SFC Bicentennial 2021

Lead mining shaped our county

Radford bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

Lead mining has been an integral part of shaping the communities of St. Francois County.

The lead mining operations that once thrived in the area led to homes being built, population growth, and infrastructure advancements.

Remnants of the lead mining in the area have shaped the lives of county residents, and will seemingly continue to do so for many years to come.

Mining operations in the area can be traced back to the early 1700s. In 1719, an exploratory expedition led by Philip Francois Renault of France arrived in the area. The large group began surface mining in 1720 in areas including Old Mines just north of what would later become St. Francois County and Mine La Motte just south of the present-day county line. Within present-day St. Francois County, the French miners discovered a rare lead deposit between the present-day towns of Desloge and Leadwood, known as “Mine-a-Joe.” Bonne Terre native and Doe Run Company Geological Engineer Chris

Neaville explained that “Mine-a-Joe” was a lead deposit unlike anything in the world.

“It was a sheet of lead cubes across the surface, about a mile long and three-quarters of a mile wide,” he said. “It was just

almost solid lead crystals at the surface.

“Those types of mineral deposits were unique in the world, and it was easy to find at the surface. And then that mineralization continued below the surface to a maximum depth

of about 700 feet.”

Mining in the area was done on the ground surface until 1869 when St. Joe brought the first diamond drill to the region. This advancement would propel mineral production in St. Francois County to

unprecedented heights, as Neaville explained.

“It all started when a gentleman got the idea of drilling a hole with what was new technology at the time, diamond drilling, to see if there were minerals below the surface,” Neaville said. “They found the largest lead deposits ever discovered there in Bonne Terre, and that really created the start of St. Joe Minerals, which is the predecessor of Doe Run.

“That resulted in St. Joe Minerals becoming a global company,” Neaville noted.

“They grew from that start, becoming a global multibillion-dollar company with mines all over the world.”

It would take several years for the miners to hone their underground mining skills. Neaville said the company had imported European miners familiar with underground mining to perfect the techniques at the local mines.

“It wasn’t until about 1900 that they really had it figured out and were actually producing substantial amounts of ore,” he explained. “That resulted in discontinuing further surface mining.”

“Then, other companies got started,” said Neaville. “At one time, there were maybe a dozen other companies mining St. Francois County that were not St. Joe.”

Firmin Rene Desloge began what would be called the Desloge Lead Co. by building a smelting furnace in 1826.

According to the “History of the Lead Belt of St. Francois County” published in the Lead Belt News and referenced by previous Daily Journal articles, in March 1886, a fire destroyed the Desloge Lead Co.’s concentrating mill plant. It damaged the rest of the surface plant.

The following year, the company was sold to St. Joe Lead Company, which made Firmin Rene Desloge’s son, Firmin V. Desloge, a trustee on its

Bobby

St. Joe dominated ore production and became the heart of the Old Lead Belt, continuing operations in the present-day Park Hills area until 1972.

Pictured is the Federal Lead Company office in Flat River.

Pictured are the offices of the Desloge Lead Company in Desloge.

Pictured is the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company concentrating plant and smelter around 1903.

The chat piles are well-known landmarks in St. Francois County.

Remediation has altered the appearance, with the piles being capped and topped with rock.

board, a post he held until his death. This merger helped St. Joe become the “greatest lead-mining and smelting company in the world.”

The Desloge family was not done mining yet, however. According to “A History of American Mining,” after the 1886 fire, Desloge and his family took an option on the “Minea-Joe” land then owned by the Bogy family and started another mining operation under the name Desloge Consolidated Lead Company. The new company cleared the land and built company houses for its workers just west of present-day Desloge.

In 1893, Desloge opened a new mine just north of the St. Joe Lead Company property in Bonne Terre on a tract of land. He expanded his lead mining operations by buying the Bogy Lead Mine Company and the St. Francois Mining Company.

Neaville explained that St. Joe would eventually consolidate all the other mining companies in the region.

St. Joe acquired the remaining assets from the Desloge Consolidated Lead Company in 1929.

St. Joe was already the most significant lead producer at the time. By 1923, the company boasted that it had 250 miles of underground railroad track running under the county, the majority of which are under what is present-day Park Hills.

After absorbing all the other mining companies, St. Joe dominated ore production and became

the heart of the Old Lead Belt, continuing operations in the present-day Park Hills area until 1972.

That year, Federal Mill No. 3 overlooking Flat River was retired as much of the ore in the area had been mined.

Primary operations began moving west and south after the discovery of other larger lead deposits flanking the other sides of the St. Francois Mountains in the 1950s.

“The reason that the Old Lead Belt stopped in 1972 is because of the production from the Viburnum Trend, which was the new lead belt and an even bigger deposit that was discovered in the 1950s,” said Neaville.

“By the 1960s, it was in pro-

duction, and by that point, it made no sense economically to continue to mine in St. Francois County, where the mineral grades had dropped to the point where it couldn’t compete with the Viburnum Trend.”

In 1975, the mining company donated the 25 buildings of their largest mine-mill complex and the surrounding land to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. These properties became Missouri Mines State Historic Site and St. Joe State Park.

The area’s mining past is preserved at what was once Federal Mill No. 3, constructed in 1906-1907. Once the most significant and deepest mine-mill complex that St. Joe had

Progress and growth aside, the mining operations also left behind effects on St. Francois County that require resolution.

Pictured is the concentrating plant at Federal Lead Company in 1908.

Pictured is the Federal Lead Company, showing the steel tower, belt conveyor, boiler, engine and other houses in the early 1900s.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that some 250 million tons of hazardous mining waste, such as lead mill waste tailings and chat, were produced from processing lead ore in the Old Lead Belt. The EPA states that this waste has contaminated soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater with elevated levels of heavy metals, primarily lead, in the area.

In the past, the mining waste known as chat was piled up in large chat dumps and used for various purposes. The EPA has noted that the chat has been manually relocated throughout the area as topsoil, fill material, and aggregate for roads, railroads, concrete, and asphalt across the county. Lead mining tailings have also been used for agricultural purposes due to their lime content. Lead mining waste has also been transported downstream by the Big River.

St. Francois County is on

The EPA, Missouri state agencies, and the Doe Run Company have been addressing lead-contaminated soils in St. Francois County for more than 30 years. More recently, environmental restoration has been underway through the remediation of area residents’ yards.

The Doe Run Company reported that more than 5,100 residential properties had been tested for lead contamination in St. Francois County as of August. The company stated that 1,475 residential properties had been cleaned up since remediation work began in 2000.

Neaville explained that the lead contained at the ground’s surface in the county is not water-soluble and not particularly harmful. He noted that the testing data show the majority of instances of toxic lead exposure in the state occur in St. Louis and Kansas City, and those cases are associated with lead paint in old homes. Even so, the Doe Run Company has staff specifically dedicated to lead clean-=up.

“We actually have an office in Leadwood,” said Neaville. “And we have about 60 people internal that perform remediation.

“We’ve really staffed up to meet the EPA requirements, and we’re investing in our own people and equipment. Most of those people live in St. Francois County.”

The people of St. Francois County remain proud of the area’s rich mining heritage. It is not hard to find preserved mining relics and tributes to the past.

From mining murals and statues to museums and diving excursions inside the mines, it appears that the industry which built this county and its communities will not be forgotten.

in the region, the facility is now a museum, located at 4000 Highway 32 off the Park Hills exit. The site welcomes many visitors from all over the country each year.

the EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) and is a Superfund Site. According to the EPA, the NPL is a list of the nation’s hazardous waste sites with the highest priority for cleanup due to the greatest threats to human health and the environment. These sites are eligible for extensive, long-term response action money, as authorized by Congress under the Superfund Program.

Pictured are St Joseph Lead Company mills at Bonne Terre in 1903.

It was nearly 70 years ago when local people founded an area business. Although that business has grown, it has remained true to its roots.

First State Community Bank’s story began with local businesspeople who were part of the tight-knit community in Farmington, a prosperous town nestled in the rolling hills of Southeast Missouri.

During a time of economic struggle, a forward-thinking businessman named B.H. Jennings saw a need for locallyowned banking services in the area. After gathering investors, he formed First State Bank in 1954.

Fast forward several decades later, and that small bank continues to practice communityled banking.

Now First State Community Bank, the well-known local financial institution, has grown to include 57 branches in Missouri, from Marshall to the Bootheel and everywhere in between.

For FSCB, building relationships with their customers is their most important priority. No matter what a customer’s financial picture looks like, this banking connection with them is important to FSCB. They believe in offering unique benefits and advantages to their customers.

Since they opened their doors, FSCB has maintained a very important philosophy: what matters to their customers matters to them. They know their customers work hard, so FSCB works hard for them. This type of neighbor-to-neighbor banking encourages strong relationships with their customers. These

relationships are the foundation of FSCB’s approach to banking and community relations.

“We believe in helping our local economy grow and thrive,” said FSCB CEO/President Matt Sebastian. “We believe in giving back, and we believe that when it comes to banking, people should always come first.”

Giving back is something FSCB does on a regular basis with its Impact Initiative Project.

The bank-wide project was created by Chief Risk Officer Sara Colantuono in 2016. All employees are able to take part in helping to make a difference in their communities.

Colantuono saw needs everywhere, from children having difficulty staying focused at school because they were hungry, to people without homes and those who needed food and shelter.

