Friday, January 31, 2014

Founding and Growth of Oak Springs


Founding and Growth of Oak Springs

Draft

Founding and Growth of Oak Springs - Patton Land Donation

This is an American Centennial Project by xxx xxxx. For this project, I talked with several of the older members of the founding families of the first settlements in this valley. This is a summary of what they told me.

As soon as Jake Patton and the other founding families had their land claims confirmed with the county government, Jake had been planning for and working toward formal establishment of a village or town in the valley. He wanted to have it be centered around his spring, blacksmith shop and the General Store. Toward this end, he first sought in 1841 and eventually, in March 1842, received authorization to open an official U. S. Post Office in the General Store. When he found the name “Oak Creek” was already spoken for, elsewhere in the state, he settled for “Oak Springs” which also seemed appropriate, as well. Jake Patton was named Postmaster, and Kate Patton was named Assistant Postmaster. The name “Oak Creek” had been given to the township when it was established in 1841.

From an early date, Jake had sketched out a town site, four blocks wide and six blocks long, north and south, split in half by a main street running between his original blacksmith shop and the original General Store. When the town site plat for Oak Springs was finally approved, in 1848, it followed those guidelines very closely. 

By having the vision for the town already in mind, and having it on land he owned, when new buildings were planned and built, they were built with this grid in mind. For example, the first hotel was just north of the General Store location, followed by a livery stable just to the north of that. What became “Central Avenue” ran north and south right in front, on the west, of those buildings. 

What became known as Patton Spring and Patton Run (now a part of Patton Park, of course) were in the southwest corner of that initial town site plat. Patton Run was the creek running from the pool at Patton Spring into Center Creek a relatively short distance to the southwest. 

Hand-drawn Draft of Town Plot - Oak Springs

[Click to see Enlarged View]


Oak Springs Town Plat and subsequent transactions

The initial Town Plat consisted of 26 blocks of 2 1/2 acres each. Each block was designated with a letter. Each block consisted of 4 numbered lots.

Central Avenue split the town plat north and south; two block to the east, divided by 1st Ave. E. and two blocks to the west, divided by 1st Ave. W. The eastern and western boundaries were therefore 2nd Ave E. and 2nd Ave W.

Patton Street ran east and west just north of the General Store. This left two blocks to the south, divided by First Street, South. The southern boundary of the town plat was designated Second Street, South. To the north, separating each set of blocks, were: First Street, Second Street, etc. This made the northern boundary Fourth Street.

Jake Patton retained ownership of Blocks K, O, S, R, and Q.
Owen Olson retained ownership of Block Z


Sale of lots:


  1. Sep 1848 - Robert Baldridge - Block N, Lots 3 & 4.
  2. Sep 1848 - Jake Patton - Block W, Lot 1, and Block T, Lot 1
  3. Sep 1848 - Owen Olson - Block Y, Lot 2 and Lot 4
  4. Sep 1848 - Victor Campbell - Block W, Lot 3 and Lot 4
  5. Sep 1848 - Hugh Truesdale - Block W, Lot 2, and Block L, Lot 1 and Lot 3
  6. Jun 1850 - Percival Jones - Block N, Lot 2
  7. Jul 1850 - Jonathan Ames - Block X, Lot 1 and Lot 3
  8. Jul 1850 - Wesley Mathison - Block X, Lot 2 and Lot 4
  9. Nov 1850 - Ames & Mathison RE - Block J, Lot 4
  10. Feb 1851 - Percival Jones - Block N, Lot 1 and Block M Lot 2
  11. Feb 1851 - Ames & Mathison RE - Block J, Lot 2
  12. May 1851 - Gideon Inman - Block J, Lot 1
  13. Jan 1851 - Oak Springs Bank - Block G, Lot 3
  14. Jun 1857 - Levi Weston - Block L, Lot 2 and Lot 4
  15. Mar 1860 - Jerry Potts - Block J, Lot 3

Friday, January 24, 2014

Extract of 1850 Census for Oak Creek Township


Extract of 1850 Census for Oak Creek Township

As shown in the Tentative Table of Contents, of The Founding Collection of Short Stories, the final element of Part One, is this listing of the residents, with full name and ages, of Oak Creek Township, including the Town of Oak Springs.



