ordinance introduced at the constitution convention in St. Louis to abolish slavery in the state passed overwhelmingly with only four delegates voting against it. Missouri’s document that made slavery unlawful came three weeks before the U.S. Congress proposed the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which banned slavery in the country. The loyalty oath, which also was adopted by the 1865 Missouri Constitution would exclude all but pro-Unionists from public life, including the fields of teaching, law and politics, also went into effect until the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Missouri’s loyalty oath two years later. Daniel Boone Camp No 42 "In the Name and by Authority of the United Spanish War Veterans …" These are the first words on a Charter that hangs on the northwest wall of the first floor lobby of the Cooper County Courthouse. Americans have fought in many wars since winning their independence in the Revolutionary War in 1775-1783. The War Between the States (or the American Civil War as many call it), World War I, and World War II are the ones that most often come to mind. But there have been others. The Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the China Relief Expedition are three others. Like veterans of other wars before and since, veterans of the Spanish American War, which officially ended in early 1899, formed organizations to keep in touch with those they fought with, and to remember those who didn't come home. The three largest of these organizations (the Spanish War Veterans, the Spanish-American War Veterans, and the Servicemen of the Spanish War) merged in 1904, becoming the United Spanish War Veterans. By 1906, all the other organizations had merged with them as well. Although the organization existed primarily in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, there were other "camps" across the country. On May 20, 1928, the Daniel Boone Camp No. 42 in Boonville, Missouri, was chartered by the United Spanish War Veterans. Signed in the organization's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 1928, there were 20 members at the time Camp No. 42 was created and each veteran's name is written on the charter. The United Spanish War Veterans ceased to exist in 1992 with the death of its last surviving member, Nathan E. Cook. Often referred to as a Spanish-American War veteran, Cook, was actually a veteran of the Philippine Insurrection. He had lied about his age and enlisted at the age of 16. Cook died just before his 107th birthday at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

POLITICS AND EARLY ELECTIONS POLITICS AND EARLY COURTS Settlers immigrated slowly into the Boonslick area from 1810 to 1815 . The War of 1812 had ended when peace was established with England, and a treaty of peace was finally made with the Indians in 1815 . Soon afterward, a steady and increasing stream of people immigrated into the area. These was a steady flow of people for many years afterwards. Some families came in the spring of 1815 . But in the winter, spring, summer, and autumn of 1816 , they came like an avalanche. Many families came from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. A few came from the middle states and the northeast. Many came from Kentucky. Public land in the area was surveyed for the first time. In 1816 , Howard County was organized, and covered a large portion of the area. There was no official Cooper County at this time; it was included in the area of early Howard County. The first Circuit Court of Howard County, which was the first Court held in this section of the state, was held at the house of Joseph Jolly in Hannah Cole’s Fort, located in what is now east Boonville. The Court opened on July 8th, 1816 . Proceedings of the first term of court: James Munroe was appointed coroner of Howard County. Commissioners were appointed to locate the permanent county seat, which was located at Hannah Cole’s fort. A Grand Jury was appointed. The first license to operate and run a ferry was issued to Hannah Cole. Harper C. Davis was licensed to conduct a tavern at Kincaid’s Fort. The first road was laid out by the authority of the Court. The First Election At the first election held in the county, the electors voted at Head’s Fort, McLean’s Fort, Cooper’s Fort, and Cole’s Fort. The first civil action taken by the newly elected court members was Davis Todd versus Joseph Boggs. A taxation rate for the County was approved for the year 1816 . Five marriage certificates were recorded that same year. Cole Versus Barton Major Stephen Cole was fined one dollar by Judge Barton, for contempt, for misconduct in the presence of the court. Cole objected to paying the fine, but he thought he would be able to get even some time and at last he paid it. His time for settling the score came sooner than he expected. That same afternoon, Cole, who was a Justice of the Peace, organized his court on a log in front of the fort. As Judge Barton was returning from dinner, he stopped in front of Cole and leaned against a tree, watching the proceedings of the justice and