“That’s where this project started, to help fulfill some of those needs,” she said. “Ultimately, my goal of the project was to inspire and build better lives within our communities.”

Kristin Gilbert, assistant vice president/privacy officer, now leads the Impact Initiative Project. She travels throughout the 57 FSCB branches in Missouri, from Marshall to the Bootheel and everywhere in between, to encourage participation in the project.

Gilbert said the initiative is not a cookie-cutter project because all of the markets have different needs.

“We empower each of our markets to find needs within their communities to make an impact through this project,”

she said.

FSCB employees at the individual branches choose which organizations they help throughout the year. This involves meeting organization representatives, learning about their purpose and who they serve, and determining their needs.

Gilbert said, “The FSCB team members carry it forward and make an impact because part of who we are is that we thrive on giving back to our communities.”

Overall, more than $450,000 in monetary donations have been given through the project.

Whether it’s through their Impact Initiative Project or providing free financial courses and videos on their website, FSCB has grown exponentially since first opening its doors. But nearly 70 years later with 770 employees at 57 different branches, they remain true to their roots and continue to focus on building strong relationships within their communities.

When customers walk into FSCB, they aren’t simply customers. They’re families who FSCB has served, generation after generation. This is communityled banking at its finest.

First State Bank’s (now First State Community Bank) original branch in Farmington on the corner of Columbia and H (Henry) opened in 1954.

The Doe Run Company’s history began 157 years ago in St. Francois County. We’ve stood the test of time thanks to careful stewardship of the natural resources in our care, innovations that revolutionized the mining industry and a deep commitment to our local communities.

St. Francois County earned the name the Old Lead Belt when settlers flocked to the area to mine lead in the early 1700s. Doe Run can trace its roots to 1864, when the St. Joseph Lead Company (St. Joe) purchased 946 acres of land in and around Bonne Terre.

In the 1900s, St. Francois County was the site of major mining innovations. The St. Joe Shovel was introduced here in 1922, replacing handshoveling of ore with electric equipment that could load about 275 tons more rock per day. The company also introduced the method of using roof bolts to anchor mine ceilings in place – a major safety innovation in underground mining.

As the company grew, so did St. Francois County. By 1904, Bonne Terre, which began with two dozen log cabins and a frame house, had grown to a town of 5,000 with homes, schools, churches, a company store, and more. Other towns sprang up around the mines. Rather than close during the Great Depression, St. Joe restricted operations to one week per month, providing some income. Additionally,

they provided employees with garden spots to grow food for their families, and permitted employees to cut wood from company lands for heating and cooking.

Eventually, depleted ore reserves in the Old Lead Belt drove St. Joe to search for new reserves, and the company moved its operations to the Viburnum Trend in southeast Missouri. Its mining and milling operations continued in St. Francois County until 1972.

St. Joe later donated land to create St. Joe Park. It is now one of Missouri’s most popular state parks, with 2,000 acres for off-road ATV riding, swimming beaches and lakes, bike and equestrian trails, and campsites. It is also the home of the Missouri Mines State Historic site, with a museum in the mine’s

former powerhouse. Since then, Doe Run has remediated several sites across the Old Lead Belt to give them new purposes, including St. Joe Park, and the Park Hills Industrial Park. We support area remediation activities with an office in Leadwood and approximately 60 employees focused on these efforts.

Today, Doe Run operates one of the world’s largest lead mining districts and singlesite lead recycling centers in southeastern Missouri. We mine 5 million tons of ore and recycle approximately 8.5 million batteries annually. Our operations generate more than $1 billion in economic impact from its Missouri operations, including employing more than 1,100 people, many of whom call St. Francois

County home. From humble beginnings, the lead battery industry in Missouri today ranks second in the U.S. for economic impact, generating more than $2 billion to the economy.

We’re proud of our shared history with St. Francois County and look forward to the future of our community.

Adapting to the needs: From the Plank Road to US 67

Sarah Haas shaas@dailyjournalonline.com

Acomplete history of St. Francois County transportation requires a book, not an article, but three major highlights from the previous 200 years provide an illustration of the evolving ways St. Francois County residents and business owners navigated the terrain to build this portion of Missouri we call home.

PLANK ROAD

In the beginning, animal footpaths and Indian trails offered basic byways settlers later used for horses and wagons. The aquatic highways offered by the Flat, St. Francis and Big Rivers didn’t connect St. Francois County enterprises with any efficient path to

the plank road project, which is said to have been completed in 1853 for about $200,000. It was built on planks 8 feet wide, 2.5 inches thick, and nailed on thick logs so it was about 6-8 inches off the ground. At 42 miles, it was the longest plank road in America, stretching from Ste. Genevieve to the mines around Iron Mountain.

Essentially a single-lane boardwalk to the Big Muddy, the road offered westbound travelers the right-of-way, since their loads were likely commercial. The round trip could take as many as five days.

To keep up the wooden road, five tollgates — two of which were in Farmington and Doe Run — collected 25 cents per wagon and 10 cents per horseman. Legend has it, people would drive out of their way to avoid the tollgates, or

its time in embracing the Iron Horse. By 1860, bonds were issued on behalf of six different firms, one of which was the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad Compa ny to transport iron. About $3.6 million was used to build the railroad to Pilot Knob, but the cost meant changing of hands among businesses until it was run more efficiently by Thomas Allen, longtime president of the company.

The Belmont Branch was the first extension of the St. Louis and Iron Mountain south, built from both ends towards the middle and com pleted in August 1869. It cov ered a distance of 120 miles from Bismarck to Belmont.

The main line of the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railway entered St. Francois County at the extreme northwest and traveled through Blackwell, into Washington County, then north of Bismarck to enter Iron County a few miles south. The Belmont Branch ran southeast from Bismarck, touching DeLassus and Knob Lick. Eventually, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad became part of the Missouri Pacific System.

Railroad, Illinois Southern Railroad, the Summit Railroad, Saline Valley Railroad and Missouri-Illinois Railroad companies changed hands, ebbed and flowed along with the interests and fortunes of the owners. Many were eventually absorbed into the larger railroad corporations that dominate the rails.

US 67

With the advent of the horseless carriage, the Mis souri Legislature in 1913 cre ated the Missouri Highway Department. Construction soon began to link adjoin ing county seats with paved and maintained roadways. Eight years later, honoring Missouri’s 100th birthday, department operations were established when the Legislature passes the Cen tennial Road Law, creating a four-member State Highway Commission.

“I have seen traffic stopped completely still in Bonne Terre from the traffic signal in Festus,” he was quoted as saying in the 1980 editorial.

The first section of US 67 was completed in 1958 and 1959, providing two new lanes, from the Jefferson-St. Francois county line to Flat River, and a four-lane segment between Bonne Terre and the intersection with Route 8.

A few years later in 1961, at a cost of about $1.1 million, the four-lane segment between Farmington and Flat River was opened.

Three years and $2.9 million later, the two-line highway from Farmington south to the Madison County line was built.

The development continued in 1970 with the opening of a second traffic lane from Highway 8 to Leadington at a cost of over $1.1 million. The final segment of the existing four lane stretching from Farmington to Festus was completed in June 1971.

From Bonne Terre to the northern county line cost nearly $2.5 million, Highway Commissioner Dennis McGuire said at the time.

the biggest superhighway of all, the Mississippi River.

The Plank Road changed all that.

When St. Francois County became official in 1821, lead mining throughout the county and iron ore mining southwest of the county had been running just over 100 years. Shipping out those heavy loads from under ground — and shipping in all the above-ground trappings for pioneer households, farms and businesses — meant the rutted, muddy mess of roads frequently became impassable on com mercial routes to the Mis sissippi, where steamboats served as the day’s FedEx or UPS system.

Plank roads were not unheard of in other parts of the U.S. Businessman James E. Sauer issued 300 shares of stock at $50 apiece, took out $15,000 in insurance and started

would — while it worked, anyway — call out the name “John Hunt!”, the name of a wealthy farmer who preferred to pay his tolls at the end of the month, and who soon learned to pay in cash as he went.

The plank road proved to be laborious and cost-prohibitive, so the shareholders sold it to the counties, which kept it up for a while. St. Francois kept their end opened toll-free until 1903.

Probably the biggest nail in the plank road coffin was the railroad.

RAILROAD SYSTEM Books have been written about the various railways passing through St. Francois County land and history.

In 1851, state aid was given to two companies to facilitate building railroads, since Missouri, largely a steamboat state, had taken

According to Lead Belt News archives, Farmington had been pining for a railroad. Several attempts had been made to land one, but they failed. Finally, in 1901, the St. Francois County Electric Railway Company was formed and work began. After a few hiccups, the first electric car on the streets of Farmington ran from DeLassus to Farmington in the summer of 1904. At its zenith, the railway operated four electric cars traveling from the Farmington depot to Flat River in half an hour and connected the county seat to various points of the Lead Belt, joining with the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad at DeLassus. It also made connections with the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railroad at Flat River and the Illinois Southern at Esther.

As automobiles gained favor and the cost of coal dropped, the electric railway took its last run in November 1957.

Meanwhile, rail lines such as the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre

The Eisenhower administration, headed by the World War II general-turned-president, revved up the nation’s highway system. Impressed by the productivity and effectiveness of Germany’s Autobahn, President Dwight D. Eisenhower knew the well-engineered, expansive road system that aided Allied efforts in fighting fascism, could be imported to aid free enterprise and the pursuit of American dreams.