Extract of 1850 Census for Oak Creek Township

Henry McDonald, 49
Harry McDonald, 28
Sarah McDonald, 28
Caroline McDonald, 7
Thomas McDonald, 5
Patrick McDonald, 3
Alex McDonald, 1
Daniel McDonald, 12

Hugh Truesdale, 38
Victoria Truesdale, 31
Jane Truesdale, 13
Lewis Truesdale, 8

Riley Cooper, 29
Julia Cooper, 29
Anderson Cooper, 6

Robert Baldridge, 47
Susannah Baldridge, 47
David Baldridge, 25

Owen Olson, 38
Anna Olson, 38
Liam Olson, 16
Allison Olson, 13

Jesse Bartlett, 32
Eliza Bartlett, 32
Lorraine Bartlett, 7
Leon Bartlett, 3

Oliver Dodson, 30
Deborah Dodson, 31
Charlie Dodson, 6
Charity Dodson, 2

Reuben Ramsey, 22
Becky Ramsey, 21

Ralph Campbell, 25
Sally Rhodes Campbell, 23

Hotel Residents:

Jonathan Ames, Physician, 34
Wesley Mathison, Lawyer, 29
Percival Jones, Dry Good Proprietor, 33
Katherine Jones, 33

Jake Patton, 54
Kate Patton, 52

Ace Donagan, 44

Grant Carroll, 28
Rachel Carroll, 28
Monty Carroll, 6
Belinda Carroll, 3

Lawrence Johnson, 25
Lucinda Johnson, 24
Lilly Johnson, 2

Frances Holt, 34
Elizabeth Holt, 33

Jacob Pryor, 27
Patsy Pryor, 27
Priscilla Pryor, 5
Paul Pryor, 2

Victor Campbell, 46
Camilla Campbell, 46
Delbert Campbell, 23
Lillian Campbell, 17

Joshua Cox, 29
Tetisha Cox, 30
Bernie Cox, 7
Dorothy Cox, 2

Michael Duncan, 32
Amanda Duncan, 32
Arne Duncan, 10
Alfie Duncan, 7
Alice Duncan, 3

Peter Simpson, 30
Elvira Simpson, 30
Elmo Simpson, 8
Bart Simpson, 4

George King, 31
Marcia King, 28
Edward King, 5
Shasha King, 3

Nathan Bishop, 26
Sharon Bishop, 23
Joey Bishop, 1

Eli Rhodes, 45
Emeline Rhodes, 44
Delia Rhodes, 21
Theodosius Rhodes, 18
Kaitlin Rhodes, 15
Luke Rhodes, 12
Mark Rhodes, 9
Rose Rhodes, 5




Friday, January 17, 2014

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1848, Progress Report, Part 4 of 4



The Founding of the Homeplace
Summer 1848, Progress Report
Part 4 of 4


"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 1848, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 4 of 4"


           On June 26, 1848, the plat of the town of Oak Springs was formally approved and the town was organized. It was four blocks wide and six blocks long, running north and south with Central Avenue being in the center of the north-south plat. Central Avenue was the street running in front of the General Store, Donagan’s Tavern, the Patton Hotel and The Livery and stable, as Jake Patton had envisioned it from an early day. The southwest portion of the plat incorporated Patton Spring, the pool, and a portion of Patton Run, the small creek running south and west toward Center Creek. Jake and Kate Patton donated the land to the city, reserving to their ownership that land on which sat the Blacksmith Shop, their house, the General Store, the Tavern land, the Patton Hotel and The Livery. The land west of Central Avenue and south of the shop was designated as a public use area to be developed as a park and fair grounds, which had become its common use through years of practice.  In addition, two blocks to the east that included the Olson home were included in the original town plot, donated by Owen Olson with the east block, where their home sat reserved to their ownership. These made the town plot consist of 26 blocks of 2 ½ acres each. Each block, designated by a letter, consisted of 4 numbered lots.

Sale of the rest of the lots would build a capital and operating fund for the town.  Initial Council Members, who each subscribed to buy two of the town lots immediately, were Jake Patton, Owen Olson, Victor Campbell, Hugh Truesdale and Robert Baldridge.
Jake and Owen already lived in the new town limits, of course. Victor Campbell pledged to build a new town residence before the winter set in, as did Robert Baldridge. Hugh Truesdale indicated that he, Victoria and Nellie would be doing the same in the summer of 1849 coincident with the marriage of their daughter, Jane, to Daniel McDonald, who would then move into the family home on the farm.
Around the valley, Joshua Cox and Nathan Bishop located near Victor Campbell farm on the Western Branch while Grant Carroll and Lawrence Johnson located near the Center Creek near Frances Holt and Jacob Pryor. Peter Simpson, Eli Rhodes and George King were the other Western Branch area farmers.
           