smoking his pipe. Cole looked up, and assuming a stern look, said, “Judge Barton, I fine you one dollar for contempt of my court, for smoking in its presence.” Judge Barton smilingly paid his fine, and went to open his own court. He admitted that he had been beaten at his own game. Cooper County is Formed Two years after Howard County was organized, there was so much immigration into the southern part of the county that there was a great demand for the division of Howard County and for the formation of another county south of the Missouri River. Because of this demand, the territorial Legislature, on December 17, 1818 , formed the new county of Cooper, which included all of Howard County south of the Missouri River. This territory included what now forms 11 counties and parts of five others. Cooper County was gradually decreased in size by the formation of new counties. By 1845, the boundaries of Cooper County were as they are today. Missouri Flood of 1826 Up until 1826 , Franklin was the most important business center of the Boonslick area. In 1826 its population was almost 3,000, making it the second largest town in the state, next to St. Louis. In the spring of 1826 , the Missouri River overflowed its banks, and flooded Franklin. Some of the residents moved to New Franklin, which was on higher ground, while others relocated to Fayette, and many to Boonville. EARLY ELECTIONS The first election held in Cooper County after its organization was on the second day of August, 1819 . It was held to elect a delegate to Congress from the Territory of Missouri. John Scott received 127 votes, and Samuel Hammond 21 votes. The next election held in the county was to select delegates to the state convention. This election was called by the Governor, to frame a constitution for the state of Missouri, and was held on the first, second, and third days of May, 1820 . The total number of votes of Cooper County was 819. The third election was held on the 28th day of August, 1820 , to elect a member to Congress and to elect county officers. The number of people who voted in Cooper County was 972. The records of the court show that during the year 1819 , there were four peddlers and six merchants within the limits of Cooper County, and that the total amount of revenue received as county taxes for 1819 was $488.34. All of the early court sessions were held at William Bartlett’s boarding house, called the Tavern of Boonville. This was a crude log cabin but answered well the purpose of those early days. The first County Court held in Cooper County was on January 8th, 1821 . Its first session was held at the house of Robert P. Clark, on High Street, in Boonville. The County Court continued to perform the duties of both county and probate courts until 1827 when the Probate Court was separated from the County Court. A two-story brick courthouse was built in Boonville on land given to the county by Asa Morgan and Charles Lucas, St. Louis lawyers who made the plans for Boonville. It was completed in 1823 . In 1840 , the first courthouse was torn down and a second one was built in the same location. Some of the bricks were re-used in the building of the second courthouse. The present courthouse, in the same location as the first two, is the third and largest one built by the county. EARLY COOPER COUNTY ELECTIONS At the election on the first Monday in August, 1826 , John Scott and Edward Bates were candidates for Congress. Scott had a majority of 124 in the county. This was the first election in which party lines were drawn. Before that, men had voted for the man whom they considered best qualified, not because he belonged to any political party. At the election in November, 1828 , the county voted for Andrew Jackson as United States President over John Adams, by a majority of about 230 votes. In 1832 Jackson was re-elected, and received a large majority in Cooper County. The county gave a small majority to Martin Van Buren for President in 1836 . The county remained Democratic until 1840 , when the Whigs made a clean sweep. The Whigs were quite active in their campaigning. The Democrats, however, made little or no display. They condemned the Whigs and said they were noisy, boisterous and unseemly. The county remained Whig as long as the Whig party remained in existence. The last candidate on the Whig ticket was General Scott. The campaign of 1844 was lively with much activity on the part of the Whigs. Henry Clay of Kentucky was the nominee of the Whig party, and James K. Polk of Tennessee was nominated by the Democratic party. Howard and Cooper Counties had much influence in politics. Seven governors of Missouri were at one time or another, residents of Cooper or Howard Counties. These governors were: John Miller, governor from 1825 to 1832 ; Lilburn W. Boggs, 1837-1841 ; Thomas Reynolds, 1841-1844 ; Sterling Price, 1853-1857 ; Claiborne F. Jackson, 1861 ; Hamilton R. Gamble, 1861-1864 ; and Lon V. Stephens, 1897-1901 . References: Discover Cooper county by Looking Back by Ann Betteridge www.mogenweb.org/cooper/Biographical/Memorabilia of Cooper County, Missouri.

