The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1860, Progress Report, Part 2 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1860, Progress Report

Part 2 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1860, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 2 of 2"

In the spring of 1858, Wilson and Wanda Craddock brought their family to a new location just to the west of the town center along Center Creek. Their farm was directly east of the Jefferson Lowden farm and bordered Jake Patton’s land on the east. They built their house along Center Creek in the southwest corner of their property, and used an access road they created along the south side of their property to enter the west side of Oak Springs, north of the Patton Spring location. In the spring of 1859, Silas and Madeline Hamby purchased the 160 acre section right south of the Craddock place and located their house on the north side of the creek downstream from the Craddocks and also near the road into town from the west.

In the summer of 1857 an interesting stranger arrived in the valley with six horses and two mules with packs filled, largely with tools and small implements. He had visited with people in the valley earlier in the year, but had come in quietly, made some inquiries, had some discussions and left with few others in the valley even noticing his presence. It turned out he had arranged to purchased two town lots (Lots 2 & 4, Block L) east of the Livery Stable complex for a wood working shop and the adjoining twent acres of farm land on the edge of town from Jack Patton. Owen Olson now owned the land to the east. Levi Weston was both a breeder of Morgan horses and a skilled maker of wood furniture, carriages and wagons. Levi, a single man 34 years old, came from a family noted for raising Morgan horses and building and operating wagon transportation businesses. 

His father was in this business in Jefferson City where Levi learned his craft. Levi had built a carriage for Jake Patton, while Patton was there for his legislative service, and it was during that process that Levi had learned about Oak Springs, this valley, and the opportunities that might be available for him here. He used his farm land as a pasture for his animals and a small personal farming operation. His horses were available to lease through the Livery Stable and for breeding purposes. He made household work products for sale, and larger custom furniture, cabinets, carriages and wagons as needed by his customers. He had arrived in town with a contract to build two wagons over two years for the McDonalds freight line that he completed on schedule which, along with his other fine work, built a fine reputation in the community.

A count of people in the valley during the summer of 1860 disclosed a total number of permanent residents of 116. Of these 61 ranged in age from 20 to 64. 55 were therefore under age 20, 26 in the 6 through 13 grade-school age. As previously was the experience, the children were spread across the valley such as that transportation issues precluded starting a central school. 

Early this year (1860), Jerry Potts, and his wife, Polly, moved to Oak Springs, bought the lot north of the Jones’s Boarding House, and built a home and a combination barber shop, apothecary, and print shop (Block J, Lot 3). 

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1860, Progress Report, Part 1 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1860, Progress Report

Part 1 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1860, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 1 of 2"

In the past five years our valley has matured and grown slowly. We have added xxx building to our town site, four new farms have been started by new neighbors, and several new homes were built in town by residents already living in the valley.

In the summer of 1859, the marriage of two young people, each born in this valley to members of the founding families, was an occasion for wide and gala celebrations. Jane Truesdale, oldest daughter of the first couple to be married in the valley, in the fall of 1833, Hugh and Victoria (Patton) Truesdale, married Daniel McDonald, son of Henry and the late Laura McDonald. They expected to have a long and happy life together and looked forward to starting their family. 

Prior to the McDonald-Truesdale wedding, Hugh and Victoria Truesdale, along with 9-year-old daughter, Nellie, had built a new home in the southeast residential neighborhood in Oak Springs and planned to move there. Daniel and Jane would then start there married life in the family home on the farm in the east valley.

In the McDonald household, Harry and Sarah’s oldest daughter, Caroline had spent the 1857-58 and the 1858-59 school years in St. Louis with relatives attending a girl’s academy and had now returned to the family farm. Sons, Thomas and Patrick, 15 and 13, respectively, were actively engaged with their father and grandfather in both the farming and the freight line business, but in very different ways. Thomas seemed to always be fully engaged, looking for ways to contribute, and expressed interest in taking on more responsibilities in each area as he matured. Patrick, on the other hand, as often is the case with a second son, in this case, was only interested in participating to the extend his family obligations required. Growing up, he and his GranPa Henry, along with younger brother Alex, now 11, had spend much time in the woods and along the streams, hunting, fishing and trapping, when required farm work and freight line obligations did not require their presence. Now a teenager, Patrick spent more and more time pursuing these activities alone, especially exploring and running trap lines in streams to the south from their farm, including tributaries of Oak Creek, deep in the hills. There he often encountered other young men, from the south, coming north into those same streams, woods, and hills. The northern and southern settlements, because of the topography, continued to be separated by about four to five miles. Perhaps it was the allure of the wilderness in this stretch that drew the interests of all the young men, north and south. Two more daughters had also joined the McDonald household, Mahala, in 1852, and Rebecca, in 1855.