“After seeing the auto bahns of modern Germany and knowing the asset those highways were to the Ger mans, I decided, as Presi dent, to put an emphasis on this kind of road building,” he later explained.

Missouri bought it becoming in 1956 the first state to take bids and start building the interstate highway system.

The stretch from Festus to St. Francois County was reputed to be notoriously stilted, according to an April 1980 Daily Journal editori al that acknowledged the highway’s completion and looked back on its history.

Nine years before, the final leg of the four-lane highway was completed, replacing the winding, narrow stretch of highway –some of which can be seen on Old 67 or Business 67 today – that often choked with weekend traffic.

Missouri State Highway

Eventually, the second lane from Farmington to Fredericktown was completed in the 1980s.

Crossovers have been all but eliminated in the last 20 years and multiple interchanges such as the overpasses south of Desloge and south of Leadington, the Karsch/Highway 32 evo lutions and the Maple Valley interchange have been added as commerce and population changes create new traffic patterns.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Although this article only highlighted three aspects from 200 years of getting around in St. Francois County, it would be remiss not to mention in passing – pun intended – the evolution of flight, with a county dotted with runways, airports in Farmington and Bonne Terre making continual improvements, and, in a broader way, the effect McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing had on this area, with so many citizens commuting hours each day to St. Louis for more lucrative employment. The same can be said of those who commuted daily to St. Louis-area automakers, local auto dealers, mechanics, and so on.

Where the next 200 years takes us will be for future generations to determine, but one thing can be relied on in St. Francois County: If it can’t readily find a way, it’ll make a way.

Patrol Lt. Dorwin James claimed back then that, especially on three-day weekends, traffic on Old 67 would be stop-and-go from Festus to Bonne Terre.

A Dec. 2, 2021, view of the bend around the old orchard, just south of Bonne Terre. Sarah Haas, Daily Journal

A plume of acrid smoke emanates from the engine of a Missouri-Illinois train.

Judge William Roley Taylor takes a spin in his horseless carriage in Farmington. Farmington: The First 200 Years

Trolley tracks provide a few bumps in the unpaved road around the county courthouse in the early 20th century. Farmington: The First 200 Years

The Bonne Terre Depot was a major force for passenger and commercial transportation during the zenith of lead mining.

Courtesy of Dennis Faircloth

Looking back to the Civil War St. Francois County from 1861 to 1939

Kevin R. Jenkins kjenkins@farmingtonpressonline.com

Because it’s simply impossible to cover all the significant events that took place in St. Francois County between the years of 1861 and 1939, this story will instead center on three major milestones that took place in the county over that period of time — the Civil War, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and the Great Depression.

THE CIVIL WAR

At the start of the 1860s, St. Francois County, like most other Missouri counties, was divided politically. From 1861 to 1865, the entire state had been torn apart by the Civil War and the southeastern portion wasn’t exempt. The conflict brought violent military battles, ruthless guerrilla warfare and a complete upheaval of the state’s institutions.

Military District of Missouri, which covered the swampy southeastern portion of the state, stretching all the way from St. Louis to the Mississippi River.

Thompson’s battalion soon picked up the nickname “Swamp Rats” for their many escapades. Known far and wide as the “Swamp Fox of the Confederacy,” Thompson frequently petitioned for the Confederate rank of brigadier-general, but his request was never granted. His brigadier rank came instead from his service in the Missouri State Guard.

When Union Major-Gen eral John C. Fremont issued an emancipation procla mation professing to free Missouri slaves, Thompson declared a counter-proc lamation and his force of 3,000 men started raiding Union positions near the border. On Oct. 15, 1861, Thompson led a cavalry attack on the Iron Mountain Railroad bridge over the Big River near Blackwell in Jefferson County.

After successfully burning the bridge, Thompson retreated to join his infantry in Fredericktown. Soon afterward, he was defeated at the Battle of Fredericktown and retreated, leaving southeastern Missouri in Union control.

Undoubtedly, the most famous, or perhaps infamous, St. Francois County resident to fight against Union forces was Sam Hildebrand. According to his great-great-great nephew, Russell Wetherington, Hildebrand was born Jan. 6, 1836, the fifth of 10 children. His family moved to the Big River community in St. Francois County.

Union supporters denounced him as a ruthless murderer. Whatever side of the issue county residents took on Hildebrand, the facts are that he went from being a farmer and father of six children to one of the most notorious Confederate bushwhackers.

When vigilantes lynched his brother Frank in 1861, with the assistance of the Union home guard, Hildebrand got revenge on his brother’s killers. In retaliation, federal troops burned the family home and shot and killed several of his relatives, including his 13-year-old brother.

Declaring war on the North, Hildebrand joined the Confederate army but was widely known and feared for being a rebel guerrilla fight er. It is reported that he had 80 notches carved in the stock of his rifle, nicknamed Kill-Devil.”

of a 33-year-old man in Gumbo. Five other deaths occurred in the county that month with influenza listed as being a contributor.

On Oct. 12, Farmington Mayor Charles Henry (C.H.) Giessing issued a local proc lamation closing churches, Sunday schools, lodge meetings, public schools, picture shows, pool halls, receptions, parties, and any other assemblies totaling more than six persons.

Nine days later, F. E. Hinch, physician to the County Board of Health, issued a similar proclamation for the entire county.

The county reported 23 influenza-related deaths during November with Bismarck, Farmington, Flat River and Leadwood experiencing the greatest numbers. In mid-December, it was estimated that 300 to 400 Farmington citizens had been infected in 100 to 150 residences.

1929 when the stock market experienced a drop from which it didn’t recover.

The effects of the financial disaster may not have been as strong in St. Francois County as they were in other parts of the nation, but they were there, nonetheless.

The repercussions touched everyone despite individual and group efforts to keep the local economy running smoothly.

The 1930s brought the New Deal, WPA, and rumblings of a war that would soon touch many county residents with injury and death.

There were lots of other things going on in the county during that period of time as well.

In St. Francois County, many men took refuge from the first wartime draft by joining up with Confederate M. Jeff. Thompson, a lieutenant-colonel in the Missouri state militia at the outbreak of the Civil War.

On July 25, 1861, Thompson was appointed brigadier-general of the 1st Division, Missouri State Guard and commanded the First

“Among the initial settlers in their area, [the Hildebrand family] settled on choice land,” Wetherington said. “Their farm, although small and crude by today’s standards, was then considered substantial. This prosperity caused jealousy among their neighbors and may have influenced them to later turn against the Hildebrands.”

Called the “Big River Bushwhacker,” Hildebrand was called a Rob Roy and freedom fighter by Confederate sympathizers.

While the exact number of deaths isn’t certain, it’s believed Hildebrand killed 26 civilians and an unknown number of federal soldiers. Many of his victims were hanged. Hildebrand’s reign of terror in the region didn’t end until he was killed while resisting arrest in 1872.

SPANISH FLU

According to local historian Bob Mueller, the death of a 13-year-old boy from Iron Mountain on Oct. 10, 1918, was the first time influenza was listed as a contributor to death in St. Francois County. The first death attributed to influenza alone occurred on Oct. 21 with the death

Flat River, Leadwood, Elvins and Bonne Terre experienced more influenza-related deaths than the rest of the county combined.

Overall, the county experienced 60 influenza-related deaths, the worst monthly death toll of the entire pandemic. The pandemic decreased by month’s end and attendance at Farmington’s schools began returning to normal.

GREAT DEPRESSION

The Great Depression brought to an end an unparalleled period of prosperity for St. Francois County and the rest of the nation when the economy came crashing down in late

Cecil and John Roberts, the founders of the Farmington Press, had other things to worry about other than the crash. In November 1929, the newspaper founded less than a year before, suffered tragedy of its own when gasoline from a new linotype machine ignited and gutted the newspaper offices.

Bank of Farmington President William Harland scared away would-be bank robbers in August 1930, by simply arriving for work.

Meanwhile, the Ritz Theater reopened after being closed two weeks for the installation of the latest in sound equipment. On the employment front, the Farmington Chamber of Commerce continued its drive to bring new jobs to the city by raising money for the construction of a new factory for the Rice Stix Dry Goods Company.

During the Great Depression, the Ritz Theater reopened after being closed two weeks for the installation of the latest in sound equipment.

Pictured is the Hildebrand house in 1900.

Sam Hildebrand was one of the most notorious Confederate bushwhackers.

ABOUT ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY

20 FUN FACTS

Before

“Sam” greets everyone who

to downtown Bonne Terre. The

statue, which was erected in 1981, was moved from the city park to his own park — Miner’s Park — in the wedge near city hall in August 2007. It took a special crane to move the statue which weighs more than 10,000 pounds. His arm fell off on the first attempt. The concrete statue that some call Sam was built by Samuel Forest Wright. His uncles and grandfathers had all been miners. Ellen Blair-Taylor, Wright’s stepmother, said the city decided they wanted to erect a statue to honor miners and Wright got the bid.