[This is the last in this series of posts]

Friday, January 10, 2014

Tentative Table of Contents - "Next Book" - first half or so


Tentative Table of Contents
"Next Book"
first half or so


[Source: Currier & Ives, “Home in the wilderness,” c1870; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov : accessed 31 Dec 2012)]


Centennial Book Outline - Nov. 9, 2013 update


“American Centennial at the Homeplace: The Founding (1833-1876)”

Table of Contents

Preface - Concept of the Book

Introduction - Summary of layout and what to expect


**Part I - Oak Creek Township Stories to 1850

1833: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4
1838 Progress Report
1843 Progress Report
1848 Progress Report
Extract of 1850 Census


**Part II - Oak Springs, Oak Creek Township Stories to 1861

Founding of Oak Springs
1855 Summary of Growth
1860 Summary of Growth
Extract of 1860 Census
Township Land Purchases to 1861
Oak Springs Land Purchases 1848-1861
List of Businesses and Buildings to 1861
Governmental Positions by Residents to 1861


**Part III - Stories of the Civil War Period (1861-1865)

Civil War Short Story
Stories of Civil War Soldiers and Others
*** Daniel McDonald
*** David Baldridge
*** Lewis Truesdale
*** Gideon Inman

*** Owen Olson

[To read a discussion on this post, see the Today's Thoughts on... posted yesterday]

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Today's Thoughts on… the Founding of the Homeplace (II)


Today's Thoughts on… the Founding of the Homeplace (II)

[This is a new Daily Theme I've adopted here as Author and Creator of The Homeplace Saga, beginning with the start of 2014. The intent here is to be able to "step back" and share what I see as useful thoughts about both process and product issues of the Saga components.]

If you did not read the first post (I) last week, you might want to read it first… ;-)


[Source: Currier & Ives, “Home in the wilderness,” c1870; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov : accessed 31 Dec 2012)]

As I mentioned last time, on November 2, 2012, I posted the first of an ongoing series of Friday posts (one, two or three a month) beginning to share stories related to the Founding of the Homeplace from early 1833. These have generally been presented as 4-part serial presentations of a series of short stories (1833, 1838, 1843, 1848).

Tomorrow, I will publish here the (first portion of the) Tentative Table of Contents of the "next book" - the story of the Founding, as discussed last week.

I have already written 25-30 of the short stories, some of which have been and are being shared on Fridays, here, in serial form. This Table of Contents will show the organization, as currently planned, in the first three parts (there will likely be five parts) of the "next book." You will notice that Part I consists of the stories shared on Fridays so far (through Jan 2014).

Part II will share the stories of Oak Springs and Oak Creek Township - the Homeplace -  up to the start of the Civil War. These stories were presumably written by the settlers, from their journals, from their memories, of how life was - at the Homeplace during that period of time (as was done in Part I for the earlier period).

Part III deals with the total devastation of the town during the Civil War and how each of the families and individuals living there coped - and survived (or did not survive) the war time period. The first story, in this part, is the central story of the book. My original intent was to "save it" for the book. But, with the new philosophy shared last week, it will be shared this summer, in serial form, just like the rest of the stories. The other stories of Part III will be brief 'memoirs' of other leading characters regarding their Civil War experiences.

My intent here is to share with you the process of building this Collection of Short Stories - how they will be organized into a Collection - and where they fit in the overall and ongoing "The Homeplace Saga" of historical fiction family saga stories.



