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    Jackson, MO: & Surrounding Communities
    Jackson, MO: & Surrounding Communities
    Jackson, MO: & Surrounding Communities
    Ebook1,626 pages16 hours

    Jackson, MO: & Surrounding Communities

    By Turner Publishing

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    (From the Preface) The Jackson Heritage Association is proud to offer this book as a sampling of the history of Jackson, the surrounding area, and the families that have had a part in making this county such a great place to live...Many more volumes could be written on the history of the towns, government, roads, and buildings of Cape Girardeau County; however, we wish to emphasize that this book is by, about, and for, the families of the area.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTurner Publishing Company
    Release dateDec 19, 2002
    ISBN9781681625126
    Jackson, MO: & Surrounding Communities

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      Jackson, MO - Turner Publishing

      History of the Jackson Area

      A Brief History of Jackson Missouri

      This history is an updated version of the history previously printed in Celebrating 175 Years of Tradition, 1814-1819, Jackson, Mo., by Dr. Alberta Dougan, combined with submitted articles including information from local newspapers of the past.

      Jackson, The City of Beautiful Homes, Churches, Schools, and Parks, became Cape Girardeau County’s second town early in the 19th century as European and American immigrants came to settle a rich, untamed wilderness. The history of the settlement and development of Jackson is closely tied to the fate of its neighboring city on the Mississippi River to the east, Cape Girardeau.

      The earliest European settler in the Cape Girardeau area was Louis Lorimier, a French-Canadian, who was given the right to establish a home and conduct trade with the Indians in such lands as may be unoccupied on the Western side of the Mississippi, from the Missouri to the river Arkansas in 1793 (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, p. 170). In 1795 Lorimier petitioned Governor-General Carondelet for a grant of land where Cape Girardeau is now located. That grant and other lands allowed him on the condition that within one year he make a road and regular improvements eventually totaled about 8000 arpents, roughly 6600 acres (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, p. 177).

      Americans began moving into the Cape Girardeau district in 1795. Although Lorimier had aided the British in the American Revolution, he apparently viewed American settlers as important to the growth and profitability of his settlement. The Spanish possibly believed American settlers would be willing allies against the British, who still had troops based in Canada, should they attempt to seize Louisiana. Therefore, the Spanish were willing to offer land to Americans under the conditions that they make improvements in their grants and abide by Spanish law. Thus the first American settlement in the Cape Girardeau District began just to the southwest of Lorimier’s post of Cape Girardeau where Andrew Ramsay, a Virginian, and several members of his family established plantations. Most settled close to the Ramsay plantation. However, his son-in-law, William Dougherty, established his plantation in 1798 on Hubble Creek near the present city of Jackson. Other early settlers along Hubble Creek were Ithmar Hubble (sometimes spelled Hubbell), 1797, for whom the creek was named, who built a mill close to where the town of Gordonville is now located; John Summers and his son John, Junior, 1796; Andrew Summers; James Mills, 1799; and Colonel Christopher Hays, 1800 (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 184-187). Also settling in the Jackson area were the Amos Byrd family, 1799, who came from eastern Tennessee and settled west of present day Jackson; the German-American settlers who came from North Carolina to the Whitewater River with Joseph Niswonger in 1799; and the family of George Frederick Bollinger, of Swiss German descent, who also came from North Carolina to the area of Burfordville in 1800 (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 184-188). Many of these families would play important roles in the development of Missouri.

      The Louisiana Purchase, completed by the United States in December 1803 by paying $15 million to France, brought drastic changes to the Cape Girardeau District. One of the most serious difficulties encountered by many settlers was the question of recognition of land claims made under the auspices of the Spanish government when, in reality, the Louisiana Territory had been returned to France in 1800 in the secret treaty of St. Ildefonso. However the French had never taken formal possession of the territory. Thus when the United States took possession in 1804 and in the Act of Congress that created the District of Louisiana of which Missouri was a part declared that all grants of land made after the Treaty of St. Ildefonso should be void unless the grant had been made to an individual according to the laws and customs of Spain and that the individual had settled the land prior to December 1803, many settlers had cause to believe that their land claims would not be honored. In addition, the Act provided that no grant of more than one-mile square (640 acres) would be honored for an individual unless such claim included legitimate grants for other family members (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 376-378).

      The Cape Girardeau County Courthouse, circa 1900. Photo courtesy Alvin Kamp.

      The District of Louisiana was attached to the Indiana territory for administrative purposes with William Henry Harrison as governor. Governor Harrison appointed Colonel Thomas Scott to be Lieutenant Governor of the Cape Girardeau District, which was retained intact under U.S. territorial control. In addition, a Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions was created. In January 1805, Governor Harrison noted that no permanent seat of justice had been designated. He therefore empowered the court to ask for bids for a site. Louis Lorimier offered land in Cape Girardeau and William Dougherty and Jesse Cain offered land along Hubble Creek near the present town of Jackson. Lorimier’s offer was accepted, and on January 13, 1806, the governor issued a proclamation designating Cape Girardeau as the permanent seat of justice. The newly created court held its first meeting on March 19, 1806. Christopher Hays was Presiding Judge with Louis Lorimier, Thomas Ballew, Robert Green, John Guthing, John Byrd, and Frederick Limbaugh as associate judges. Joseph McFerron was commissioned as clerk of the court and John Hays as sheriff. The first grand jury was composed of Henry Sheridan, James Earles, Joseph Waller, John Taylor, Daniel Harkelrode, Louis Lathem, John Patterson, Matthew Hubbell, Elijah Whitaker, Ithmar Hubbell, Martin Rodney, Samuel Pew, James Boyd, William Boner, John Abernathy, Samuel Randol, James Currin, Robert Crump, Samuel Bradley, and Frederick Bollinger (Goodspeed, 1888, pp. 316, 318).

      In an Act of Congress in 1805, Upper Louisiana was detached from the Territory of Indiana, becoming the Territory of Louisiana. General James Wilkinson was appointed governor and assumed his duties immediately. President Thomas Jefferson removed him from office in March of 1807. His replacement, Merriwether Lewis, arrived in St. Louis in July 1807 (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 402-409).

      Home-Comers and Dedication of the new Courthouse, September 1908. The old Courthouse in front of the newly constructed Courthouse was left standing to accommodate the large crowds.