With No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” “Sister Golden Hair,” “Tin Man,” “I Need You,” “You Can Do Magic” “Sandman,” and “Lonely People,” which Peek co-wrote with his wife, Catherine. Peek left the group in 1977 to pursue a solo career and was considered a pioneer in contemporary Christian Rock. He and his wife moved back to town the following year. He died in Farmington

1Elm Farm Ollie was known locally as “Nellie Jay”

at Bismarck’s Sunnymede Farms. She took an airplane flight on Feb. 18, 1930, to the International Aircraft Exposition at St. Louis. Because she was such a productive dairy cow, she was put to work in-flight. As the story goes, she ate her usual feed and produced 24 quarts of milk. In what may very well be the first, if not only, case of fresh air delivery, these quarts were carefully bottled, sealed and dropped with small parachutes from the airplane as it flew over St. Louis.

Libertyville, until October, had the oldest

operating Masonic Lodge still meeting in its original building, west of the Mississippi River. St. Francois Masonic Lodge No. 234 closed its doors in October after 157 years of fellowship with the remaining members merging with Farmington Masonic Lodge No. 132. In an interesting convergence of opposing events, the last meeting of the lodge is the first ceremony held for the retirement of a lodge’s charter ever held in the state of Missouri.

2The history of Farmington Methodism dates back to 1803 when Farmington was Murphy’s Settlement.

Sarah Barton Murphy, widow of the minister who claimed this land, invited others to prayer in her log cabin home. This was the beginning of the first Protestant Sunday School west of the Mississippi River, and the place is marked by a monument in the northeast corner of the Masonic Cemetery on South Henry Street.

3Full of a rich and diverse history, St. Francois County was created out of parts of the existing counties of Ste. Genevieve, Jefferson and Washington. The new county seat of government was centered around Murphy’s Settlement, now Farmington. The first known European settlement was started much earlier in 1796 at Big River Mills near Bonne Terre.

4At 42 miles, the 8-foot wide Plank Road that went through Farmington was the longest plank road in America, stretching from Ste. Genevieve to the mines around Iron Mountain.

5Twenty-six residents of Wayside Inn Retirement Home just outside Farmington died in a fire in April 1979. Many people trapped. Another 11 residents were injured. Only one staff member was on duty at the time. It was believed the fire was accidental, electrical in nature.

6In an effort to attract settlers of German heritage to the booming railroad town, a new village was named in honor of Prince Otto Eduard Leopold Von Bismarck, the Iron Chancellor of Germany. Shortly after the sinking of a German ship during World War I, efforts were launched to officially change Bismarck’s legal name to the more patriotic-sounding, Loyal. A petition was signed by 105 residents and presented in 1918 to the city board. The City of Bismarck was gone for one year and 151 days … until the end of the war.

7Farmington-born Herbert Asbury was a Farmington Times newspaper reporter and the author of “The Gangs of New York.” He became famous after selling an article about a Farmington prostitute to H.L. Mencken’s American Mercury magazine in 1926. Hatrack, the prostitute’s nickname and the title of the article, caused quite a stir in 1920s America. The magazine was banned from sale in Boston and it was reported the Farmington Chamber of Commerce worked to keep it from being sold in Farmington. The citizens of Farmington found out about the article only after a United Press reporter came to town to get quotes from community members about the story.

8Singer Ferlin Eugene Husky was born in Cantwell on December 3, 1925, and went to school in Hickory Grove. Husky attended the First Baptist Church in Leadwood. In the 1940s, Husky sang in St. Louis honky-tonks, then headed for California and started performing with other musicians. He sold more than 20 million records and made more than 18 movies.

Elvis Presley became famous, he opened for Husky a few times. The road that goes through Leadwood City Park was named “Husky Drive” in his honor. A section of Highway 8 in Leadwood has been named Ferlin Husky Highway. In 2010, Husky was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He died in March of 2011.

9Farmington graduate Daniel Peek was a founding member of the iconic folk rock band America, along with co-members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell. The group had a number of Billboard Top 40 Hits in the '70s that included “A Horse

at the age of 60 in 2011. Karsch Boulevard has been named the Daniel M. Peek Memorial Highway.

10During the Civil War, Sam Hildebrand was a notorious outlaw who allegedly killed dozens of men. He was born Jan. 6, 1836, according to his marker in the Hampton Cemetery in Park Hills. Hildebrand grew up in the area of Big River Mills in northern St. Francois County. He was part of a large family. A vigilante group killed his young brother, Frank, for supposedly stealing a horse. The two responsible for killing Frank met death a short time later by Sam’s hand, according to local myth. In retaliation, Northern forces forced his family from their home and allegedly killed two more of his brothers and his uncle. After hearing about their deaths, he swore revenge and joined the Confederate forces. While the exact number of deaths isn’t certain, it’s believed Hildebrand killed 26 civilians and an unknown number of federal soldiers.

travels

miner’s

12Barney Pelty was a St. Louis Browns baseball player known as the “Yiddish Curver” because he was one of the first Jewish baseball players in the American League. His career as a pitcher took him to St. Louis to play for the Browns from 1903 to 1912. In 1912, he was traded to the Washington Senators from the St. Louis Browns. He finished his career with the Senators that year. Pelty was born and raised in Farmington and returned home after his professional baseball career to live out his life in the Farmington community. Pelty served as an alderman for several terms in Farmington. In 2010, the council named the street entering the sports complex “Barney Pelty Drive.”

13Over the years, baseball fans have watched some legendary players take a trip around the diamond at Wilson Rozier Park in Farmington. In the 1940s, a semipro baseball team, the Farmington Blues, took the field against some professional players who would become well known by loyal fans of baseball players such as Yogi Berra, Chuck Deering, Joe Garagiola, Pete Resser and Red Schoendienst. The park was also the site of the St. Francois County Fair, served as the football field for Farmington High School for many years and was the location of many Country Days concerts.

While it is widely known that in 1992, Rivermines, Esther, Elvins and Flat River said yes to a merger, voters in Leadington and Desloge residents said no! Leadington residents defeated the measure to consolidate into one city by a vote of 61 ballots (73 percent) against consolidation. The ratio was similar in Desloge, where 1,233 registered voters (65 percent) opposed consolidation. The name Park Hills was submitted by Mildred Lee, a lifelong resident and a former teacher of Flat River.

In 1901, the St. Francois County Electric Railway Company was formed and work began in Farmington. After a few hiccups, the first electric car on the streets of Farmington ran from DeLassus to Farmington in the summer of 1904. At its zenith, the railway operated four electric cars traveling from the Farmington depot to Flat River in half an hour and connected the county seat to various points of the Lead Belt, joining with the St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad at DeLassus. It also made connections with the Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railroad at Flat River and the Illinois Southern at Esther. It took its last run in November 1957.

Three Bismarck brothers found themselves at Pearl Harbor on the day of infamy, Dec. 7, 1941. Brothers Alfred, Carl Eugene and Robert Van Alstine made it through the entire war safely.

The Long family was an important pioneer family in early Farmington history. Their family home still stands in Long Memorial Park, along with a monument marking the site of Philip Long’s tannery, which was the first industry in Farmington and was established by Philip G. Long, Sr. It was in the park near where the swimming pool was located and the skate park is currently located. In the same park is the Long House, which is in good condition and is maintained by the Monday Club. The Long House was originally built as a log timber construction containing one room downstairs and one room upstairs with an enclosed stairway and fireplace. Both the family home and tannery were constructed in 1833.

The historic St. Francois County Jail and sheriff’s residence is located on the corner of Maple and Franklin streets. Built in 1870-1871, it is a two-story, three bay, Greek Revival-style brick and limestone building. The building was slightly enlarged around 1909. By 1996, it was one of the oldest operating jails in the state of Missouri, but was retired in September of that year when the jail was moved to a newer and larger facility. The building now serves in part as a low-cost inn for people traveling along the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail.

Beneath the city of Bonne Terre lies a subterranean lake that has been a favorite of diving enthusiasts for decades. The Bonne Terre Mine first started operation back in 1860 and eventually shut down in 1962. After that, the mine was filled up with water until Doug and Catherine Goergens stepped in. The couple purchased the mine and helped pump the water down to a certain point. Ever since then, the mine has been open to tourists to offer a preserved mining history of Bonne Terre and St. Francois County. The Goergens developed, own and operate the diving operation known as Bonne Terre Mine. They have also developed the 1909 Depot, also in Bonne Terre, as a Bed and Breakfast Inn which is located within a historic train depot that is listed on the national register of historic places.

issouri became the 24th state on Aug. 10, 1821. That same year St. Francois County also celebrated a huge accomplishment: it was officially organized as a county on Dec. 19, 1821. This means both the state and county are celebrating bicentennials this year.

St. Francois County was officially organized on Dec. 19, 1821, and was named after the 426-mile St. Francis River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. The county, located in the Lead Belt region, covers about 450 square miles. Cities in the county include Bismarck, Bonne Terre, Desloge, Farmington, Park Hills, Leadington, Leadwood and Iron Mountain Lake.

Farmington, currently the largest city and county seat, was incorporated in 1836 when it had a population of about 500. The first board consisted of J.D. Peers, M.P. Cayce, Edward C. Sebastian, William Ross, and Nicholas Fleming.

David Murphy, a member of the First general Assembly of Missouri, donated 52 acres of his farm to St. Francois County to establish a county seat.

The original settlement consisted of 24 city blocks bordered by what is now Spring Street on the north, First Street on the south, Main Street on the east, and A Street on the west.

