The Butler Weekly Times Newspaper, April 27, 1887, Page 1

BATES COL AS SHE IS APID STRIDES MADE IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. ATES ONE OF THE LEAD- ING COUNTIES IN THE STATE. ——_-o-— LOW TAXES, CHEAP AND RICH LANDS, FINE SCHOOLS, EXUELLENT SOCIETY. THE GARDEN SPOT OF THE WEST. COME AND SEE AND YOU WILL BE CONVINCED. Her Farming Lands Unequaled In the West and Rich in Mineral Resources. A Description of the County, Cli- mate, Products, Resources and Adyancement. a Batler, the County Seat, Leading Town in the County, and Bids Fair to be The City of the Southwest. +--+. ——— No Mushroom Growth, but a = Sub- stantial City of Over 5,000 Inhabitants. comes —— AComplete Business Directory of the City, Showing the Character of the Business Men and the Diversity of Business Interests. ome New Railroad Projects and Location Such as to Insure Manufactories. —— The Natural Gataway to the Great Southwe:s —s In the vast area of its wondertully diversi fied surface, no section ot the great state ot Missouri displays a more striking picture ot variety in scenery and of exuberant native wealth than is presented in the as- pect of BATES COUNTY, a district ot the state that has really come into its second existence as a settled region, within the past fitteen or eighteen years. Qne of the ex- treme western counties of the state, its limits are bounded on the north by Cass county, on the east by Hen- ryand St. Clair. on the seuth by Vernon county and on the west by the state of Kansas. Orgamzed as early as 1841, it was reduced to its Present limits in 1854, which is about thirty miles square. period, two-thirds of the land of the county was held by the goyernment. In 1861, Butler, the county seat, was a well built and prosperous town of nearly one thousand inhabi- tants, and no county of its popula- tion enjoyed a more substdntial Measure of prosperity. But the day ofwrath was at hand. A border County, it early became a prey to lawless bands ever ready to avail themselves of the anarchic conse- quences of civil war. Kansas jay- hawkers on the one side, and Missouri bushwhackers on the other, 00n succeeded in rendering lite and Property in Bates county unsafe. things, General Ewing, in 1863, issued his famous order No, 11, ordering the inhabitants to leave the County within fifteen days. By the expiration of that penod, nearly _ @very inhabitant had crossed the border ; and, forthe succeeding three years, its history was an absolute blank. But the hardy pioneers, whose stern resolve and indefatigable en- erprise had, in earlier days, subdued At that | To end this desperate condition of | the primeval forests and rendered |tributary to their wants the vast | plains of prairie land. again called | into action the vigorous spirit that jhad developed the prosperity of other days. Settlers from ail states and ot various political creeds began | to flock in. torzetful of past differ- ences and only active in developing | the splendid resources of their com- ;mon home. In an incredibly short | time, the desolated region began to | mas the appearance of her pres | tine thritt and consequent wealth; and to-day Bates county, with her goo square miles ot territory,includes a population of 40,000 souls. ASSESSED VALUATION | for the present year shows real estate, $5,883,144; personal $2,093,565. When we the ordinary basis of estimating val- | ues, and the rapidly advancing prices ; of land, it would be no unfair esti mate to place the total actual value ot property, real and personal, m | the county at $25,000,000, | we teflect that all this splendid de der property, consider velopment is the growth of less than eighteen years of legitimate enter prise, we are lost in admiration ot the splendid resources of a country ishing results. TOPOGRAPHY. jis that ot a vast undulating plain, veined with numerous streams, whose banks are generally clothed with heavy belts of valuable timber. The river bottoms are generally narrow, and like all similar localities of this section of the state, may be said to be tathomless in the depths of their exhaustless protundity. Bates county 1s exceptionably ; Which, from the nut, soon develops When | * susceptible ot producing such aston- | | to the acre | } ‘The generai aspect of the county | I WELL WATERED. easterly in the southern part of the county, 1sa stream ot considerable volume and constitutes, tor a tew