      The Cape Girardeau County Courthouse, 1970s.

      Among the acts passed by the Territorial Legislature in 1808 were provisions for incorporating towns by the Courts of Common Pleas and the appointment of commissioners to view and lay out a road from St. Louis to New Madrid. This road followed the old Spanish trace and is today incorporated into U.S. Highway 61. The Territorial Legislature had to make provisions for the building and maintenance of the roads. Thus citizens were required to provide from two to thirty days of road service annually, assessed according to the amount of property owned. In addition, a citizen was required to serve in the militia as needed for defense. Another obligation introduced by the territorial government was assessment of local taxes, a practice unknown under the Spanish. For the most part these taxes consisted of property taxes and merchant licenses (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, pp. 414-415).

      An Act of Congress in 1812 created the Territory of Missouri. A territorial General Assembly was to be created by election in each of the five counties, formerly known as districts, of members of the territorial House of Representatives and of a delegate to Congress. The President was to select a nine member Legislative Council, consisting of persons nominated by the territorial House of Representatives. In addition, the Act decreed that schools should be provided for from the public lands of the United States within the territory.

      Members of the first territorial House of Representatives from Cape Girardeau County were George Frederick Bollinger and Stephen Byrd. From the names submitted to the President, William Neeley and Joseph Cavender were appointed to the Legislative Council from Cape Girardeau County. William Clark was named as the governor of the newly created Territory of Missouri. Among the action taken by this first General Assembly was provision for taking a census of the male population to determine future representation. Results of that census, taken in 1813, found Cape Girardeau County with 2062 white males (Houck, Vol. II, 1908, p. 106).

      Selecting a New County Seat

      The present city of Jackson came into being because of the newly acquired territorial status of Missouri. Although Lorimier had been awarded the original site for a seat of justice in the district, a new seat of justice was created for Cape Girardeau County by order of Territorial Governor William Clark in 1813. Thus the seat of justice was moved, partly because of the creation of a new Court of Common Pleas, which replaced the older court structure, and partly because problems with Lorimier’s land grant and the legal difficulties associated with probating the will following his death in 1812 brought growth of Cape Girardeau (also referred to as Lorimier’s Ferry or Lorimont in some documents) essentially to a standstill. It was apparently decided to move the county seat to an area exhibiting population growth and to which a clear title to land could be obtained.

      According to Goodspeed, in February 1814, the commissioners, John Davis, John Sheppard, S. G. Dunn, Abraham Byrd, and Benjamin Shell, were charged with selecting a site. A paper prepared in 1940 by an unidentified student and based on an interview with John G. Putz, former Clerk of Cape Girardeau County and at the time president of the Cape Girardeau County Historical Society, indicated that the commissioners met in the courtroom to hear those who wished to offer their plantations for the courthouse site. Among the sites offered were Thomas Bull’s plantation, the site of the Old Bethel Baptist Church, which apparently served as a church and as a community gathering place, and William Ashley’s plantation. According to Putz, Ashley urged the commissioners to buy his improvement, an indication that at least part of the land was cleared. The commissioners purchased fifty acres of land lying along Hubbell (sic.) Creek from William Ashley, who had obtained the land as a wedding present from his father-in-law, Ezekial Able (Goodspeed, 1888, p. 320). County Warranty Deed records, Book C, pages 460-461, show that the commissioners paid $500 for the acreage.

      Mural depicting Andrew Jackson and symbols representing the town of Jackson, Missouri. The mural was designed by Grant Lund in 1996 and transferred to the Main Street wall of The Andrew Jackson Store by Matt Chubboy.

      According to the Putz interview, citizens protested the choice of site, claiming that the land was not suitable for building a city. Thus the commissioners purchased an additional site just to the north of the Ashley land from James Mills. Bartholomew Cousins laid out the town and the commissioners began to sell lots. One of the first tasks facing developers was clearing the land. Fortunately they could use the logs to build homes and businesses.

      According to Goodspeed, in March 1814 the newly created Court of Common Pleas met in the Bethel Baptist Church. This was to be a temporary meeting place until the new town could be laid out and a court building constructed (1888, p. 319). However, the minutes of the Proceedings of the Bethel Church seem to dispute that claim. According to church minutes of April 8, 1814, members of the church meeting in conference passed the following resolution: Resolved that no court shall be held in the meeting house and that Bro. John Hitt shall be door keeper of the church. On June 18, 1814, the minutes show passage of another resolution reversing the earlier decision to exclude the court, stating: Resolved that the meeting house be given up to hold court in until there can be a house built on the permanent seat. In December 1814 the following entry appears: Brethren McMillin and Bull write to the Association to remove the court from the meeting house. Brethren Sheppard and Bull to write to the committee. (WPA Transcription, 940, pp. 13-14). There is no explanation of the rationale of church members for making the decision to exclude the court, to reverse that decision, then to finally ask the court to leave. It may be that the court did indeed meet in the church in March and take action that displeased the membership. Perhaps pleas of other members or lack of another appropriate meeting place close to the new county seat was a reason to reverse the decision and allow the court to meet in the church. What is consistent is the indication that by 1815 the town of Jackson had been laid out and that there were apparently a few existing structures within the boundaries of the new town.

      In 1815 the court structure was further revised, creating the Circuit Court system to handle both criminal and civil cases and to administer the affairs of the county. The first session of this court was held in the north end of a house attached to what is now the residence of Mrs. Schmuke . . . (Goodspeed, 1888, p. 320). This house served as a site for sessions of the court until a courthouse could be built on a public square. This house was located on the north side of Adams Street between South High and South Hope Streets.