This generous gift apparently had a stipulation that if what is now the courthouse ever ceases to be used for that purpose, all of the land reverts back to the Murphy family heirs.

To fund this project, much of the 52 acres had to be sold and a special tax was also assessed to help generate additional funds to build a county courthouse.

The actual construction of the first courthouse was done in stages as money was available. The walls were completed.

Additional money was raised to add the roof, and the interior was completed in 1826.

By 1848, this courthouse had become too small and could not contain all the court records, so the county court ordered a new courthouse to be built.

Unfortunately, the second courthouse was poorly built. As early as 1870, the need for another courthouse was apparent. After examination, the building was determined to be in eminent danger and temporary repairs were made.

During the summer of 1885, the offices of the old courthouse were vacated and moved to the Carl Braun Building on the southwest corner of the public square. The county paid Braun $230 in rent for the use of this building for a year.

MA considerable amount of material from the old structure was used to save money. Much credit for the erection of this courthouse was due to County Court Judges Benjamin F. Simms, Peter W. Murphy, and Richard L. Sutherland.

By the fall of 1886, the third courthouse was finished at a cost of $15,000.

The fourth – and current –courthouse was initiated by the Farmington Chamber of Commerce in 1925.

During the last week of January 1926, county officials moved into the Carleton College building, which was vacant. The county records were guarded by a special night watchman. The old courthouse building was sold to the state hospital and torn down soon after it was vacated.

Construction started in 1926 and completed by August 1927.

The current county courthouse – designed from the Roman Corinthian style – includes exterior walls constructed of Carthage and Gray Bedford stone; four entrances marble floors; ornamental interior; marble stairways with wrought iron balusters; and four large Seth Thomas electric clocks, one on each side of the building.

The courthouse annex building was added to downtown Farmington in 2006.

In addition to the courthouse, there are other items which represent the county.

The original St. Francois County seal, redesigned in 1982, was based on the county’s original undated seal. It was again redesigned in 2018. It contains all of the two earlier version’s components with a bald eagle; American flag; Bible and cross; mining shovel and pickax; county map with its 1821 founding date; and the words “The Great Seal of St. Francois County” and “In God We Trust.”

The newest seal was designed by St. Francois County Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher.

Commissioners Kary Buckley and David Kater, along with Gallaher, are elected officials for the St. Francois County Commission. They are responsible for county business, including financial, road operations, budgeting, security and courthouse management.

The commissioners are handling numerous current projects.

“The commission handles today’s issues and looks ahead to tomorrow,” Gallaher said. “Our focus is taking care of that.”

He said the county is experiencing growth in the courts, businesses, and housing and population. He explained the most recent census showed only a

2% increase in population but it is believed many people did not complete the census report.

“Because we are experiencing that growth,” he said, “it’s our job to look ahead. We’re trying to get our building spaces for the county government large enough to handle this growth.”

Gallaher said technology requires more space for businesses to operate efficiently, and the county is experiencing this problem now with office space.

“We’re looking at whatever we can do to improve efficiency and how to get more people working comfortably in those buildings,” he said.

In addition, the commission is working on a satellite location in the northern part of the county where they plan to move their computer servers from downtown Farmington. That building will soon be remodeled to house a St. Francois County satellite office where county residents will eventually be able to pay their taxes and take care of other issues.

The goal is also to include an area in the building for county sheriff’s deputies so they can refuel, take time to warm up or eat a meal, and complete paperwork without having to drive back to Farmington to complete these tasks.

The commission is also considering emergency planning and hopes to add stand-by generators to their properties.

“These are the immediate needs of our county,” said Gallaher, “but we’re also always looking ahead to the future to make improvements for our county and to complete long-term plans and projects.”

Public commission meetings are held every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Videos of meetings are available on YouTube at St. Francois Co YouTube or at the direct link https:// www.youtube.com/channel/ UCs2lcEcIS6ZLmGXyfPWEoVQ.

St. Francois County to mark 200 years on December 19

Marberry mmarberry@dailyjournalonline.com

Two hundred years ago, on Dec. 19, 1821, the new state of Missouri birthed a new county name St. Francois.

Full of a rich and diverse history, St. Francois County was created out of parts of the existing counties of Ste. Genevieve, Jefferson and Washington. The new county seat of government was centered around Murphy’s Settlement, now Farmington. The first known European settlement was started much earlier in 1796 at Big River Mills.

From its beginnings, the first census of St. Francois County in 1830 showed a population of 2,366 that has grown to a 2010 census population of 65,359. Crossed by the northernmost route of the Trail of Tears and the Ste. Genevieve, Iron Mountain, and Pilot Knob Plank Road, St. Francois County has approximately 400 miles of county roads to service its residents.

Situated in the “Leadbelt”, St. Francois County is part of what is known as the “World’s Largest Lead Mining District.” Wellknown names in mining, Firmin Desloge, Moses Austin, Harry Cantwell and others ran many prospects that supported generations of families in the area.

During the Civil War, Sam Hildebrand was a notorious outlaw or hero, depending on whether you were “North or South.” World War II brought us the heroics of Park Hills native Sgt. Darrell S. Cole, a Marine posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Raised in Bismarck, Air Force General Glen D. VanHerck is the commander of NORAD, in charge of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.

The act by the Missouri State Legislature forming St. Francois County is as follows:

“AN ACT erecting a

part of the counties of St. Genevieve, Jefferson and Washington, into a separate county, by the name of St. Francois.

1. All that part of the county of Ste. Genevieve, all that part of the county of Jefferson, and all that part of the county of Washington, bounded as follows, to wit: beginning at the south-west corner of section one, range eight, township thirty-four, in said county of Ste. Genevieve, thence northwestwardly to the north-west corner of section thirty-six, range five, township thirty-seven, thence on a direct line to the southeast corner of section twenty-three, in range six, township thirty-eight; thence on a direct line to the south-east corner of township thirty-nine, range five; thence on a direct line to the south-west corner of section fifteen, in range four, township thirty eight; thence on a direct line to the southwest corner of section

thirty four, in range four, and township thirty-six; thence with the township line between townships thirty-five and thirty-six, to the south-west corner of township thirty-six, range four; thence due south nine miles; thence due east with the Madison line to the south-west corner of section fifteen, in range eight, township thirty-four; thence on a direct line to the beginning, is hereby laid off and erected into a separate county, which shall be called and known by the name of St. Francois county.

2. Henry Poston, John Andrews, William Alexander and James Halbert, be, and are hereby appointed commissioners, with the full power and authority to fix upon the most suitable place in said county whereon to erect a court house and jail; and the place whereon they, or a majority of them, shall agree, shall be the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Saint Francois.

3. The powers and duties of the said commissioners within the county of Saint Francois shall be the same as the powers and duties assigned to the commissioners appointed by “an act defining the limits of Howard county, and laying off new counties within the limits of said county as heretofore defined,” approved November sixteenth, eighteen hundred and twenty, to point out and fix upon the most suitable place in the county of Ray, whereon to erect a court house and jail for the said county of Ray.

4. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, be, and are hereby empowered to receive as a donation, or to purchase the lands by them selected, and lay off the same into lots or squares, and to expose them to public sale, under the same restrictions as are imposed by the before recited act on the commissioners of Ray county, and the powers and duties of the judge of the circuit court shall be the same in the said county of St. Francois as in the said county of Ray.

5. The courts to be holden in the county of St. Francois, shall be holden at the house of Jesse Murphy, until said commissioners shall choose and fix on a temporary seat of justice in said county; and after the said commissioners have selected a temporary seat of justice in said county, the courts to be holden for said county shall be holden at the temporary seat of justice, until a house for holding courts, and a jail, be provided at the permanent seat of justice for the said county of St. Francois.

6. All executions to be issued after the taking effect of this act from the circuit or county courts of the county of Ste. Genevieve, Washington, and Jefferson, shall be directed to the

proper officer of the county of St. Francois, if the person against whom they may issue reside, within the said county of St. Francois, and such execution shall be executed and returned by him in the same manner as if issued by the clerk of the county of Saint Francois; all accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, now pending in the counties of Ste. Genevieve, Washington, and Jefferson, with the proceedings had thereon, to the clerk of the said county of Saint Francois, and shall stand ready for trial or settlement as if they had commenced therein; and all justices of the peace and constables now residing within the limits of said county of Saint Francois, shall continue to execute all the duties of their offices as justices and constables in the county of Saint Francois.

This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the passage thereof.

Approved, December 19, 1821.”

Some of the information in this article is from the book, “Our Lead Belt Heritage” by Henry C. Thompson. The legislation for the formation of the county was provided by Historian Bob Mueller. Photos were provided by Travis Trokey, Farmington Library.

Mark

In 1900, Judge William R. Taylor owned the first automobile in St. Francois County.

Pictured in 1902, is the St. Francois County Railroad.

Pictured is Downtown Flat River in the 1930s.

Bismarck’s native Air Force General Glen VanHerck, is the commander of NORAD and Northcom.

Marine Sgt. Darrell S. Cole of Esther was killed in action at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Cole was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States’ highest military honor, for “conspicuous gallantry” for his actions during that battle, as well as the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

20 FUN FACTS ABOUT

MISSOURI

1Author Laura Ingalls Wilder, famous

for “Little House on the Prairie,” was born in Wisconsin, but she was living in Mansfield when she began her writing career in 1932. All her books were written at Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, where she lived until her death. Each year more than 30,000 visitors come to the

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum.

