Railroad Towns Grow in Daviess County

PHOTO BY HUBERT LONG, GALLATIN The impact of the railroad in the development of rural America cannot be overstated. Nearly all towns in Daviess County were built around railroad depots. Transportation for developing commerce depended on trains, both to ship farm products and livestock out as well as to bring manufactured goods and products here. Trains impacted the very fabric of every community, bringing national figures like William Jennings Bryan here or delivering disadvantaged children from the cities seeking opportunities in rural Midwest small towns via the “Orphan Trains.” And in 2017, railroads still impact decisions here as Daviess County seeks ways to replace bridges on low-traffic roads using railroad flat cars. The influence of railroads here began soon after the Civil War. By 1869 a narrow-gauge railroad called the Chicago Southwestern was rolling through Daviess County. Then in 1898 the Rock Island took over, making Altamont the site of the largest coal chute between Kansas City and Chicago. The Rock Island built 13 houses for railroad workers, several of which still stand and are in use at Altamont. Meanwhile, the Omaha & Chillicothe Railroad was in operation in 1871, putting “Pattonsburgh” on the map in northwest Daviess County. Gallatin’s prominence was fueled in no small way the crossroads of two railroads. The impact of by being rail commerce led to the relocation of a college from Edinburg, MO, to Gallatin (1893-1918). Nationally known McDonald Tea Room built its reputation by attracting traveling salesmen who then lauded the restaurant’s fare across the country. The stopover at Gallatin allowed vaudeville from Chicago one last dress rehearsal before performing for audiences at Kansas City – much to the delight of Gallatin folks hungry for live entertainment at local meeting halls. The Rock Island depot at Winston has survived because it was turned into a community museum by the Winston Historical Society. Railroad tracks bisecting the county were torn out during the early 1970s; the last Rock Island train came through in March, 1973. Other depots are now non-existent or in a state of slow decay. Of all the water tanks, coaling docks, depots, tunnels and turntables built to support the rail lines, only one track is still active here today – the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific near Lock Springs in the extreme southeast corner of Daviess County.

Just south of the county on this same line is the newly constructed 110-car shuttle-loader grain storage facility, built by MFA Incorporated and MFA Oil Company. The new facility, capable of handling 14 million bushels of grain annually, opened in 2017. It provides direct access to the Union Pacific Railroad and Highway 36 to I-35.

Rock Island Depot Jamesport, MO 1909

FRANK & JESSE JAMES

Winston Depot the Scene of 1881 Robbery, Murder

This is the Rock Island train depot in Winston, MO, where James Gang members embarked in order to pull off their 1881 robbery. The depot was built in 1871 on a high point in Daviess County, halfway between Gallatin and Cameron. The first station agent was T.F. Jefferies, a native of Somersetshire, England. Two sets of tracks fronted the depot and were used for switching cars while a set of siding tracks ran behind the depot.

Today the Winston depot lives on as a community museum developed and maintained by the Winston Historical Society. It displays James Gang legend and lore on the authentic site where the 1881 train robbery commenced. The depot stands at the south edge of Winston, at the junction of Highway 69 and Route Y.

This railroad stone culvert, located east of Winston, MO, can still be seen today. It is commonly associated with the James Gang robbery of a Rock Island train in 1881 even though its construction actually postdates the infamous robbery and murder. Before this, a wooden trestle was used instead of this huge stone arch. (photo date unknown)

“Once I interviewed a Gallatin lady whose husband worked for the railroad during the Great Depression. During these years the railroads were one of the main sources of public transportation. Most railroads operated with three shifts, seven days a week. As the severe drought lingered and both farmers and workers had fewer dollars to spend, the railroads were used less and less. Railroad workers began to lose their jobs — they were "bumped," meaning the newer employed workers lost out to those with more seniority. Many workers lived in old railroad cars in disrepair. The inside Wabash Depot during it’s last years in operationwalls weren't plastered and dust often filtered inside. These cars were set in yards located about approximately 30 feet from the tracks. In some parts of the country, obtaining water was difficult even in normal times. People had unsuccessfully tried to drill for water. To solve the water problem, water was often shipped into town by the use of a large railroad tank car. Workers, in turn, packed the water they needed into their "boxcar" houses.” — Wilbur Bush, Gallatin

Towns

Perhaps no railroad impacted North Missouri more than the Hannibal-St. Joseph Railroad, located just south of Daviess County. The railroad anchored the east end of the Pony Express at St. Joseph, and changed many commerce routes by horse-drawn freight wagon not just in Daviess County but throughout the entire region. Wherever trains rolled, communities developed Shipping livestock...

Very little land in northern and northeastern ...or were obliterated. Daviess County was purchased by private

About 1835 Matthew Patton built the first water-mill in Benton Twp. on Big Creek. Patton Mill later changed to Pattonsburgh. The spite of a railroad official, in charge of the 1871 construction of the Omaha & Chillicothe Railroad, doomed the town when the tracks skirted the river bottoms to arrive at high ground three miles to the southeast. The tracks then illogically turned back south to end on the bank of Big Creek in a low, undesirable site thickly covered with elm trees. A box-car depot was erected, named Elm Flat. Businesses followed the railroad and thus the name “Pattonsburgh” was removed on the map.

Boxtown...

In 1825 business coming up the river from Brunswick created a trading center on Lick Fork Creek at a grist mill called Boxtown in Harrison Twp. But then the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad laid tracks just two miles to the south, eliminating Boxtown’s future.

Old Greasy...

owners before 1850. Most of the better land in the county was sold under the Pre-emption Act of 1841 for $1.25 per acre, or donated to help develop the railroads. The last recorded cattle drive from Daviess County occurred in 1849. Railroad shipping greatly impacted the agricultural economy here. N.B. (Pole) Brown became a great cattle shipper when the railroads came. Brown is reported to have shipped 2,000 carloads of cattle during 1870-1880. In 1880 he shipped 400 carloads of cattle from Daviess, Harrison, Gentry and Nodaway counties. Since one carload held 40 head of cattle, Brown would have shipped 16,000 head of cattle during this one year.

For over 40 years the settlement between Springhill in Livingston County and Mill Port in Daviess County was known as Old Greasy. In 1871, the St. Louis & Omaha Railroad bypassed this settlement, making way for the rapid development of Lock Springs.

Victoria...

This Jefferson Twp. community, named for the English queen, saw its trade diverted when the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad was built. Victoria ceased to exist as early as 1880.

Bancroft...

Located in Lincoln Twp. in northeast Daviess County, this town gave way to Gilman City about 1890 when tracks for the Omaha & Quincy Railroad were laid just a mile away.

Special Trains: When interest warranted, the railroads would announce special trains scheduled for specific purposes. One example occurred in 1886 when 19-year-old convicted murderer Joe Jump was executed, the first public hanging in Daviess County, MO. This attracted a huge crowd (estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 people); the Rock Island ran special trains to Gallatin for the benefit of spectators. Train cars can be seen behind the scaffold in many authentic photos of the hanging. Two weeks later the hanging of Jump’s accomplice, John Smith, attracted a crowd of witnesses estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

1872 — RAILROADS IN NORTH MISSOURI

1902