      There is some dispute about the materials used in construction of the first courthouse and the number of courthouses the court has had. Houck claims the original courthouse was a log structure (Vol. III, 1908, p. 169) and Goodspeed describes it as frame (1888, p. 320). According to Goodspeed, John Davis constructed the frame courthouse in 1818 at a cost of $2,450. Ohman (1981) concluded that Houck’s log building might have been one of the court’s temporary quarters. Since some of the early country records were destroyed in a fire, the records that would clarify this question have been lost. The first jail was built in 1816 at a cost of $1,400. It burned in 1819 and William Byrd was paid $1,994 to replace it. The frame courthouse was old and the Court specified it be removed from the site no later than April 1839. Its replacement, a 45-foot square, two story brick and stone building with cupola completed in 1837 at a cost of $5,000, burned in 1870 and a brick replacement was built in 1871-72 at a cost of $25,000 (Ohman, 1981). According to the Jackson Herald (1908), the brick building simply became too small for county business and in 1905 county residents voted to issue $75,000 in bonds to replace it. Total construction costs were closer to $98,000, but the Herald reported that the attractive new building was worth it. The Cape Girardeau Republican (1914) reported the cost to be about $125,000. Although the building was dedicated in 1906, it was not completed until 1908. Many pictures show the old and new courthouses side-by-side. According to the Herald, the old courthouse was allowed to stand until after the first Home Comers in 1908 in order to facilitate handling all the visitors expected to come for the event.

      As county population has increased, the need for more space and a change in the court structure have given Cape Girardeau County two courthouses and an administrative building. The court system operates out of the Jackson courthouse and the former Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau. In 1988 most of the county administrative offices moved out of the courthouse into the nearby Administrative Building, making the primary function of the courthouse fit its name. Completing the courthouse complex is the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center that serves as the repository for Cape Girardeau County records ranging from the 1790s to the present. Jackson is also the site of a county jail, completed in 1978 and expanded in 1999. A county park complex was developed in the 1980s on Highway 61 just inside the city limits of Cape Girardeau.

      Naming the County Seat

      The town was named for Andrew Jackson, Old Hickory. There is no dispute about that and Jackson, Missouri, is probably the first town to be named for this military and political figure (Talley interview, 1989). The question is, why? Many had assumed that the name had been selected following the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. For example, Goodspeed indicates that Jackson was named after the Battle (1888, p. 320). Unfortunately there appear to be no city or county minutes recording a specific date when the town received its name. However, deeds in Cape Girardeau County Warranty Deed Book D, pages 3-4, 23-24, and 28-31, show that land in the town of Jackson was purchased on the seventeenth day of December 1814, thereby indicating that the town was named prior to Andrew Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans.

      Apparently the rural pioneer families, such as those settled along Byrds, Randall, Whitewater, and Hubble Creeks and who had settled for a time in the Carolinas or Tennessee, who admired Jackson for his political and military reputation. According to Putz, this group was larger, animated and rather noisy. Therefore, Jackson it would be. Once again, unfortunately, Putz cites no source for his information and does not indicate which Fourth of July. However, considering the sequence of events that had already transpired, the dates of which are contained in county records, this decision would have to have been made on July 4, 1814.

      What might there be about Andrew Jackson that would cause such excitement and admiration? By accounts of his biographers, he was a gambler, a dueler, and an opportunist. However, he was also a successful political and military leader who would eventually become the seventh President of the United States. Jackson became well known as one of only a few lawyers in the Tennessee Constitutional Convention in 1796 and was elected Tennessee’s first member of the House of Representatives, later being appointed to the Senate after it expelled Senator Blount. Jackson resigned from the Senate after having served only one year because he was not pleased with the way business was conducted in Washington.

      Upon returning to Tennessee, Jackson was appointed to a judgeship. However, the real prize, the commission that won him much notoriety, was his appointment as Commander of the Tennessee Militia in 1801. It was in this position that he received the order to march his militia to defend New Orleans in the War of 1812. He received the order in November 1812, but by February 1813, his troops had only reached Natchez, Mississippi. There they were ordered to disband since an attack on New Orleans did not appear imminent. Jackson returned to Nashville where, in September, he learned of an Indian attack on settlers in the area of Fort Mims, about forty-five miles north of Mobile, on the Alabama River. Jackson recalled his troops and began a series of attacks on the Creek Indians. Two major battles took place in November 1813, with the most famous battle, the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend, taking place on March 27, 1814.

      Because of the victory at Horse Shoe Bend, Jackson was given the rank of Brigadier-General in the U.S. Army and the command of the entire Gulf region. In December he began serious preparations for the defense of New Orleans. At first it appeared that the British would easily take New Orleans. However, Jackson was able to muster enough troops to stop the British from a quick victory in December 1814, and by January 8, 1815, a combination of preparation, location, and luck gave Jackson the victory. Therefore, if the town of Jackson was indeed named before American victory in the Battle of New Orleans, there would have been just cause for selecting the name to honor Andrew Jackson. He had achieved military fame and recognition, and his record as a political figure shows his support for many ideas that would have been similar to those of area settlers. Seabaugh family records perhaps shed light on one source by which news of Andrew Jackson’s victories may have reached this community in a timely manner. According to Seabaugh (1988), Christian Seabaugh carried mail from Missouri to Lincoln County, North Carolina. Although records of one of his trips in 1814 show him to have returned from North Carolina in September, he may have made additional trips earlier in the year.

      Jackson Becomes More Than the Meeting Place for the County Court

      The town of Jackson rapidly attracted residents. According to Houck, by 1818 Jackson had a population of 300 (Vol. III, 1908, p. 169). Although the Putz interview indicated that additional land was purchased because citizens thought the Ashley land was unsuitable for a town, Cochran (1965) claims that almost immediately the Ashley land purchase was insufficient and that additional land was obtained from James Mills, whose survey, U.S. Survey No. 2250, is the tract number by which the town is now known. It was on the Mills survey that the new courthouse and jail were constructed.

      Early plat map of Jackson showing original street names. Courtesy of Cape Girardeau County Archive Center, Jackson, Missouri.

      Soon thereafter two additional surveys were added to the town, the James Earl Survey on the west and the Samuel Pew Survey on the east. Houck cites Peck, a Baptist minister, who in 1818 noted between sixty and seventy dwelling houses, five stores, two shoemaker shops, one tannery, and two good schools, one for males and the other for females. Houck also cites a Major Long who came to Jackson on October 18, 1820. Long noted that after St. Louis and St. Charles, Jackson was one of the largest towns in Missouri. Long claimed that he and his party had difficulty coaxing their animals to come into town since they were unaccustomed to such displays of magnificence (Vol. III, 1908, p. 169).