The 1904 Olympic Games were held in St.

Louis over the course of four months, introducing boxing, freestyle wrestling, decathlon and a dumbbell. Thomas Hicks of the U.S. won the marathon after the disqualification New Yorker Fred Lorz, who completed 11 miles by car, getting out just before the finish.

Someone suggested that the capital city, which was moved from St. Charles in 1821 to a more central location, be named Missouriopolis. Less creative minds prevailed and named it for Thomas Jefferson.

John Adam Lemp – a grocer – started Western Brewing in St. Louis in 1840 and started making Falstaff. It was the largest brewery in the city in 1870 and remained so until Prohibition. The Lemp Brewery Company closed in 1921. The Lemp family home still stands in St. Louis and is acknowledged as one of the most haunted mansions in the country.

Located in the Great Plains tornado belt, Missouri has endured many historic tornadoes including five EF5 tornadoes. The worst tornado in U.S. history, the March 18, 1925 Tri-State Tornado began near Ellington and ended its 219-mile path in Indiana, killing nearly 700 people along the way. The tornado leveled Annapolis and traveled near Cherokee Pass and into Bollinger and Perry Counties.

Louisiana Purchase Exposition or St. Louis World’s Fair on April 30, 1904 was easily the most anticipated day ever in St. Louis. The seven-month run was a smashing success with at least 12 million visitors paying to get in, and 20 million is the often-cited total attendance. There’s still controversy

Photo Courtesy of Missouri History Museum

Remember Iben Browning’s prediction for a massive earthquake along the New Madrid fault Dec. 3, 1990 (give or take 48 hours) that closed many schools for the day. It earned him the National Anxiety Center’s first Chicken Little Award.

The Lake of the Ozarks has more miles of shoreline (1,150) than the coast of California. The lake was the largest manmade lake in the United States, when it was completed in 1931 by the Union Electric Co.

Saint Louis University, chartered in 1832, is the oldest University west of the Mississippi River. It started in a private residence as Saint Louis Academy.

Located in the St. Francois Mountains, the highest point in Missouri, at 1,772 feet, is Taum Sauk Mountain State Park. It includes Mina Sauk Falls (flows in wet weather only), the tallest waterfall in Missouri.

On February 5, 1911, lightning struck the dome of the Missouri State Capitol, igniting a blaze which destroyed the building. As a result, the State Capitol Commission Board was established to coordinate and supervise the construction of a new capitol, the third capitol located in Jefferson City and the sixth in the state. The new Capitol was constructed between 1913 and 1917 at a cost of roughly $4.21 million.

In the state flag, having the coat-ofarms in the center of the national colors represents Missouri, as she is—the geographical center of the nation. By mingling the state coat-of-arms with the national colors of red, white, and blue, the flag signified the harmony existing between the two. Twenty-four stars surrounded the coat-of-arms, representative of Missouri’s position as the 24th state admitted to the Union.

In 1995, Gov. Mel Carnahan signed a bill designating the Missouri mule as the official state animal. The mule is a hybrid, the offspring of a mare (female horse) and a jack (male donkey). After its introduction to the state in the 1820s, the mule quickly became popular with farmers and settlers because of its hardy nature. Missouri mules pulled pioneer wagons to the Wild West during the 19th century and played a crucial role in moving troops and supplies in World Wars I and II. For decades, the Show Me State was the nation’s premier mule producer.

The ice cream cone became the state of Missouri’s official dessert on August 28, 2008. The 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis is the reported birthplace of the treat and has become a staple at many community events across the state, such as the State Fair. The University of MissouriColumbia has played a large role in the development of ice cream products for over a century. Missouri presently ranks 10th in ice cream production.

First speaker of the house buried here

MARK MARBERRY mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

As Missouri and St. Francois County celebrate their bicentennials this year, the names of many historical figures are mentioned for their involvement in the state’s founding, including the first Missouri Speaker of the House, James Caldwell, who lived in Libertyville and is buried near Farmington.

Caldwell was born in Virginia on July 4, 1763. As is typical with opening a new land, many of its leaders were born elsewhere and may have considerable exploits in other venues. This holds true for Caldwell, a Revolutionary War veteran.

Most people think of the Revolutionary War as colonists fighting British troops for independence. However, what was then the frontier needed troops to defend against attacks from American Indians and Caldwell’s service during and after the war seems to be exclusively in that theater.

On Nov. 4, 1833, at the age of 70, Caldwell appeared before the County Court of St. Francois County, Missouri, to apply for a Revolutionary War pension. In a statement of his military service, Caldwell noted that “I was and always considered myself as a minuteman ready to march against the enemy whenever they were

known to be amongst us during which time I did many hard tours that it is out of my power to recollect their duration and date of service...”

Taken from this statement, Caldwell’s service is listed below.

In the spring of 1778, at the age of 15, Caldwell enlisted in the Virginia Militia to fight in the Revolutionary War as a “substitute” for his father, Samuel Caldwell. Substitutions in the military were common at the time, and Caldwell appears to have substituted for other men during the war.

His first tour of militia duty was 15 days spent pursuing hostile Indians who had burned Farlow’s fort in Virginia’s Culberson’s Bottom, an area that is now part of Summers County, West Virginia.

This campaign was under the leadership of Captain Archibald Wood. Caldwell’s next tour was a year later in the spring of 1779 where under the command of Captain Thomas Wright, he was stationed at the home of William Lafferty in about the same area.

In the fall of 1779, Caldwell wrote that he moved to Kentucky — not yet a state, but still part of Virginia — but returned to Virginia in the spring of 1780.

In 1781, Caldwell served again under Woods in the drafted militia in the same area stationed in the home of Thomas Shelton for one month. He then served the next month in the same place as a substitute for a

Mr. Richards. Later in that year, he served a month in the same area stationed in the home of William Lacy, again under the command of Woods.

In the fall of 1781, Caldwell took up permanent residence near Stanford, Kentucky, and wrote that he was involved in the “many hard tours that it is out of my power to recollect their duration and date of service” under the famed Colonel William Whitley.

In 1782, Caldwell was drafted and served one month under Captain John Woods and was stationed at Estell’s Station near what is now Richmond, Kentucky. He then served another month in the same situation as a substitute for Henry Boyers under the command of Colonel Benjamin Logan.

In the fall of 1782, Caldwell was drafted again and rendezvoused at Bryan’s Station to serve with company officers Captain Andrew Kinkead, Lieutenant William Young and Ensign John Bryan. The battalion commandant was Colonel John Logan and the regiment commandant was Benjamin Logan, all serving under the renowned General George Rogers Clark.

The company Caldwell was in joined the main army at Cincinnati, Ohio, and marched to Chillicothe, Ohio. According to Caldwell, they killed 16

warriors

After the Revolutionary War, Caldwell was involved in various tours against American Indians until serving as a company commander in the disastrous “Battle of Pumpkin Fields” on Oct. 22, 1790, in the Northwest Indian War where federal troops and militiamen engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Miami Tribe of American Indians, losing 200 men. Of the 22 in his company, 11 were killed and three wounded.

Twenty-two years after signing up to help create a new country with 12 years of off-and-on warfare on the frontier, Caldwell settled down and became a politician. He married Meeke Perrin in Lincoln County, Kentucky, on Nov. 30, 1786, and in 1800 he was elected to the Kentucky General Assembly from Harrison County and served in the legislature until 1807.

In 1810, the Caldwells moved to a farm in Libertyville, Missouri. At the time, Libertyville was in Ste. Genevieve County, prior to the formation of St. Francois County in 1821. Other members of Caldwell’s family had previously moved to Missouri, including his half-brother Kinkead Caldwell, known as the first settler and a founder of Franklin Coun-

In 1820, Caldwell was elected to the first Missouri House of Representatives and was named speaker. In 1822 he was elected to the Missouri State Senate and then lost a reelection bid in 1824 to James Kerr — his son-in-law.

Caldwell died on Sept. 6, 1836, and is buried at Farmington’s Parkview Cemetery.

Reporter’s Note: A special thanks to Marlyn Mauk of the Sarah Barton Murphy Chapter of the DAR for initiating this article, along with research from Kevin Hulsey. The transcription of James Caldwell’s pension statement was by C. Leon Harris of revwarapps.org.

Researchers for this article included Travis Trokey, librarian, Farmington Public Library; Robert J. Mueller, the State Historical Society of Missouri; Nathan Elwood, administrator, Missouri Legislative Library; Nancy Suthoff, legislative assistant for state representatives Mike Henderson and Dale Wright, and

and took women and children as prisoners. He spent six weeks on this tour.

ty whose home is near Washington, Missouri.

The book, “History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri” states that the Territorial Legislature began its session in St. Louis on Dec. 5, 1814, and James Caldwell of Ste. Genevieve County was elected speaker. Kinkead was also elected to serve as a representative.

Arthur B. Caldwell.

Mark Marberry, Daily Journal Pictured is the headstone of Revolutionary War veteran and first Missouri Speaker of the House James Caldwell at Farmington’s Parkview Cemetery.

Submitted James Caldwell, who fought in the Revolutionary War, became Missouri Speaker of the House after he and his wife moved to Libertyville and he was elected a state representative.

Submitted Pictured is Meeke Perrin Caldwell, the wife of James Caldwell.