miles,{the boundary line of the coun- ty, separating it trom Vernon. The stream has been navigated by steamboats as tar up as Papin- | ville, on the waters of the Marais des Cygnes, one of its principal tributaries. Two miles below this! point, the junction ot the Marmaton) and Marais des Cygnes forms the Osage. The next stream of impor- tance 1n the county 1s Grand River, which forms a part of its northern | boundary, separating it, in part from Cass county and affording excellent | water power. The other important streams of the county are the Elk, | Deepwater, Deer, Panther, Mul- berry, Walnut, Bone, Cove, Peter and Muddy creeks. Mound Branch | 1s also an important stream. | Perennial springs abound all over | the county, and unfailing wells ot! excellent water are easily secured by | boring or digging at depths vary- ing from ‘10 to 30 teet. The stranger traveling over the The Osage riyer, running south- | th e bushels to the acre BUTLER, MISSOURI. WEDNESDAY APRIL, 9 ad 7 1887 NO. 22 other small grains grow in like|roadsin the world are being im abundance. Though essentially a| proved as fast as money and labor Prairie county, Bates is abundantly | can bring about these results. supplied wi ff. i pp ygeerseon ee | The different streams inthe county EXCELLENT TIMBER \ : iam umd tile ye spanned by substantial iron | 4 q S a » tore remarked, every stream is bor-| o8** ee re eee hae: dered to the exteat of its bottom, with a heavy growth of timber. Iso- lated groves are cecasional y found | | ures and Bates is the only county in d | and besides being the finest natural | | trom a distance, | ing five ot these magnificent struct- | Missouri that has had the enterprise | many miles, | situated in the center ot a public | Square, with slopire grounds | macadamized streets. growing on the high prairies. | to place a bridge across this stream. | Among the best varieties found in| ** wali ae cu nis: the! caunty, arecunenor (qualiies| county. although inthe infancy ot Ob hickory gal che) set weries | its development, promise enormous | locust, faticneneycaore Walnut | Tesults. Extensive sections of the jis also ound yrowing in many lo- s, though not, as yet, in large quantities to any considerable size. ; Man of | have turned their attentio ot this j calitie | building purposes; besides which, farinere! late, however, | ¢xtensive quart ies have recently been n to the growing valuable wood | Stone, pronounced by experts to be ' equal to any in Missour. a tree of millet not untrequently yields six tons ‘but to the multitude of people in Clover grows to per- jother states, who are dissatisfied 37 during the two tollowing sum- | mers. The city 1s substantially built ; of fine brick and stone business houses and handsome, elegant resi- dences, So well have shade trees been encouraged and cultivated that, Butler has the ap pearance of a city built in a_torest. Tt has a large, three-story brick court house, with mansard root and cupola, that can be seen tor Around this jot the En.poria, which the Mo. Pacific c i jt acific contemplate doing, and the | building of the Chicago, Ft. Scott | & Texas railroad, which is to | | | Square is a broad stone waik with | county are underlaid with the finest | { 3 : i quality of Innestone suitable for | { gutterings, and the whole inclosed | Ft Scott. by a chain tence on iron posts. and two trame ones; ten church buildings, as follows: | Presbyterian, Cumberland Presby- { : terian, , Heht | and can be seen for many Methodist, M. E. Church south, Baptist, Christian, Catholic, St. Mark’s Episcopal, and Baptist and Methodist, colored: the finest opera building in the southwest, built in 1883 by Wm. E. Walton, ac a cost of $45,000; seven electric plants, three otf which are placed on the court house cupola miles at | might; three large flouring mills, considerable size. The} To those who have been in Bates | pecan grows abundantly on the | County, either as citizen or visitor, | ms of the Marais des Cygnes. | those who know its peculiarites, its | the nuts have long : been | resources, its advantages and _ its an article of export, together with | beauties, and by is we mean all the unusally large hickory nuts found , that ¢ ms ys whether in here minera's, agriculture, climate, edu- TAME GRASSES cation or whatever else that may | of different varieties yield abundant | make a country desirable for homes ily. Timothy produces