ONLINE GENEALOGY RESOURCES Cooper County Specific Web Sites Cooper County Courthouse - This has Cooper County information but is basic. Genealogy Trails - Genealogy Trails History Group – Cooper County The Library - History of towns, villages, and hamlets in Cooper Co. Cooper County Origins - This is a state/county genweb site and has a lot of excellent information if one really searches, and reads on the site. It was maintained by James Thoma, and he did a wonderful job of listing Cooper County history. There are cemetery lists and burials, churches, schools, marriage, census, wills and probate records, maps, information on Cooper County communities, and much more. Several ways to access the information. General Genealogy FREE Websites Find a Grave ObitTree - N orth American obituaries Missouri State Archives - (Secretary of State) To request an appointment email archives@sos.mo.gov or call (573)751-3280 Library of Congress WikiTree - Free research Genealogy - Free research State of Historical Society of Missouri - Historic Missourians, Newspaper collections, general research Family Search - This is a free Mormon web site of information, and can be very helpful, but one needs to verify information taken from them as they are known to have a lot of errors and inaccuracies on family information Missouri Birth & Death Records Fee-Based Genealogy Sites There are several fee-based sites. Some have a free trial or guest period. Ancestry.com - This is a huge data base of family tree information as well as other historical records. Indicate your interest and they often have ½ price specials for 6 months. My Heritage - Same as with Ancestry.com Genealogy Bank - This is a data base with old newspapers

MILITARY WAR RECORDS MoGenWeb Rosters of Missourians who served in MISSOURI UNITS during the following wars: War of 1812, Black Hawk's War 1832, Heatherly War ca 1836/7, Osage War 1837, Mormon War 1838, Seminole Wars 1836-1837, Iowa War (Honey War) Late 1830s, Mexican War 1846 - 1848, Southwest Expedition 1846-1865, Spanish American War 1898 Cooper County Military Wars Military Records pertaining to Cooper County, Missouri for the following military eras: Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Indian Wars, Civil War, World War II, World war II and beyond can be found. CIVIL WAR ALONG KANSAS/MISSOURI BORDER Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865 Documents related to the hostilities that shook the Missouri-Kansas border region before and during the American Civil War. The collection includes photographs, letters, diaries, maps, and military records from over 25 contributing institutions. ALL WARS UP TO AND INCLUDING WORLD WAR I MISSOURI VETERANS Civil War Soldiers and Veteran’s information (Missouri) Civil War in the Ozarks Missouri Sons of Confederate Veterans National archives Available to request copies of older military records CIVIL WAR, SPANISH AMERICAN WAR, WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II –UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI The Military and Mizzou, 1861-1946 From the archives of the University of Missouri, the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II are covered as well as Lt. Enoch Crowder and the National Defense Act of 1916 and the ROTC. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION While most of their holdings are not online, a variety of military records, from photos to documents to searchable databases are available. WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties: World War II Casualties Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel: World War II Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946: WWII Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Reserve Corps Records): World War II Prisoners of the Japanese File, 2007 Update, ca. 1941 - ca. 1945: WWII Naval Group China Muster Roll and Report of Change Punch Cards, 1942 – 1945 WORLD WAR I/NATIONAL VETERANS World War I in Missouri: WWI Military Service Cards: A Brief History Soldiers' Records: War of 1812 - World War I WORLD WAR I/MISSOURIANS KILLED IN THE GREAT WAR Missourians Killed in The Great War Honor States.org HonorStates.org can be used to find killed veterans in WWII, Korea and Vietnam as well. WORLD WAR I/MISSOURI VETERANS Missouri Doughboys Prominently mentions Cpl. Rudolph Forderhase of Howard County The WWI and National Museum Memorial WORLD WAR II/MISSOURI VETERANS WORLD WAR II RESEARCH GUIDE The impact of World War II on Missourians can be seen in the State Historical Society of Missouri's collections of newspapers, letters, diaries, records, photographs, and memoirs written during or about wartime military service. The collections also offer materials pertaining to civilian life during wartime and information on veterans' organizations. These records help us to understand the effects the war had on Missourians fighting overseas as well as those providing strength on the home front. WORLD WAR II/MISSOURI CASUALTIES Missouri Casualties in WWII Honor States.org WWII Army Casualties: Missouri