With a history stretching back 157 years, Cozean Memorial Chapel is one of the oldest mortuary establishments in Missouri.  Organized in 1864 by Thomas Lang, one of Farmington’s outstanding leaders of the Nineteenth Century, the firm was a sideline of his family’s better known business, the Lang Manufacturing Co, which produced high quality wagon and farm implements that were sold throughout the nation.  However, as a pioneer embalmer, Lang also operated a funeral service that provided local residents with embalming and other funeral services--including caskets which were manufactured at the wagon plant. In 1864 during the Civil War, Lang was given permission by Union officers at Farmington to pass through Union lines at the Battle of Pilot Knob to retrieve and embalm Union soldiers killed in action. As Farmington continued to grow, Lang decided to inaugurate the area’s first full-service funeral facility in 1889. In 1912 the business was moved from the Lang factory to the new Tetley Building on Columbia Street.

Another important name in the firm’s history was Henry Hugo Rinke, who was born in Soest, Germany in 1860. When he was 13 years old, his parents sent him and his brother, Julius, age 8, to the United States so they would not be inducted into the Prussian Army when they came of age. The two young men grew up in Belleville, Ill, with a relative, Wilhelm Winkleman, who was an attorney and a merchant who traveled back and forth to Jefferson County, Mo. He became acquainted with a Drucilla Rutledge, a widower, who needed help operating the farm where she lived. Wilhelm decided that the two boys could help her on the farm.

In time, Henry married Catherine Rutledge, Drucilla’s daughter, while he pursued a career as a carpenter and a traveling salesman. His travels took him to Montana, where he also learned the art of embalming. The family eventually settled in Flat River, Where he built a number of houses and was also in immersing the first mining shaft sunk in the

Leadbelt area.

In 1901 he established the Rinke Undertaking and Tin Co. in Flat River. In addition to funeral service, he also maintained a tin shop where he made cabinets and wood-based products--including caskets. He was a successful businessman and was the first person to be elected mayor of Flat River.

The Lang family continued their founder’s commitment to excellence in funeral service for another four years. Selling the firm to Henry Rinke, a pioneer embalmer who operated Rinke Undertaking Co at nearby Flat River. Rinke was highly respected in the community, where he was elected the city’s first mayor the first time Flat River was incorporated. His daughter and son-in-law, Elva and Rolla Cozean in 1916, the new owners brought renewed energy and vitality to the business. This fact was demonstrated by the new name given to the firm, the Cozean Funeral Home. The ties to the past were not completely severed however, as the corporate name; the Farmington Undertaking Company has been retained to this day.

More significant changes came in 1930, when the firm expanded its operation by moving to a large, graceful dwelling on North Washington Street. During the next two decades, a mainstay of the firm was Elva Cozean, who often coordinated the many aspects of the firm’s operations.

Continued excellence in service meant more growth, and the need for additional space prompted the business to move in 1940 to its present location on West Columbia Street.

In 1943 ownership of the firm passed to the Cozean’s son, Charles Hugo, who continued to expand the business and its facility over the next 40 years. During his years with the firm Hugo also served as president of the Southeast Missouri Funeral Directors Association and

later as chairman of the State Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.

Following his death in 1982, the business has been operated by his son, Jon, who represents the fourth generation of the family’s commitment to Farmington Undertaking Company. During 1993, and stretching into 1994, the firm’s building was remodeled and enlarged, making it the largest funeral facility in this part of the state. More change came in 2000, when their main visitation room was enlarged and remodeled. More recently, a new parking lot was built adjacent to the funeral home.

Jon Cozean is very proud to be the fourth generation of funeral directors to operate the Cozean Memorial Chapel in Farmington.

Cozean Chapel also introduced video tributes to the area and is currently on the cutting edge of development of this service which now includes the use of animation. It introduced the area’s first motor-driven hearse and later the first Cadillac hearse. It was the first area funeral home to use air conditioning, electronic organs and computers. For more than 40 years beginning in 1925, the firm employed Nellie Harter, the first lady embalmer in southeast Missouri, and one of the first to be licensed in the state.

All these modernizations did not change the fundamental aspect of doing business for the members of the Cozean Funeral Home family and staff. The core values of excellent professional service and compassionate care for the bereaved are still in evidence as strongly as they were for the founder, Thomas Lang.

A lot to offer Sullivan explains why people come to SFC

“The first thing that I don’t think people really fully understood or accepted is St. Francois County is a first class county in the state and that puts it in the league with St. Joseph, Springfield, Cape Girardeau and a lot of others,” Sullivan said. “We are a first class county now and people that are looking for a place to live … go where the most services are offered.”

Sullivan said St. Francois County jumped from a third class county to a first class county. According to the St. Francois County website the designation occurred Jan. 1, 2013.

“If you are looking to come to Missouri from out of state, you are looking for certain things and there are certain services provided by first class counties that are not provided elsewhere,” Sullivan said. “It still really hasn’t sunk in to the people who live in

Sullivan said when a company is looking to move from one state to another they have to look at numerous factors including the needs of their employees.

“You’ve got all of the families of the officers and the bosses of the company that are involved in taking their kids out of school,” Sullivan said. “They said OK what kind of state are we going to, what kind of educational system do they have, what kind of higher educational system. When you look at St. Francois County, you see that we have five very fine school districts, then you have a community college.”

Sullivan said having a community college such as Mineral Area College is something not every county has and it is a real asset to the area. MAC has on-campus partnerships with University of Missouri-St. Louis and Central Methodist University.

Mineral Area College’s Fall 2021 enrollment is currently 2,295 students with 1,244 of those coming in

from outside of St. Francois County.

“Mineral Area College is proud to be a part of the St. Francois County bicentennial celebration,” Mineral Area College President Dr. Joe Gilgour said. “We have been a part of this community for nearly 100 years and are proud to serve the residents with high-quality, affordable, education.”

Gilgour said Mineral Area College is very attractive to those outside the area because of the low cost, personal attention, and high quality programs offered.

“Students find the support they need to succeed in small classes taught by our dedicated faculty, preparing them to transfer to a university or begin a career,” Gilgour said. “At MAC, students experience a welcoming environment and opportunities for growth and engagement both inside and outside the classroom.”

Sullivan said when you get past looking at educational opportunities, you start to look at crime statistics, municipal services, and medical facilities such as Parkland Health Center, with locations in Farmington and Bonne Terre.

The former Mineral Area Regional Medical Center could soon be getting a new life as a central institution for those suffering from homelessness, mentally illness and substance abuse issues. East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA), partnering with Great Mines Health Center, is applying for a Community Development Block Grant with the Department of Economic Development through the state of Missouri for up to $2 million to renovate a portion of the old hospital.

“I think from the state point of medical services, you have an array of locally-owned as well as nationally-owned skill care facilities,” Sullivan said. “You have a number of things, my kids are going

to be taken care of, higher education can be obtained. There is something in case my mother has to move from Pennsylvania and can no longer live alone. We can bring her here to Missouri and put her in a skilled nursing facility that is of high quality.”

Sullivan said you begin to round out that whole ball of wax ranging from the children to the parents of the people who are moving here. He said covering those wide range of needs helps satisfy companies and their families when they get ready to move.

“We have a Swedish-owned firm in this county that has doubled its expansion and when the gentleman came here to dedicate the building and recognize the expansion he noted the quality of workers that we have,” Sullivan said. “Since they own several different companies, they may in the future think about locating another one of their distribution points here.”

Sullivan said the company, which is located in Bonne Terre, can ship anywhere in the United States overnight and that is a great advantage point of St. Francois County.

Fuel costs are a big expense so that is something considered when a company or family is looking at moving.

“You are very close to Cape Girardeau and St. Louis, just an hour drive either way, to access any other things you would want …”

Sullivan said sometimes we may feel like we have traffic but we do not know what traffic is. He said we are able to drive to the drug store or grocery store and get back with little trouble.

“I think all of those things are factors that attribute to people coming to this area and companies moving here,” Sullivan said.

The county is already home to a number of large

companies and Sullivan said the largest employers are not in the public sector, but instead are located with the industrial parks.

“The jobs that are paying something are in our industrial parks,” Sullivan said. “There has been three companies located in the Bonne Terre IDA in the last year and you don’t even see the buildings when you drive by because they are down the hill from where you go by on the highway.”

Sullivan said the industrial parks have done so well that Farmington is out of land, Parks Hills has maybe one lot open and the IDA is working toward getting a new property in Bonne Terre certified as an industrial site, which would be the first of its kind in the four-county region.

St. Francois County is attractive for more than its education, healthcare and opportunities but also for its recreation. The yearly festivities such as the St. Francois County Fair, Country Days and Blues, Desloge Labor Day Picnic, Brews and BBQ, offer unique fun for the entire community. Then there are the state parks, bike trails, and more ready for everyone to enjoy.

“The quality of life is recreation and having fun things to do and there is an abundance in this area,” Sullivan said. “Certainly to local business people, the state parks in the region are a source of customers.”

Sullivan said campers come into the neighboring communities to shop, eat and explore.

“All of this is a tremendous economic impact,” Sullivan said. “When Mel Weems and the group from Bonne Terre bought the land where the St. Francois State Park is, they bought up a farm and gave it to the state to make a state park, those were some pioneers who could see down the road what it meant to have

in

area to attract

Alan Kopitsky and Victoria Kemper

As St. Francois County turns 200, we asked St. Francois County IDA President Al Sullivan what makes the county such an appealing place to live, work and play.