Lewis Truesdale had spent the previous school years in Jefferson City living with his Truesdale grandparents and attending Secondary School there. He was now back working with the family businesses. 

Jacobi Inman reduced his travel time by bringing his hometown childhood sweetheart, Belinda, back to Oak Springs as his wife in the summer of 1857. They lived with his parents.

Just four new families moved into the valley to purchase and establish new farms in the past five years. Each of them came from the north this time, having become familiar with the Oak Creek valley from visits to the mill. They recognized that there were still a few pieces of ground with better soil than where they had been further north in the water shed. Ephraim and Beulah Bressie were the first of these to arrive in the spring of 1856. They located straight north of town on the 160 acre section directly north of the Jesse Bartlett farm. The following spring, Abner and Delta Wingfield located their family ‘across the road’ along the North Spring Run from the Bressie family, on the southwest side of the small waterway. Their 160 acres were directly west of the Bressie place and directly north of the Oliver Dodson farm. This made three homes now situated on the road straight north across the Houston Road, effectively an extension north of Central Avenue in town.

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1855, Progress Report Part 2 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1855, Progress Report

Part 2 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1855, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 2 of 2"

Also in 1852, the new Oak Springs Savings Bank was formed by Jake Patton, Robert Baldridge and Victor Campbell. Jacobi Inman was hired as clerk in the bank. A building for the new bank was built on the east side of Central Avenue to the north of the Livery Stable (on Lot 3, Block G). The Livery Stable building complex had been expanded in 1849 to include an office and a sale barn facility (all of Block K) for the local mule and horse breeding business. 

In 1854, the Town Council finalized plans for and constructed a Town Hall on a lot just south of the Patton Blacksmith Shop and adjoining the town park which had been named Patton Park. This was now designated as the southwest corner of 1st Avenue, W. and First Street, S. (Lot 2, Block U)

Through a series of additions and renovations, the Patton General Store had been converted to a General Mercantile Store (now on Lots 1 and 2 of Block S) which continued to include the U.S. Post Office operation. It was now managed by Anna Olson. Victoria Truesdale served as Postmaster and Anna Olson as Assistant Postmaster.

In the fall of 1854, a student count was again made. Those eligible now totaled 27 and included the following, but they were still spread across the valley, making even two school buildings too far from many of the students:

First grade - Lily Johnson, Paul Pryor, Dorothy Cox, Charity Dodson, Stefanie Gifford

Second grade - Patrick McDonald, Leon Bartlett, Alice Duncan, Belinda Carroll, Sasha King

Third grade - Bart Simpson

Fourth grade - Rose Rhodes, Edward King, Priscilla Pryor, Thomas McDonald, Julia Sullivan

Fifth grade - Anderson Cooper, Charlie Dodson, Monty Carroll

Sixth grade - Bernie Cox, Alfie Duncan, Lorraine Bartlett, Caroline McDonald, Franklin Gifford

Seventh grade - Elmo Simpson, Lewis Truesdale

Eighth grade - Mark Rhodes

In the southeast corner of the town plat, a fine residential neighborhood (Blocks W and X), on the east side of Central Avenue, had arisen with the addition of new homes for Jake and Kate Patton, Victor and Camilla Campbell, Jonathan and Jessica Ames, Hugh and Victoria Truesdale, and Wesley and Betty Mathison.

In the western valley, Delbert Campbell and Delia Rhodes were married and moved into the Victor and Camilla Campbell family home as the Campbell parents had already moved into Oak Springs. 