      One indication of Jackson’s growth and importance is that the news that the Missouri Compromise had been hammered out by Congress, thus allowing Missouri to elect delegates to a constitutional convention, was received in Jackson before residents of St. Louis were told. The welcome news was brought by Thomas Hempstead who passed through Jackson on his way to St. Louis on March 21, 1820. Representatives to the constitutional convention from Cape Girardeau County were Stephen Byrd, James Evans, Richard Thomas, Alexander Buckner, and Joseph McFerron (Houck, Vol. III, 1908, pp. 248-249).

      Goodspeed (1888) says Jackson grew rapidly for the first few years, to the detriment of Cape Girardeau, but when steamboats began to ply the river with regularity, Cape Girardeau quickly outdistanced Jackson in population. Another spur to the growth of Cape Girardeau came with the July 4, 1826 recognition of all valid Spanish land claims, thus legitimizing land grants made by Lorimier.

      Establishing and naming a settlement is a somewhat different procedure from the formal incorporation process which takes place through the courts. According to Goodspeed, Jackson was first incorporated in 1819 when the county court ordered William Gnatt and Joel Blount to hold an election for trustees. The next mention of this incorporation is made in 1828 when Nathan Vanhorn, Franklin Cannon, G. W. Davis, and Edward Criddle met and organized, with Vanhorn, chairman and C. S. Thomas as clerk. Several ordinances were passed, as were rules governing the boards, but no more meetings are recorded until 1831 when George Juden was made clerk and Welton O’Bannon, town constable. In 1847 the incorporation was revived and the board met regularly until 1859 when a special charter was granted by the Legislature. In a special election held in 1884, citizens of Jackson voted to incorporate as a city of the fourth class (1888, pp. 443-434). Since that time, Jackson has functioned under a mayor-city council form of government with most city offices being elective positions. The Jackson Herald (1908) noted that Jackson became a city of the third class in 1907, however, the current city listing in the Missouri State Manual shows Jackson to be a city of the fourth class. Residents of Jackson voted in 1905 to develop a city-owned power plant to produce electricity and a city-owned waterworks. At about the same time two fire departments were organized with the city building a firehouse to store the equipment.

      According to the Southeast Missourian, 1904 to 1907 were years of real growth for Jackson. In 1904 Jackson’s population was 1,980 and by 1906 it was 2,189. The 1950 population was 4,000 and by 1976, it was estimated at 6,454 (July 4, 1976, p. 2D). In 1990 census figures showed Jackson’s population to be 9,256. Following the 2000 census, Jackson was recognized as one of the fastest-growing cities in Missouri, a 29% increase reflected in a population of 11,947 living in an area encompassing 10.5 square miles (Southeast Missourian, Progress Edition, February 24, 2002, p. 1).

      As the above overview indicates, Jackson has expanded over time in population and in geographic dimensions making it imperative that the way in which city services are delivered and the government functions must change as well. Ways to gauge that change other than census figures and boundaries include looking at changes in the infrastructure and in personnel. For example, in 1961 construction was completed on a City Hall building located on the corner of South High and Jefferson Streets to house city offices and the Public Library. By the 1990s the city had outgrown that facility.

      In 1995 the city converted a former bank building located at the corner of Main and Court Streets into city offices and space for the Jackson Public Library. The move was completed in 1996. A police and fire complex, located at the intersection of Highways 61, 72, and 25, was completed and occupied on January 15, 1985. Currently renovations are taking place on a former Missouri Department of Transportation building adjacent to the police and fire complex to house administrative offices. Numerous upgrades of the power, water, and sewer systems have been necessary to keep up with the rapid growth of recent years. Over the past five years the city has spent over $15 million dollars on such system upgrades. A southern loop is being added to the water system to improve water pressure and to allow further development of the city to the south. Sewer extensions to property on North High Street, recently purchased by the Jackson Industrial Development Corporation that will become Jackson’s newest industrial park, should also facilitate residential development to the north. (Southeast Missourian, Progress Edition, February 24, 2002, p. 1. Additional information provided by the City Engineer’s office.)

      A wagon caravan on the courthouse square in the early 1900s.

      In 1970, as city business became ever more complex, a full-time city administrator was hired to oversee the day-to-day operation of city government. Harry Coleman was hired as the first City Administrator and served until 1972. Carl Talley served from 1972-1994; Steve Wilson, 1994-2001; and James Roach is the current City Administrator. A full-time city staff of 110 attempts to meet the needs of the city by maintaining vital city services such as keeping city records, providing power and water, police and fire protection, street maintenance, and health and sanitation services. Mayors of Jackson and the date of their initial service are: Jefferson W. Limbaugh, 1885; R. P. Wilson, 1887; William Paar, 1889; Charles Pepper, 1891; Ben Gockel, acting mayor, 1893; William Paar, 1893; Edward D. Hays, 1903; Robert W. Russell, 1907; William B. Schaefer, 1909; R. K. Wilson, 1911; E. G. Sibley, 1915; David B. Hays, 1917; H. H. Mueller, acting mayor, 1919; S. F. Rogers, 1919; Sam Vandivort, 1921; J. R. Bowman, 1923; J. E. Schmuke, 1927; J. R. Bowman, 1931; Charles H. Sander, 1941; J. R. Bowman, 1944; J. R. Mabrey, 1949; Larry A. Nowak, 1957; Walter A. Lasten, 1961; Larry A. Nowak, 1963; Russel O. Hawkins, 1969; Paul J. Leonard, 1971; Carlton Meyer, 1973; and Paul Sander, 1993-present.

      By Alberta Macke Dougan

      City Of Beautiful Homes

      The sustained growth of Jackson’s population and constant industrial expansion during the Twentieth Century led to a chronic housing shortage. As early as 1922, the newspapers reported Jackson is still suffering from lack of houses and rooms for rent; . . . building is going on but not fast enough to accommodate those who want to come to Jackson and get settled before cold weather. In 1934 the re-opening of the International Shoe Company initiated the Greatest Building Revival in Jackson’s History with the construction of thirty-one dwellings. That same year the town boasted of having two and one-half miles of paved streets! The economic ups and downs of the area economy and the influence of industries such as the Shoe Company, Jackson Hosiery Mill, Lee-Rowan, and Procter and Gamble from the 1960s through the 1990s kept increasing the demand on the housing market. During that period new subdivisions and additions to the town of Jackson were developed through the cooperative effort of individuals, banks, lumberyards, contractors and realty companies. Jackson’s developers, contractors and carpenters take great pride in producing beautiful and long-lasting structures. Jackson’s homeowners are to be congratulated for the care and attention bestowed upon their homes and neighborhoods.