two and/or for money making purposes, ahalftons to the acre, and often; this article may seem superuous, | | largely exceed this return. German | and for these, this is not intended, one a large stone building; x; one | planing mill; one woolen tactory; | one pottery and tyle tactory; one \ saw mill; five blacksmith shops; ‘BUT a fection, and is extensively raised, | The ever mmvading blue grass which sgrings up spontaneously as the prairies become fenced and closely pastured, is not surpassed by the | celebrated growth of any of the old- | er States. with their present surroundings and { who contemplate a change, no mat- ter what may be their reason tor so doing, we dedicate these lines, earn: estly urging such to give this a can- did and careful perusal, assuring them that this picture is not over- To a considerable extent a graz | drawn buttrue to nature, and the ing country, it will be no matter of | facts and the figures herein wil! bear i ! prairies ot this county is struck with the number and extent of its unfanl- ing ponds, constructed at trifling cost and affording ample water sup- ply for the best herds and flocks that roam over the praries, in local- ities where running water 1s not readily accessible. It 1s not our purpose to enter into a scientific analysis of THE SOIL ot this fertile region. We will state, however, that the rich loam which torms the superstratum of the high rolling prairies, vanes trom five to eight feet in depth, and is generally underlaid with aclay or hmestone formation. The soil produces ENORMOUS CROPS ot grains of all kinds. It isa rare occurrence that the average corn | crops tall short ot forty bushels to |the acre; and this product, in more ‘favorable seasons, has, in certair | localities, turned out a yield o! (SeaSne bushels to the acre. Wheat produces from fifteen to surprise to our readers to learn | the strictest ivestigation. that in the past season, largely over | BUTLER. twenty-five thousands head of j \ Butler, the county seat of Bates, \ is located in the center of the county, 70 miles from Kansas City and 270 i miles from St. Louis. It has one of ! the most beautiful locations imagin- able, surrounded b, riche est icultural ‘ve SUPERIOR CATTLE were ted in Bates county and shipped to eastern markets. Great attention is now being directed to improvement of this character ot stock by the introduction of thor- | ough-bred cattle. | 3 coun ¢ Horses, mules, hogs and sheep | A u \ entirely since the war. 1n 1865 but # one a nO ak frame house remained to exported in large numbers and are eee cp the toma But rapidly filling the place of the scrub | stock of all kinds, and the wisdom ot the people in voting for and sus- in spite of the tact that the ,esults of | the war was felt long afterward and \ had the effect to retard immrzration, ing Se gee oe ee, = ! still Butler kept pace with the growth destined very soon to banish trem} and settlement of the county, and a | substantial foundation was laid for a the county all of the inferior grades, great city. for its productions of fine stock as it | No county oom struck the town and the popu- Che former are regularly laid out, ; there were wo-story brick busi- and but few years will pass away | In 18So the first railroad was built tlready is for its vast mineral and_ nthe whole Southwest excells her | lation increased in two years from before Bates county will be as noted | through Butler, when a bu.lding igricultural resources. ‘i 2 rer 5 aie: t time n well regulated roads and bridges. | 2300 0 over 5,000 At tha and in most cases on section lines,‘ ness houses, which was increased to two National Banks, the Bates County National and Butler Nation- al, both reliable institutions on firm financial tooting, with a cash capital of $75,000 and $66,000 respectiye- ly, both doing a large business; a large brick school house and another $12,000 one under way of construc- tion that will be completed by tall, besides a number of smaller schools i and the colored one; a fine academy | worl Butler has been bu-ic asmost | | | | | \ | building, the school being under able management with an excellent corps of teachers; and last, but rot least to the prosperity of a towa, tour newspapers, the Recerd, Re- publican, Democrat and Times, the two tormer republican and the two | latter democratic. The business o! Butler 1s not con- fined alone to the square, but has branched