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]

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]

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1848, Progress Report, Part 2 of 4

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1848, Progress Report

Part 2 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 2 of 4"

           Throughout the 1840s, following getting the mill up and running smoothly, Robert, Susannah and David Baldridge had expanded their cattle business in the pastureland on the ridge on the north half of their property. Dense forest of oak, hickory and pine covered the western and northern borders of that land. The road from the north ran along the east side of the property just west of Oak Creek which flowed from the Big Spring several miles north of the county line and near the Baldridge property line down to the falls. When Victor Campbell had brought his small beef cattle herd into the west valley, it had enhanced cattle breeding opportunities for everyone, as had the arrival of one or two cattle each with other new residents of the valley. Robert, Susannah, and David had effectively become cattle brokers, stockmen, from their position at the mill where they saw most everyone a few times a year.  During this same period, they had added some modest grain storage capacity where they stored, sold and exchanged excess grain with their customers in the valley and beyond.

Last summer (1847), Owen Olson and Jake Patton entered into a set of agreements where by Owen 1) became the primary blacksmith at the Patton Shop, 2) purchased outright the land the Olsons had been working on shares with the Pattons, and 3) purchased the additional forty acres directly north of their original land. Liam Olson, now 14 years old, began an apprenticeship as a blacksmith under his father with additional guidance from Jake Patton.  Owen’s wife, Anna, and their daughter, Allison, now 11, in addition to helping on the farm and garden, also continued to work closely with Kate Patton and Victoria Truesdale at the General Store and the Patton Hotel to do the work that needed to be done, whether clerking, housekeeping or other activities.

Earlier, in 1843, organized as Ashley County, the area directly to the west of Oak Creek Township in 1845 was officially organized as Texas County, named after the Republic of Texas. In 1846, the town of Houston was organized near the Big Piney River somewhat south of where the lumber camps had been. 

           

[...to be continued... on Jan 3, 2014, with Part 3 of Summer 1848 Progress Report]

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1848, Progress Report, Part 1 of 4

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1848, Progress Report

Part 1 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 1 of 4"

           Fifteen years in the valley and the original families suffer their first adult death – Laura, wife of Henry McDonald, and mother of Harry and Daniel, passed away in May. She was just 47 years old and just didn’t wake up one morning. She left Henry with a nearly 10-year-old son, Daniel, to look after.  Laura was buried on a knoll just south of the Cardinal Corner on McDonald land. That acre was subsequently surveyed and officially donated by the McDonalds to the Township for an official cemetery.

Meanwhile, also in the McDonald household, Harry and Sarah McDonald had added two sons, Thomas, now 3 and Patrick, now one, to go along with daughter, Caroline, to be 5 years old in August. Henry and Harry continued their regular weekly freight runs along with their farming operations. Henry McDonald had added the 320 acres to the north, across the river that included the front of the ridge along with the eastern side of the pool on Oak Creek near the Baldridge property. In addition to the farmland along the creek, they obtained ownership and access to the timber on the ridge as well as the caves there and the resources within.  Harry and Sarah (Baldridge) McDonald had further added the northern half of this same section that was largely pastureland and represented an eastward extension of the Baldridge pasture. This represented Sarah’s continued involvement with the Baldridge family cattle business.

Just to the west of the McDonalds, Hugh and Victoria Truesdale had also been able to purchase the additional 160 acres to the west of their place, as planned. Their children, Jane, 11, and Lewis, 6, were becoming more involved in the farming activities and the animals used there.  Hugh continued to be involved in the mule breeding operation and developing improved agricultural techniques. He took the lead in the valley sharing information with current and new farmers arriving to grow the community as much as possible.

           

[...to be continued... on Dec 20, 2013, with Part 2 of Summer 1848 Progress Report]