St. Francois County that we are playing in the league of first class counties but to companies outside the state and maybe people moving in it is a big thing.”

recreational activities

your

people. Some of those people who planted those seeds. we are now bearing the fruit of their hard labor.”

Several festivals are held in St. Francois County including the Blues, Brews and BBQ.

Flat River Junior College was the predecessor to Mineral Area College.

The Park Hills Industrial Park is almost full.

Mineral Area College, which will soon turn 100, is in the process of adding new facilities.

Bonne Terre Industrial Park has been growing since it began in 2001.

St. Francois County is part of the Parkland region with beautiful nature areas.

Parkland Health Center has facilities in Farmington and Bonne Terre.

The Shed Vapes is celebrating four years of being open for business.

Stan Janis opened his business in 2017 to help other people.

He smoked cigarettes and chewed tobacco for 35 years. He tried everything to quit, including hypnosis, acupuncture, and Nicotine gum and patches. Nothing worked.

At that time, Stan’s daughter worked at a vape shop. He went to visit her and ended up buying a vape and supplies from there. That was eight years ago and the reason Stan no longer smokes or chews. He’s been sharing his success with others on how they, too, can choose an alternative to tobacco use.

“Quitting was my inspiration to others,” Stan said. “When I found out that vaping was the way to quit smoking and chewing, I started sharing this information with others. For me as a Christian guy, I want to help others quit smoking and chewing and not die of cancer.”

Nearly a decade later, Stan has been guiding others away from cancer-causing cigarettes and tobacco. When customers enter his business in Bonne Terre, they often tell him how they’re sick of smoking and need help.

Fortunately, customers can buy everything they need to quit smoking from Stan for as low as $35. He only sells authentic vape equipment. All items are namebrand FDA-submitted products. “We are wholesale to the public,” he said, “so we are able to give people options. Instead of just a few pieces of equipment, we

carry several different pieces and a variety of flavored juices.”

The Shed Vapes carries 200 flavors and brands of juice he sells. Two of customers’ favorites are blue raspberry and iced banana with a menthol flavor.

He estimates that his business has saved more than 5,000 people from smoking and chewing.

“We don’t simply sell products,” said Stan. “We teach people how to use the items they purchase from our store.”

He said he’s not in the business to make money and he’s not trying to put any retail shop out of business. They simply want to sell items at a reasonable cost to save people money and help them quit smoking or chewing.

“We’re very customer-focused. Our goal is to help people quit smoking and chewing,” Stan said. “Then we help them to quit vaping.”

He said it’s important to help customers decrease their nicotine levels.

“That’s one of the biggest things that separates us from other shops,” said Stan. “We actually teach people to use the equipment. We teach them about what they’re getting and why they’re getting it, and we don’t sell customers something they don’t need.”

He explained that there are nearly 5,000 chemicals in traditional tobacco. Of those, 68 have been proven to cause cancer.

“So far, nothing has been shown in vapor products that causes cancer,” he said. “The eliquid products we carry are premiumbrand ejuices made with foodgrade products and ingredients.”

Stan said The Shed Vapes has up to 150 customers visit his business

daily, and employees are trained to ask new customers questions regarding their smoking habits in order to help them select products that are best suited for them.

He also owns a shipping company, so any profit earned from The Shed Vapes goes directly to the community. This is yet another way his business stands out from competitors.

In fact, The Shed Vapes recently raised $1,000 for Shop with a Cop.

“That money comes from our customers,” Stan said. “We make sure it’s clear that our customers get the credit for that. They throw their spare change in a box and we match it.”

The business donates money to other charities in the area, including the sheriff’s and fire departments. They have also purchased thermal imaging cameras, TVs and other items for local organizations.

“We give our customers the credit,” he said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here or be able to help others.”

Owner Stan Janis and Jordan Wood of The Shed Vapes

Gallaher looks ahead to SFC’s next 5-20 years

will drive people south. You come here and build and you don’t have to have an inspector for everything you do.”

There has been some discussion of an overpass at St. Francois State Park to remove the at-grade crossings on US 67.

“I would love to see one there,” Gallaher said. “As part of the MoDOT Transportation Advisory Committee we turn that in every year, that’s one of my big ones. It’s never discussed.”

Another project in the pipeline is some work planned on a property already owned by the county. Gallaher is working on the idea of renovating the old MoDOT garage on Raider Road just south of Bonne Terre for multiple uses.

“We are thinking of uses for that satellite building,” he said. “We have a lot of property there. What started it was the need of a second location for our computer services for backup.

With 200 years of history behind the

county, Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher talked about the future of the county and shared some of the ideas he has to help it progress.

“I look from five to 20 years ahead,” he said. “When it gets out there, it gets kind of foggy.”

A near future project in the northern end of the county, Gallaher speaks about the building of the Berry Road Bridge, something that has been sorely needed since the demolition of the old bridge in 2014.

“We have already spent $280,000 on a design,” he said. “We definitely will be building that bridge, especially with these new infrastructure bills coming through. They might as well have had the

them.”

As part of the project, Gallaher said they will be repaving Berry Road from Bonne Terre to Route JJ.

“We will hopefully be reducing the number of at-grade crossings up there and changing that traffic flow, because it’s very dangerous,” he said. “My personal view is that we are going to be seeing a lot of development up there.

“We have seen and will see more growth in what I call the northwest corridor of the county. There will be new housing and new businesses up there. There’s a major quarry going in up there. There is a concrete plant that is built. I think those will drive new housing up there.

“Jefferson County has a population of 240,000. We have 67,000. They only have about 50% more land than we have. Proportionally, people per acre, they’re more densely populated. That and their planning and zoning laws

“I’ve looked at a dozen buildings and I’ve driven these towns looking for buildings. Anything that I liked would have cost more than $1 million. This, for $250,000, we can have it looking sharp and very functional. It’s the idea that the northern part of the county gets better service.”

Among other uses, a part of that building may become a mini-station for the sheriff’s department.

“They need a place in that end of the county where deputies can stop and warm up, microwave a sandwich, whatever they need,” Gallaher said. “They don’t have to drive all the way to Farmington to do their reports.”

Meanwhile in the county seat of Farmington, Gallaher says that office space has been the consistent problem he has had as his responsibility for the county’s buildings.

“We are in the process now of designing an addition of the Juvenile Detention Center, they need more office space,” he said. “In the process, we are building that addition big enough that they will

take those offices out of the Weber Road Facility and move them. It could be that we will move the commission there.”

Gallaher is constantly thinking of various scenarios to try and alleviate the growing need for more office space for all of the elected officials. One interesting scenario is how he thinks about moving the paper storage.

“The courthouse is 21% paper storage,” he said. “I’m thinking of moving that storage out and put offices in the basement, that’s where most of that is. Right now, there is a water sprinkler system over the paper records. That’s a big issue. I looked at going to dry storage and dry fire suppression and it’s hugely expensive.

“We have property here under the parking lot. If we dig a basement under the parking lot that you can park on top of, we could put in an 80’ x 100’ basement there. The IT guy said it will be a safe place to put the servers. Somebody else said that it would be the storm shelter we need. I would lose one parking place because the far corner would need a safety exit and a vent shaft. It’s one of those far out there possibilities if there’s no other way to go.”

Gallaher has two issues with the project. They don’t know where all the utilities are and how high the water table is in a town notorious for its many springs.

When asked about the cost of the structure, Gallaher mentioned that buying any property nearby and building the correct structure would also be extremely expensive.

“We do have to be close for the records,” he said. “They can’t be going out to Weber Road or somewhere every time they need to search the records.”

A major project in the works for St. Francois County that still has a long ways to go is the 140-acre Owl Creek Park outside of Desloge. Gallaher said when finished, it will be a very family-friendly park.

“We’ll have a walking trail, biking trail and probably an equestrian trail,” he said. “We’ll have fishing and boating. It’s become a major project.”

Gallaher is very optimis-

tic about the growth of St. Francois County throughout all of its municipalities.

“I foresee a lot more growth coming, I think we’ll become a stronger county economically,” he said. “I think we are in a very positive place. Growth feeds on itself. More people come here. More doctors, dentists; more stores and hospitals, whatever you need will be here.

“The people that live in Reynolds or Iron Counties that find themselves in Farmington three times a month anyway are going to retire here. Why not? We’ve got what they need or do, they can get an apartment or retirement villa and live here and sell the farm or whatever. They will move here. The more people move in, the more services you are going to see here.

“We talk about the growth of Farmington. Say you live in another county and don’t want to live in a big town. You want to live in one of the smaller towns. You go to Park Hills or Bismarck or closer to where you were, but you are still in driving distance of Farmington every day. I see the towns around us gaining by that, too. You are closer to your doctor and maybe want to eat out a couple times a week. I see these other towns benefitting from that.”

Gallaher is certainly aware of the criticisms of the management of the county and is always looking to improve the way it is run.

“Everybody talks about how we need to act like a First Class County,” he said. “We are trying to, but that’s not an overnight switch. We are doing things and getting everything going. It’s a work in progress and will be forever.

Things change.”

Mark Marberry mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com

Berry Road Bridge name on

Plans are underway for the 140acre Owl Creek Park outside of Desloge.

The Weber Road facility is a newer county building located in Farmington.