      The Brooks house built by Major James Francis Brooks in 1877, is located at 219 North Hope Street, and is now the home of Brad and Susan Teets.

      The home of Kevin and Debbie Schearf, 425 North High Street, Jackson, 2002. The house was first owned by Joseph and Mary Criddle Williams.

      Home of Dr. T. Wayne and Linda Lewis, 742 West Independence, Jackson, 2002.

      Home of Tom and Nancy Morris, 624 West Washington, Jackson, 2002.

      The Rock House

      Several homes within Jackson are noted for their interesting histories. The most notable is known as The Rock House located at 119 North Missouri Street.

      The house, built by Charles Criddle around 1815, was the first two-story house in townThe original house was built in Southern style: four large rooms and four fireplaces with a kitchen in the back. The stones used to build the house were quarried north of town on Hubble Creek. The walls are twenty-two inches thick. Slaves carried out much of the work, chiseling and hammering the stone to shape, and using oxen to pull the heavy stones to the building site. The two-story rear addition and front porch were constructed when the John Sander family lived in the house. Many Jackson families have made the house their home: Criddles, Cannons, McGuires, Campbells, Mueller, Hartle, and Ellis.

      The Frizel-Welling House

      Written by Mildred Berenice Granger Hartsfield, circa 1970, and condensed by Mrs. Hartsfield’s daughter, Elizabeth Farmer

      The house at 209 West Main Street is the second oldest house in Jackson. It was built on a lot purchased by the surveyor, Joseph Frizel, in 1816, shortly after he had helped lay out the town of Jackson. In 1818 Mr. Frizel built a Cape Cod style cottage on the property. The following year he married Sarah Bollinger, only child of Colonel George Frederick Bollinger, builder of the now famous Bollinger Mill and dam, and brought his new bride to this charming house. Elizabeth, the first of their three children, was born in the cottage in 1820.

      Although just a story and a half, the cottage was well built and quite different from the log cabins in which many of the early settlers lived. The walls were very thick: brick with weather-boarding outside, and the inside walls covered with thick plaster "about a half inch thick. (This made it delightfully cool in summer and warm in winter- nature’s own way of air-conditioning.) The floors were made of wide, smooth poplar boards. On the ground floor was a large living room 15x18 and a dining room 15x20. Across the back porch was the generous kitchen, 20x20, with walls lined with cabinets and shelves. At one end was a large fireplace and an in-the-wall oven. These were used for cooking food for the family until after the War between the States, when a wood cook-stove was purchased.

      In the loft above the kitchen the women servants had their living quarters. It was in the kitchen that the children gathered on winter evenings to listen to folk and ghost stories. Sometimes they were afraid to go back across the pitch-black porch to their own rooms. The stories were said to be as good as Uncle Remus. Two bedrooms on the top floor were small but adequate.

      In 1822 Unity Lodge No. 6, the first Masonic Lodge west of the Mississippi, was organized in the Frizel home through the efforts of Alexander Buckner, third senator from Missouri and past Grand Master of the Indiana State Lodge. Mr. Buckner was the first Worshipful Master and young Frizel was Junior Warden. Sarah was very interested in this Lodge and she painted on satin a Masonic apron for each member. One of these was framed and hangs on the wall of the living room.

      In 1822, also, Joseph Frizel became ill and the home was sold. The family moved to Whitewater to the home of her father, Colonel Bollinger, where Sarah lived until the close of the War. In 1838 the home came back into the family. Charles Welling bought the property for a home for his bride, Elizabeth Frizel. She came back to her birthplace. The two-story section was added, making it a fine example of early New England architecture. The new part, too, was well constructed. The window and door moldings were mortised (put together without nails). The fireplaces (four of them) matched those in the original section. The floor and side-walls were of brick, and were painted each spring with a solution made from brick dust and water to keep them bright. In the addition, there was a large living room, a bedroom downstairs, and two large bedrooms upstairs. Large white doors opened wide between the living room and bedroom. All the woodwork was painted white, and was thoroughly scrubbed, spring and fall. The floors were covered with carpets, hand-woven from strips of bright woolen cloth. Each spring all the carpets were taken up and thoroughly beaten. Before they were replaced, the floors were scrubbed and allowed to dry. A fresh layer of straw was put down. Then the carpets would be tacked down again. A wide hall connected the old part of the house to the new.

      The Rock House circa 1908. Photo by Frank Medley, courtesy of Gerald Venable.

      The Rock House, 119 N. Missouri Street, Jackson, 1994

      The front walk and sidewalk were flagstone. The latter is still in use, but the outer walk went the way of all progress and is now concrete. Great flat rock slabs were brought from Whitewater and still serve as front steps. The steps leading from the back porch were of the same heavy rock. The patio beyond was a brick. In the center of this was a large cistern which furnished water so refreshing that it was used until about 1940. There was a shed over this (the cistern shed). Attached to the shed was a large building, approximately 20 x 20. It was plastered and painted and had a door and two windows. It was the quarters for the caretakers of the place, slaves before the war; later paid servants. It was called the cistern room. Next to it was the smoke-house, later used for coal, and beyond that was the ice-house. During the winter, blocks of ice were cut from the creek and stored between thin layers of sawdust in this house (the first method of refrigeration), which lasted only until the warmth of summer melted the ice. At the far end of the lot was the big barn that housed the buggy, a wagon, and the stock. The loft above was filled with hay.

      Charles Welling, circa 1890.

      Mr. and Mrs. Charles Welling in front of their home, 209 West Main Street, Jackson, Missouri, circa 1888.

      When Mr. Welling built the big part of the house, he sent back east for trees and shrubs.

      Three tiny linden trees were planted. One of these still stands - the famous linden tree in front of the house, now 160+ years old. (The other two fell to progress when the street was graded). He planted many other trees, shrubs, and flowers. Even today the yard is lovely in the springtime when it is filled with golden daffodils, relics from his planting, and the lilacs and the syringa are in bloom.

      The current owners are great grandchildren of Charles Welling, and great-great grandchildren of Joseph and Sarah Bollinger Frizel. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Homes on June 25, 1999.