COOPER COUNTY RIVERS & STREAMS RIVER TALK “Headwater ” is the origin point of a stream. “Mouth ” is where it empties into another body of water. Thus the headwaters of the Lamine are in Pettis County while its mouth is in Cooper County on the Missouri River. A “Tributary ” is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stream (or parent) river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. A “Confluence” is where two or more bodies of water meet together, and usually refers to the joining of tributaries. A “Spring ” is a point at which water from an aquifer flows to the surface. A “Seep ” is a wet or moist place where groundwater oozes to the surface. A “Creek ” is a natural stream of water normally smaller than and often tributary to a river. A “Stream ” source can be from a spring or it can form at a point where the drainage of rainwater comes together. RIVERS AND STREAMS Cooper County has been blessed with an abundance of water from springs, creeks, streams and rivers. The two main rivers are the Lamine and the Blackwater. The main creek is the Petite Saline. After joining the Missouri River, the water travels to the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico. The LAMINE RIVER is a 63.8-mile- tributary of the Missouri River in Cooper County. It is formed in northern Morgan County , about 4 miles southeast of Otterville by the confluence of the Flat and Richland creeks, and flows generally northwardly through Cooper and Pettis counties. In northwestern Cooper County the Lamine collects water from the Blackwater River and flows into the Missouri River northeast of Lamine and 6 miles west of Boonville . At Clifton City, the river has a mean annual discharge of 455 cubic feet per second. Below the mouth of the Blackwater River, its discharge averages 1,279 cubic feet per second. The river was named by French explorers for the mining operations in the area, the river has also been known as "La Mine River" and as "Riviere a la Mine." Source: Wikipedia The water from Chouteau Springs (two clear water and 3 Sulphur water springs) in Pilot Grove Township flows into Chouteau Creek then into the Lamine, which eventually reaches the Missouri River. These springs discharge water at the rate of ten gallons per minute or 14,400 gallons per day. The BLACKWATER RIVER is formed by the confluence of the North Fork Blackwater River and the South Fork Blackwater River in Johnson County approximately 6 miles northwest of Warrensburg . The river flows generally east-northeastwardly through Johnson, Pettis , Saline and Cooper counties, past the towns of Sweet Springs and Blackwater . It flows into the Lamine River in northwestern Cooper County, approximately 4 miles southeast of Blackwater. The Blackwater River is 16 miles longer than the Lamine River, of which it is a tributary. The Blackwater River is a 79.3-mile-long tributary of the Lamine River via the Lamine and Missouri rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River . The Blackwater River was named from the character of its banks and water. Source: Wikipedia PETITE SALINE CREEK is a stream in Cooper , Moniteau and Morgan Counties. It is a tributary of the Missouri River . Petite Saline Creek was so named for the salty character of its water. The stream source area is along the Morgan-Moniteau county line just north of U.S. Route 50 two miles east of Syracuse and three miles west of Tipton at an elevation of about 920 feet. The stream flows north into Cooper County crossing under, and flowing parallel to, the west side of Missouri Route 5 . The stream turns east again crossing under Route 5 just south of Billingsville . The stream flows generally east passing under Missouri Route 87 southeast of Boonville . The stream continues east to southeast passing under Missouri Route 179 south of Wooldridge . The stream enters the Missouri River bottom just south of Wooldridge in eastern Cooper County and the confluence with the Missouri is in the northern corner of Moniteau County across the river from McBaine and an elevation of 564 feet. Lewis and Clark passed by the Petite Saline on June 6, 1804 and made mention of this creek in their journals. ‘Passed the mouth of a creek called ‘saline’ or ‘salt’ creek. This river is about 30 yards wide and has so many licks and salt springs on its banks that water of the creek is brackish. One very large lick is 9 miles up on the left side. The water of this spring is strong. So much so, that it is said one bushel will make 7 pounds of good salt.” Source: Wikipedia COVERED BRIDGES There once were five covered bridges in Cooper County: Crawford, Hurt, Connors, Shoemaker, and Big Lick. They all spanned the Petite Saline Creek. All the covered bridges were replaced many years ago by either metal or concrete structures. Sadly, there are no known photos of any of the covered bridges in Cooper County. This is a sketch of the covered bridge on highway 5 between Boonville and Billingsville by Florence Friederichs. The Swinging Bridge Pretend you are a child in 1930 and your dad is going to drive you across the brand-new