out on nearly every street leading thereto. On North Main street solid two-story brick business houses torm a continuous row on each side of the street for over a block. For the past two years but | 47,11, Coal mines are beng very little building has been going on owing to financial depression of the country, but this spnng real estate has been changing hands | rapidly, strangers are coming in and | supporting a newspaper, large mulls, making investments, preparations are being made to build extensively; | in fact Butler has put on her boom- ing robes and gone booming in| earnest. | | | | | 1 \ | i | and to this fact is due the marvelous | growth and prosperity of the city. | |coal regions in the ‘west. | fact, as the money to build the road | has been secured, a permanent sur- | direct outlet to Chicago and the east Butler has two large three-story | | brick hotels | opened of the finest quality of free- | }in unlimited quantity, and in quali- | ty equal or superior to any in the | all traffic to and from the southwest. | built up in southwest Missouri, and i 4 | there is no reason why Butler should \coming summer and tall. | Butler has two railroads at pres- ent, the Mo. Pacific and the Em- poria, with two other projected lines which will be built the coming Season. These are the extension ef a fixed vey made, and the line located and the nght of way guaranteed, together with a large bonus from the people along the route from Higginsville te This road, giving us a and making Butler the key to the great undeveloped southwest, should make Butler a city second only to Kansas City. Butler has the natural facilities tor making a large city; she 1s in the midst ot a rich agricultural region; she is underlaeyd with rich coal deposits, and has sandstone quarnes only a short distance off, state; and coupled with all this, she is made the gateway, as it were, to There is bound to be a metropolis not gain that distinction, and the prospects are very flattering in that direction now. Rich Hill, the next largest town in the county, is locpted 12 miles south ot Butler, on the Mo. Pacific railroad. It claims a population ot 5,000 inhabitants, is substantially built, of brick and stone business houses. One three-story brick hotel, the Talmage House, two large school buildings, two banks, a sys- tem of waterworks, a number of electric light plants, large smelting works, etc. Rich Hill has been built up since 1880, is a remarkably live town, and her business men are wide awake, enterprising and work tor the upbuilding of their town. It has three good newspapers, the Review, Daily Herald and Enter- prise. Large and rich coal fields are being worked near Rich Hill, Adrian is locatenten miles north of Butler on the Mo, Pacific road. It has been built in the past tew years and is a remarkably live and energetic town with a population of probably 1,500. It is surrounded’ by a rich agricultural country, and is a trading and shipping point tor a vast scope of country. [t 18 fortu- nate in having two well conducted newspapers, the Advertiser, demo- cratic, and Register, republican, @ good bank, good schools, etc. Foster 1s located on the Emporia. road, 12 miles southwest of Butler; is in the center of one ot the richest These coal fields have not yet been exten- sively developed, but preparations are being made to open them up the Foster has a bank on a firm financial foot- ing, a newspaper, the Free Press, @ fine school building; her business men are live and energetic, and it bids fair to be a large town at no distant day. Hume is situated in the southwest part ot the county, on the Gulf road, 25 miles trom Butler. It has one bank under able management yrs financially solid ; one newspaper, Star. 16 situated in ¢ beautiful — an we ayagricultur’ wntryand ~ is. .vou shipping and trading point. — Bi cently a seven foot vein of © coal has been tound near the tewn, which will probably make cost i | mining an adjunct to thattown,. = Sprague is a good town, situated, | sll soars between Hume and Rich ‘up in that vicinity and that will help — | the growth of the place, . | Rockville 1s in the southeast cor- — | ner of the county, on the M. K. & | | T. R.R. Itts a good hve town, | | good schools, etc. | The other towns in the county ase ~ |Papinville, Pleasant Gap, : Oak, Johnstown, Ballard, Altoua, Mavesburg. Burdette, Rosier, Dana, ‘Mulberry, Amoret and Virginia.