This discussion will continue next week, in this spot…  ;-)







Friday, January 3, 2014

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1848, Progress Report, Part 3 of 4



The Founding of the Homeplace
Summer 1848, Progress Report
Part 3 of 4


"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 1848, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 3 of 4"


           Jake Patton, now 52, continued to perform gunsmith work along with his many other interests. In 1846, he was elected a State Representative to the Missouri House from the local district and continued to serve in that role.  In 1844, he had added a livery stable north of the hotel to his list of business interests. Ralph Campbell, who had worked in the horse and mule breeding business, had gotten married (to Sally Rhodes) and was now managing the livery stable. He was also farming on shares a 40-acre plot of Patton farmland directly west of the Livery operation. To the north of that, Jake Patton had a similar shares farming arrangement with Reuben Ramsey and his wife, Becky. They were a new young couple that had just moved into the valley from Texas County to the west.  Both Sally Campbell and Becky Ramsey also worked part-time at the Patton Hotel in the kitchen and in housekeeping.

When Jake Patton was elected to the Missouri House, in 1846, Kate Patton became the Postmaster and Victoria Truesdale became the Assistant Postmaster.
In addition to the Ramsey couple, the new families in the valley over the past five years were headed by: Grant Carroll, Lawrence Johnson, Riley Cooper, Nathan Bishop, and Joshua Cox.
In 1847, Robert Baldridge was elected to the Shannon County Commission representing the north half of the county. While taking on these additional responsibilities, his son, David, now 23, took on an even more active management role in the mill operations.  In 1846, Riley Cooper and his wife, Julia, had moved from Houston to be an operator at the mill. Robert and David had met Riley on their trips to the Houston area and asked Riley to come work with them when he had expressed interest. As part of the move, Robert had purchased a 40-acre farm to the southwest of the mill that Riley and Julia Cooper farmed on a sharecrop arrangement.
In 1846 when Jake Patton was elected to the Missouri House, Owen Olson was elected Oak Creek Township trustee to replace him in that role. Likewise, when Robert Baldridge was elected to the County Commission in 1847, Hugh Truesdale was elected to the eastern Township trustee position. Victor Campbell had continued to serve as the western representative. On the roadways in the township, the main emphasis had been on improving the east-west road that ran along the north edge of the Patton property and along the south edge of the McDonald property.  Over time, this road became referred to more and more as “the Houston Road.” 
           

[...to be continued... on Jan 17, 2014, with Part 4 of Summer 1848 Progress Report]

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Today's Thoughts on… the Founding of the Homeplace (I)


Today's Thoughts on… 
the Founding of the Homeplace (I)


[This is a new Daily Theme I've adopted here as Author and Creator of The Homeplace Saga, beginning with the start of 2014. The intent here is to be able to "step back" and share what I see as useful thoughts about both process and product issues of the Saga components.]

On November 2, 2012, I posted the first of an ongoing series of Friday posts (one, two or three a month) beginning to share stories related to the Founding of the Homeplace from early 1833. These have generally been presented as 4-part serial presentations of a series of short stories (1833, 1838, 1843, 1848). [You can start at the link above, read each one, and read the next at a single click at the end - if not, please let me know! ;-)]

[Source: Currier & Ives, “Home in the wilderness,” c1870; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov : accessed 31 Dec 2012)]

I have previously noted that these Founding Short Stories will eventually be compiled into the "next book in the series." - likely titled: "American Centennial at the Homeplace: the Founding of the Homeplace (1833-1876)." That will probably still take place, later in 2014, or early in 2015.

However, the NEWS today is that, rather that ending the Friday serial presentations in January, as I had earlier anticipated, the Friday serial presentations will be continued, and perhaps accelerated to an every Friday serial installment presentation.

Let's step back, for a moment, and consider the background of this decision. For some time now, I've been posting book excerpts on Monday and these serial presentations of Fridays. These, with reminder posts on social media (Facebook, Google+, sometimes Twitter), typically receive about 100 page views - several have exceeded 200, and some have exceeded 400. Free gets attention! Some of you are obviously reading what I write - even if not everyone, of course.

Contrast this with relying on "books" - either print or Kindle - for you folks to read my work. While "Back to the Homeplace" did sell several hundred print copies, and more on Kindle, the subsequent books, in the recent years of ebooks, have been read by very few (can't be read, if not bought!). Publishing, reading, … the whole industry… has changed dramatically.

THEREFORE, the decision to continue to publish the weekly stories of The Homeplace Saga.

All four books are still available in print and kindle. Please consider adding them to your collection… to get the FULL stories. Meanwhile, thanks for reading these posts.

This discussion will continue next week, in this spot…  ;-)


*****
"May each of us have a Homeplace to hold onto, if only in our minds."

Bill ;-)