swinging bridge for the first time. You are tall enough to see the steep hill going up to the bridge. The truck starts across the wide boards that don't look a bit safe. You dad is driving very slowly, but you can hear creaking and bumping of the metal against metal and the wooden planks. You press your nose against the passenger window and see the dirt-brown Lamine River looming 30 feet below. The trip across the 231-foot bridge seems to take too long. Then comes the stomach-churning descent on the other side. Your dad shuts off the engine and you hop out to watch vehicles behind you crossing. Some drivers turn around, not brave enough to venture across. When the bridge is empty, your dad reaches out his hand and says, “Let's walk across.” Your heart pounds at the thought. He grabs your hand, leading you up the steep hill. A gentle breeze causes the bridge to sway. You take one step and another until both feet are planted on one of the wooden boards. The world is moving beneath your feet, pitching and rolling, like a carnival ride. Your dad tells you that farmers wanted a bridge built northwest of Pleasant Green, Missouri. They hired a man named Joe Dice, who had built other bridges like this one. A lot of local people helped build this bridge. Your dad showed you two thick groups of wires that helped reinforce the structure. More than 300 individual wires make up each bunch. Two 22-foot-deep holes on each end of the bridge were filled with hand-made concrete that served to anchor the bridge. Pretend now, it's 1994 and you are an old person. You see the bridge floor collapsed from heavy flooding, sinking into the river. It is no longer safe. The Cooper County Historical Society tries to save it, but the cost is too expensive. In 1996, you stand and watch as the bridge is removed from the Lamine River. You think back and can almost feel that bridge swaying beneath your feet. Swinging Bridge near Lamine Underside of Swinging Bridge over Lamine Old Bridge over Lamine River

DID YOU MISS OUT ON THE “GOOD OLD DAYS”? 1939 Boonville Movie Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Below are the time codes for each person identified in the movie LAMMERS VIDEO PRODUCTIONS Wayne Lammers, Producer/Director 1509 Jefferson Drive Boonville, MO 65233 lammers.video.productions@gmail.com Phone: 660-621-0135

COOPER COUNTY BANKS DURING THE DEPRESSION The Bank of Speed “Speed” is an unincorporated town in Palestine Township, Cooper County, Missouri. The Bank of Speed was the center of what was once a thriving community. It was incorporated on October 9, 1909. The amount of Capital Stock was $10,000, which in 1909 was a great sum of money. Fast forward to January 1, 1928. Harold E. Mitzel took over the bank operation in 1928 and served in that capacity through the Great Depression until June 30, 1937. According to E. J. Melton, (who wrote “History of Cooper County” in 1938), the Bank of Speed was “the only bank in Missouri that did not have to close its doors during the bank crisis of the early 30’s.”After the Boonville National Bank and the Bunceton State Bank closed, Mr. Mitzel went through the books and then advised the board of directors how many depositors would likely demand their money. They were backed by well-supported loans, but there wasn’t enough cash on hand if there was a run on the bank. The board decided to borrow $20,000 from the Federal Reserve in St. Louis. Mr. Mitzel took the bus to St. Louis and came back with $20,000 cash in his pockets. When he got off the bus in Boonville, he ran into O. J. Schlotzhauer who asked what he had in his pockets. Mitzel told him and let the story spread. When depositors came to the bank and asked how much of their money they could get, they were promptly told, “All of it.” Knowing their money was safe was all they needed to know. From then on, they either withdrew only what they needed or made deposits. The bank was saved. The loan from the Federal Reserve? It was paid back in thirty days. Resource: A Town Called Speed, by Gerhardt, Roy B., c/1984 Citizens Bank of Pilot Grove October 29, 1929, went down in history as Black Tuesday, and America went from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression. Banks failed and millions of people lost their jobs, homes, and life savings. Things were still bad in November 1932, but Henry A. Seltsam, cashier and secretary of the Citizens Bank of Pilot Grove, had a plan. It was a daring plan that Seltsam presented to the bank directors on Monday, November 7, 1932. “It is not fair to the faithful to permit steady withdrawals to undermine the bank’s stability, and then be forced to close with subsequent division of the remainder. I favor closing the bank tomorrow. “There is one chance to save it. If all the depositors will sign a moratorium not to draw out for 18 months what they now have on deposit, we can save the bank.” After much discussion and planning, the plan was accepted. All banks were closed the following day for the Presidential election, but the Citizens Bank of Pilot Grove remained closed on Wednesday