George and Marcia King bought the Peter and Elvira Simpson farm and the Simpsons moved out of the community. Both Kaitlin and Luke Rhodes moved away to live near relatives and, to date, had not returned. Likewise, Arne and Alfie Duncan left home to attend school near relatives in the St. Louis area and had not returned. 

In the central valley, Reuben Ramsey and his wife, Becky divorced in 1851, and, within a year, each had left the valley to return to Texas County from whence they had come. Gideon and Louisa Inman purchased the acreage where the Ramsey’s had been farming from Jake Patton and now live in the home on that property. As noted above, Jonathan Ames had brought his bride to live here in Oak Springs as had Wesley Mathison. Three new families have moved into the central valley, each on Center Creek south of Houston Road, Jasper and Leannah Die, Jourdan and Martha Sullivan, and Jefferson and Sophia Lowden.

In the eastern valley, along Oak Creek, new farm families were Samuel and Cordelia Street and Edmond and Josephine Gifford.

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1855, Progress Report Part 1 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1855, Progress Report

Part 1 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1855, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 1 of 2"

Now seven years after Oak Springs was organized as a town, the community has seen six new residences added, six new commercial buildings and two expansions of existing commercial properties within the town itself and five additional new farms created across Oak Creek Township. This has been a period of steady if not great growth for this valley.

In 1849, ‘gold fever’ got the better of Frances Holt. He sold his farm to his neighbor, Grant Carroll, and took off for Springfield to join a group of ‘forty-niners’ headed for the California gold fields. Elizabeth Holt left the valley with him, with the stated of intent of going to live with relatives in the Springfield area. We are not aware of anyone hearing from them again. There was fear in some quarters that others might leave, but no one else was ready to make the commitment and actually leave.

In the summer of 1850, a count of young people in the valley disclosed 15 students between the ages of 6 and 13. This would be enough for a school, but they were spread fairly evenly across the valley, and the distance to travel to any one location was too great. Those students who would were of school age were:

First grade - Anderson Cooper, Charlie Dodson, Monty Carroll

Second grade - Bernie Cox, Alfie Duncan, Lorraine Bartlett, Caroline McDonald

Third grade - Elmo Simpson, Lewis Truesdale

Fourth grade - Mark Rhodes

Fifth grade - Arne Duncan

Sixth grade - none

Seventh grade - Luke Rhodes, Daniel McDonald

Eighth grade - Jane Truesdale, Allison Olson

The total count of young people under 20 was 35. The older population ranging up to age 54, totaled 47 making a grand total of people in the valley of 82 persons.

Robert and Susannah Baldridge purchased the south half of Block N in Oak Springs, diagonally northwest across Central Avenue from the General Store. They built their 

new residence on the the west lot, Lot 3, in the fall of 1848. In the spring of 1849, they opened a business, a combination of feed store and lumber yard, on Lot 4 on the corner of Central Avenue and Patton Street. This provided a central valley location from which to sell products produced by the mill operation in the eastern valley. Robert and Susannah initially ran the business themselves. In 1850, eighteen-year-old Theodosius Rhodes came into town and worked as a clerk in the store. In 1853, he was promoted to manager. Shortly thereafter, he and Lillian Campbell were married. 

A dry goods store was build by proprietor Percival Jones and his wife, Katherine, in 1850 across the street from the Patton Hotel (on Lot 2 of Block N).  They lived at the hotel while the store was being built and through that winter. In the spring of 1851, they built their home a block west of the store (on Lot 2 of Block M) and continued to operate the store with an ever increasing line of goods for the entire family. In 1853, the Jones’ built a boarding house on the lot (Lot 1 of Block N) between their store and their home. It is currently managed by Mrs. Sally Rhodes Campbell.

Physician Jonathan Ames and Lawyer Wesley Mathison formed a real estate partnership late in 1850 and their first project was a building north of the Jones Dry Goods Store (Lot 4, Block J). This office building, beginning in May of 1851, housed offices for each of their professional practices. Their second project, in 1852, was to construct a third building in the row on the west side of Central Avenue (Lot 2, Block J) which now is being used for their real estate business and an insurance agency operated by Gideon Inman. 

[to be continued... Part 2 of 2]