      Trisha’s Bed & Breakfast

      HISTORY OF 203 BELLEVUE STREET, JACKSON, MISSOURI

      In 1901 H. H. Mueller Jr. purchased some land from his father in anticipation of building his own home. Mr. Mueller was single at the time, and was a bookkeeper for the family business, a meat packing and processing plant on Goose Creek. Being a frugal investor, H. H. accrued assets and hired a builder to begin construction in 1904. The full two-story Queen Anne was finished in 1905; however, Mueller rented the house out for approximately six years to finish paying the $1500 house price. He and his wife, Rilla, then occupied the house and had one child, Millicent, born in 1912.

      In 1924 when Millicent was twelve years old, her father purchased a baby grand piano which sat in the parlor. Millicent and Rilla argued over where to place the instrument; Millicent wanted it in the foyer under the staircase so the sound would carry throughout the house. However, Rilla prevailed because she always decorated a twelve-foot Christmas tree up the center of the staircase. Ironically, Millicent went on to become a piano teacher; in 1932 she married Jim Dean, owner of the Pure Ice Company in Cape Girardeau.

      Ms. Rilla wanted to update the house in 1928. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mueller Sr. had passed away, and a second dining room was needed as the Mueller siblings came to dinner often, so the main floor master bedroom had French doors added. Also the original bathroom was removed and changed into a breakfast room and butler’s pantry. The staircase had a light added to the newel post and the woodwork and the spindles were painted white. Unfortunately, Rilla had the stained and leaded glass removed to add more light to the house.

      An apartment was added to the three original second floor bedrooms in 1937 after Mr. Mueller Jr.’s death. Rilla and the tenants shared the upper floor bath; one of the bedrooms was divided into a kitchen for the apartment and a storage area for Rilla. Later Rilla moved her bedroom downstairs to the breakfast room and rented out her 2 _ rooms as another apartment. Renters were always young married couples who enjoyed large homes.

      When Ms. Rilla passed away in 1968, Millicent couldn’t bear to sell the place. After a year of trying to maintain the house, she and Jim reluctantly sold it to a family. That family only kept it about three years, then the David Berry family with their six nearly grown children moved in and stayed for twelve years. In 1985 Laura Borgfield purchased it and made some improvements, then resold it to the current owners in 1987. Gustav and Patricia Wischmann bought the house with the intention of using it for their home, and making it into a bed and breakfast. They and their family worked on it thirteen months before opening the doors as Trisha’s Bed & Breakfast, southeast Missouri’s first B&B. They have continued innkeeping for nearly fourteen years and have opened a private tea room for specialty parties and unique dining. After nearly a hundred years, the house is still functioning as a home, and now as a business.

      The house features over fifty windows including two bays with three windows each on two floors, six exterior doors, and six transoms. Five bedrooms are on the second floor. There currently are two dining rooms, two foyers, a parlor, a kitchen, and five bathrooms; and the basement has two bedrooms, a family room, and storage and work areas. Outdoors a potting shed, carport, and a new gazebo grace the three-fifths of an acre the house sits on.

      Patricia Wischmann

      Trisha’s Bed & Breakfast, 203 Bellevue Street, Jackson, Missouri.

      Southwest corner of Courthouse Square, Jackson, Missouri, circa 1960. Some of the businesses pictured are: Albert Sander Hardware Co., Cape County Savings Bank, Schade’s Cafe, Western Auto, and Priest’s Store.

      BUSINESS AND TRANSPORTATION

      Public Transportation

      In the 21st century, most people take personal transportation for granted. Most families have at least one motor vehicle. Many families have more. Thus it is easy to travel from city to city, to shop, to work, or to play. Because of today’s ease of travel, public means of ground transportation have decreased service to most communities. For example, at the start of the Civil War the Cape Girardeau-Jackson Hack Line made daily trips, transporting mail and passengers. According to Snider and Collins, Anton Gockel operated such a line in the 1870s, with William Gockel operating it at the turn of the century. They described William Gockel’s operation in the following manner: During the World’s Fair in 1904 he bought a Winston Six ‘Red Devil’ automobile for the route. It broke an axle, was returned to St. Louis by boat for repairs, placed in service again, but abandoned after a few months as too unreliable (1956, pp. 247-248). In July 1908 Louis Houck began a motor-car service, making four round trips daily between Jackson and Cape Girardeau and one daily round trip from Jackson to Oak Ridge (Jackson Herald, 1908).

      From the 1920s until the 1970s several companies offered bus service with stops in Jackson. Most have now gone out of business, or operate abbreviated schedules due to lack of riders. Currently Jackson is served by the Greyhound Bus Line that operates out of a small storage space on the sidewalk outside the County Administration building. The same fate has befallen the railroads. No scheduled passenger service has operated out of Jackson for many years. When the Missouri Pacific Railroad stopped freight service to Jackson in 1984, the Jackson Industrial Development Company purchased the railroad right of way and contracted with the Jackson and Southern Railroad to provide freight service to Jackson. In 1985 a group of investors bought an old steam engine and reintroduced the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad to Jackson, this time as a tourist attraction.

      Business and Industry

      Business interests in Jackson have changed over the years as the country has changed. However, for much of its existence Jackson has served as a marketing and supply center for the farming communities surrounding it. To some extent transportation routes played a part in Jackson’s development and have influenced the course of businesses that have located here. For example, in 1805 a petition was filed in the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions that requested a road be built from Lorimier’s Ferry to William Dougherty’s farm. A second petition asked for a road from Dougherty’s farm to connect with an existing road running from the upper Delaware Town (at the intersection of Apple and Indian Creeks) to Ste. Genevieve (Houck, Vol. III, 1908, p. 168). Jackson’s location in relation to the inland ridgelines, allowing travelers to follow several existing trails, possibly influenced granting these route improvements and later aided in selection of Jackson as the new county seat. Houck further noted that Armour and Juden, merchants in Jackson from 1815-1820, employed Robert Morrison to drive a team to Baltimore to haul goods to Jackson for them. What’s more, Morrison was able to complete the trip in three months! (Vol. III, 1908, p. 196). Considering the state of travel in those days, when an improved road merely meant the tree stumps could be no higher than twelve inches, that is quite an accomplishment and is an indication of the network of transportation routes providing access to Jackson.