as well. Working day and night, Seltsam and director Wallace Burger began collecting signatures. The catch: the voluntary impounding of funds would not go into effect until, and unless, 100 per cent of the depositors signed the agreement. Every depositor had an opinion about the plan, but most agreed the bank must be saved. Finally, with the signatures of all depositors, the bank re-opened and deposits grew. Pilot Grove might have been on the road to recovery, but the nation was not. While signatures were being collected in and around Pilot Grove, the people were voting for a new President. Franklin D. Roosevelt was that man. FDR took office on March 4, 1933, and immediately ordered every depository in the nation closed. After each was audited, only the financially sound were allowed to re-open. And thanks to the foresightedness of Seltsam and the directors, the Citizens Bank of Pilot Grove was one of the first to do so. Source: Pilot Grove Bicentennial

The Cooper County Historical Society is a nonprofit 501© (3) organization, founded in 1990, with a focus on collecting and preserving documents, records, historical books and other historical information on Cooper County. We have a free research library, manned by volunteers, to assist the public in finding the information that they are seeking. We also provide six, historically related programs to the public each year at no charge. ABOUT CCHS First CCHS Center Current CCHS Center OUR MISSION The Cooper County Historical Society is a nonprofit 501© (3) organization, founded in 1990, with a focus on collecting and preserving documents, records, historical books and other historical information on Cooper County. We have a free research library, manned by volunteers, to assist the public in finding the information that they are seeking. We also provide four historically related programs to the public each year at no charge. Check out "Events" tab. Visit us on Cooper County Historical Society | Pilot Grove MO | Facebook for upcoming programs or you can click on the EVENTS tab. We are funded by the proceeds of membership dues, garage sales, donations and memorials. Cooper County Historical Society Board of Directors: President Vice President Vicki McCarrell Secretary Marla Stretz Treasurer Jenny Alpers Newsletter Ray Owens Members: Joyce Bryan C arolyn Aggeler Bob Painter Annick Streck Ann Fray Fundraiser chairperson: Pam Shipman Immediate Past President Barbara Dahl Web Developers: Lisa Moody Laci Scott Location: Cooper County Historical Society (CCHS) 111 Roe Street Pilot Grove, MO 65276 Mailing Address: Cooper County Historical Society (CCHS) P.O.Box 51 Pilote Grove, MO 65276 Hours: May through September Friday-- 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. 1:00-3:00 or by email appointment Phone: 660-834-3582 E-mail: cchs2016@iland.net Find us on Facebook Become a Member Yearly Dues One person $15 Family $25 Student $7 HISTORY OF CCHS Article by: Jeanette Heaton In 1990, a few people started talking about the need for a countywide historical society. Winky Friedrichs invited a small group to her home to discuss organizing a society. It was decided to meet on September 10, 1990 in the New Lebanon 1860 church and invite everyone that might be interested. Over 50 people attended the meeting. Mr. Harold Jones served as moderator and Jeanette Heaton welcomed the group and gave a brief history of New Lebanon. Mr. Woody Fleck, from the South Howard County Historical Society, gave advice and suggestions on starting a historical society. Mary Ann Kempf spoke of her interest in recording cemeteries. Ann Betteridge indicated that she was working on a historical workbook for school children to teach them about Cooper County history. Winky Friedriches expressed her hope to see the new society promote tourism in Cooper County and be a part of the county-wide celebration of Cooper County’s 175th anniversary in 1993. All those who attended the meeting were enthusiastic about organizing, so officers were elected and dues set. By the end of that year we had 75 members, and after a few years the membership reached 150. I was honored to be elected President, and needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. Many forms had to be filled out to become a non-profit organization as well as getting the state tax exemption status. We set up bylaws and committees and all the other things that go along with organizing the historical society. One of our wisest decisions was to have the monthly meetings in churches or historical buildings throughout Cooper County. I served as President of CCHS off and on for 12 years and will always be proud of the accomplishments that our society achieved. The Cooper County Historical Society and the New Lebanon Preservation Society sponsored yearly festivals and programs for the general public from 1990 to 2019. Thank you for visiting our website. If you have any comments, suggestions, clarifications, improvements or other "Cooper County Treasures" for us to research and add to our content, please email us at: cchs2016@iland.net