      In the early days of Jackson’s existence, most businesses existed to serve the needs of area residents who, for the most part, were farmers and relatively self-sufficient. Goodspeed (1888) notes a number of early Jackson merchants, such as a Virginian named Eckhardt who opened the first store but who quickly sold it to Clifton and Charles Mothershead whose business also lasted only a short time. Samuel Cupples was also one of the first merchants. Others included Joseph Frizel, a son-in-law of George F. Bollinger; Armor and Juden; George Scripps; Nathan Vanhorn; and Dr. Thomas Neale. William McGuire operated a tannery on the edge of town and Caleb Fylenwider had a stillhouse just west of town. The first persons licensed to keep houses of entertainment, i.e., taverns or inns, were James Edwards, Thomas Stewart, William Shepard, and John Armstrong. Of the later tavern keepers, Samuel Lockhart was said to have had the principal tavern in Jackson.

      John Delap had a shop where he made bells for cattle, hogs and sheep, which Goodspeed reports as being much in demand. Considering the effort needed to clear land for crops, farmers let most of their livestock run free and the bells, no doubt, allowed them to find their livestock. Of the earliest physicians, including Dr. Zenas Priest and Dr. Thomas Neale (also a merchant), only Dr. Franklin Cannon remained as a permanent resident. Goodspeed also notes Jackson has a saddle maker, Louis Painter; blacksmiths, John Glasscock and Samuel Mitchell; hatter, Edward Criddle; cabinet maker, William Surrell; and carpenter, Scarlet Glasscock. Among lawyers settling in Jackson were Johnson Ranney and Nathaniel Watkins, a half-brother to Henry Clay (1888, pp. 397, 426-428).

      View from the southeast corner of the Courthouse roof, 2002. Left to right: Corner of the County Administration Building on Barton Square, new Post Office and the Milde Building on Hope Street (Highway 61), and the old Post Office building on Main Street which now houses the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and several businesses. Behind the Milde Building is the Oliver house and the steeple of the Evangelical United Church of Christ on Adams Street.

      C. H. Wolter Buggy and Harness Shop on the corner and the J. G. Heinberg clothing store on the left. Mr. Wolter’s store is the Goose Creek Trading Post in 2002.

      View of Highway 61 looking west toward Jackson, 2002.

      Due to its rapid growth, in 1818 Jackson was selected as the site for the third federal land sales office located in the Missouri Territory (Meyer, 1973, p. 238). In 1841 the third branch of the State Bank was located in Jackson. In 1844 it reported a capital of $120,000 and a circulation of $93,660 under the management of A.H. Brevard, president, and Thomas English, cashier. In 1853 it was moved to Cape Girardeau (Goodspeed, 1888, p. 428). By 1819 Jackson had a newspaper, the Missouri Herald, published by T. E. Strange. James Russell purchased the press and changed the name to the Independent Patriot (Goodspeed, 1888, p. 429).

      Growth of the community seems to have slowed almost to a standstill from the 1830’s until after the Civil War. Goodspeed reports that At the close of the war Jackson, in population and commercial importance, stood about where it had thirty years before . . . (Goodspeed, 1888, p. 428).

      In the 1870’s and 1880’s two developments improved the business climate of Jackson. The Jackson branch of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad line was completed, and the forerunner of the Cape County Milling Company was founded by A.R. Byrd and J.A. Horrell. According to Goodspeed, by the 1880’s Jackson had two large flour mills, one producing 300-400 barrels per day and employing about 75 men (1888, p. 429). The railroad line was important to the development of the milling industry. Instead of grinding grain for local use only, flour could easily be shipped throughout the United States, particularly needed in the rapidly growing cities on the eastern seaboard, and overseas. The mills continued to operate until the late 1940s when milling operations were suspended. For a time the business operated as a grain warehouse. The Jackson property was sold in 1953 and Mill B was demolished in 1965. Most of Mill A now houses an antique’s shop.

      In 1905 Louis Houck completed the basic lines of the Cape Girardeau and Northern Railroad. The line reached Jackson in November 1904. This railroad extended from the Thebes Railroad Bridge through Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Oak Ridge, and Perryville to a connection with the Frisco lines into Chester, Illinois. A spur was built into Farmington in 1912. According to Snider and Collins (1956), most of the line was abandoned during World War I with the Jackson to Cape Girardeau Route the last portion to cease operations.

      Cape County Savings Bank on the corner of High and Main Streets, circa 1904.

      Just as the railroad extended the industrial markets, the introduction of telephones expanded the communication network. During the 1870s Bernard Ferguson engineered and installed the first telephone in Cape Girardeau County, which connected his home at 224 East Adams to his father’s business in uptown Jackson. In 1877 the line was extended to Cape Girardeau and became the first long distance telephone line in Missouri. The Acme Telephone Company, a city-owned company, operated the first commercial telephone service in Jackson from 1897 to 1906. In 1906, the lines were acquired by the Cape Girardeau Bell Telephone Company, providing free service between Cape Girardeau and Jackson. The first telephone was located in the A. C. Schmuke Store (Southeast Missourian, July 4, 1976, p. 2D).

      The 1850s and 1860s saw a need for improved transportation within the area. One solution to the road-building dilemma was the creation of joint stock companies that were allowed to charge tolls for use of the sections of roads they constructed and improved. The toll road passing through Jackson was the Cape Girardeau Macadamize and Plank Road, constructed in 1853, which extended from the city limits of Cape Girardeau to Bollinger’s Mill in Burfordville. There were three tollgate houses located in Jackson. The first, constructed in 1853, was the Cape-Jackson Road Tollgate House, Bainbridge and Highway 61 intersection; the second, constructed in 1861, was the Jackson-Burfordville Road Tollgate House located at Highway 72 and West Main; and the third, constructed in 1890, was the Cape Jackson Road Tollgate House still standing at 816 Old Cape Road, possibly a replacement for the earlier Bainbridge location. According to Morton and Cochran (1976), the last tollgate was taken down in 1908.

      The real push for road building and improvement came with the automobile. Missouri’s Centennial Road Law, passed by the Legislature in 1921, authorized the Highway Commission to designate as higher type than clay bound gravel about 1500 miles of roads connecting the principal population centers of the state. (Missouri State Highway Commission,1969, p. 54). It also provided that a third of a $60,000,000 Get Missouri Out of the Mud bond issue and $6,000 per mile from the other two-thirds be devoted to building these hard surface roads. The remainder of the bond issue money was to be used to improve local dirt or gravel farm-to-market roads and to create two state maintained highways in each county (Missouri State Highway Commission, 1969, pp. 75-78). Jackson, by virtue of its position as county seat and its location on existing roads, was a beneficiary of this road building effort. Highway 25 crossed the county north and south through Jackson. Route 9, later to become U.S. 61 (now route 72), entered the northwest portion of the county, passed through Jackson to Cape Girardeau and thus on to the south. By 1925, Jackson was connected to St. Louis by an all-paved road, most of it concrete. Completion of the Mississippi River traffic bridge in Cape Girardeau in 1928 was also of benefit to Jackson (Snider and Collins, 1956). The Federal Highway Act of 1954, which created the Interstate Highway system and brought Interstate Highway 55 within a few miles of the Jackson city limits, has also proven to be beneficial to the growth of the city. It has allowed businesses and industries to transport raw materials and finished products with ease and at less expense to the consumer. Access to I-55 has brought several industries to Jackson since completion of the final link in 1971. Penzel Construction Company was responsible for construction of bridges for this crucial transportation link.

      Augusta and Jenny Horn, operators for the Acme Telephone Company on South High Street, circa 1918.

      Heavy traffic at the intersections of Highways 34, 61, 25, and 72, March 2002.

      The dilemma for city planners has been how to find ways to move traffic around and within the city. Peak traffic hours bring lines of cars waiting for their turn at four way stops (particularly the intersection of Main and Hope Streets). The addition of electronic traffic signals on Highways 72, 25, and 61 have helped somewhat, but the volume of traffic within Jackson and passing through Jackson on the way to and from Cape Girardeau has brought representatives of Jackson, Cape Girardeau, the Cape Girardeau County Commission, and the Missouri Department of Transportation together to look for solutions. Among the proposals is an additional interchange on I-55. The City of Jackson has completed one extension of East Main Street, with a second phase to be linked to the new interchange. The City of Cape Girardeau is planning for utilization of the interchange as well. The Missouri Department of Transportation has approved construction of the interchange and has placed it on their construction schedule with an anticipated completion date of 2007 (Southeast Missourian, Progress Edition, February 24, 2002, p. 1). More problematic are proposals to divert traffic from West Jackson Boulevard (Highway 72) to lessen east-west congestion. The willingness of the cities of Jackson and Cape Girardeau, the Cape Girardeau County Commission, and various state agencies to work together to solve problems such as traffic concerns has been a welcome change from earlier contentious encounters over location of the County Seat or the location of the County Jail (The Cash-Book Journal, February 20, 2002, p. 1).

      Annexation in the 1980’s brought the Jackson city limits to the west lanes of I-55. The widening of Highway 61 from Jackson to Cape Girardeau was completed in the early 1990s. That upgraded thoroughfare (officially named Jackson Boulevard) has become a magnet for high traffic businesses, such as the Wal-Mart Supercenter. As these businesses have changed the shopping patterns of area residents, the uptown business district has also changed. While some long-time Jackson businesses, such as the Jones Drug Store, remain, others have joined the move to Jackson Boulevard. The long-time business district has become home to new restaurants and a variety of other locally owned businesses, as well as to county and city offices housed in what were formerly retail business spaces. —amd

      AREA COMMUNITIES

      History of Arnsberg and the St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

      The Evangelical Lutheran St. John Church of Arnsberg has been inactive since about 1890. Only the cemetery remains today and is located over one mile wet of the I-55 exit on Route KK. The cemetery has been restored and a perpetual care fund is being established.

      The first information we could find about the church is a deed on file in the Cape Girardeau County Recorder’s office. The deed is dated July 22, 1856. According to the deed, Charles Hermann and Louise, his wife, and Henry Pohlmann and Caroline, his wife, sold land to the church. Trustees of the church at that time were: Charles Hermann, Christian Tuschhoff, Henry Pohlmann, and Henry Richter.

      At the time the church was built the area was not much more than a clearing. It had been inhabited earlier by the various Indian tribes of the area.

      On February 3, 1864, George and Lizette Engelmann sold 110 acres of land to Adolph Tacke. This land bordered the church land and sold for $490. On April 27, 1866, a second deed was made with the Evangelical Lutheran Church. This deed was between Adolph and Lizette Tacke and the trustees of the church who were: Christian Tuschhoff, John Kiepe, and Jacob Klempe.

      About twenty-six years after the church was organized, Adolph Tacke built a town nearby. Mr. Tacke was born in Arnsberg, Germany, on April 21, 1833. He served three years in the Prussian Army and in 1857 immigrated to the United States, landing in Philadelphia. In 1859 Mr. Tacke settled in Bollinger County where he built a flour mill. That same year he moved to Cape Girardeau County.

      In 1861 he enlisted in the Federal Army of the Civil War. He remained a private in the army for six months with the Fourth Missouri Infantry. He re-enlisted as a first lieutenant and was discharged as a captain in February 1865. He returned to Arnsberg where he built a sawmill in 1882, a flour mill, and a mercantile store. A post office was located within the store. By 1884, there also was a blacksmith shop, a saloon, and an octagon-shaped dance hall.

      Mr. Tacke first married Lizette Zoellner, daughter of Ferdinand and Nettie Dolle Zoellner. After her death he married Nancy Caroline Milster. He was the father of four children: William Tacke, Mrs. Mathilde Holmes, Mrs. C. T. Maintz, and Franklin J. Tacke, who married Carrie Long.

      Adolph Tacke had a store at Muehleim, Perry County, Missouri, with Ferdinand Zoellner. There are also remembrances of a store just east of Arnsberg on the John Franklin Tuschhoff farm. A store ledger book for Tacke’s store in Arnsberg dates from 1867.

      Adolph Tacke, founder and owner of the town of Arnsberg, died June 1, 1909. He is buried in the cemetery at Arnsberg. Other family names found buried in the cemetery are: Bailey, Best, Bingenheimer, Dambach, Dickmann, Fiesler, Fulbright, Hoffman,

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