History of Johnson County, Missouri
Men come and go. They perform their allotted work upon this earth and then depart. Others follow to take up the work left unfinished by those who have preceded them. It was ordained by an omnipotent and omniscient Providence that it should be the task of His creatures here below to go forth into, subdue, and people the waste places of the earth, the forests, and the plains; to change the wide spaces of land into fertile areas so as to provide sustenance for mankind. The vanguard were the pioneers, men and women accustomed to simple methods of living, inured to hardships, bred to a life which required that they wrest a livelihood from the soil, and imbued with the spirit of generations of pioneers. They accomplished their self-imposed task and subdued the prairie lands of what is now known as Johnson county. They paved the pathway for others who followed to resume the task of making a happy and prosperous community. Their work was well and faithfully done and this volume of Johnson county history might fittingly be dedicated to the memory of those brave men and women.
Lest we forget, lest the children of today and of the tomorrows know not the deeds of their progenitors, this history has been written and published — affording an authentic and readable record for all time to come, the story of the settlement and upbuilding of Johnson county.
History has been and is now being made. The great task of founding and creating an important section of the great commonwealth of Missouri has been accomplished. The future will bring forth still greater development. That this is possible is due to the bravery and hardihood of that noble race who have preceded the present citizenry and who lie sleeping peacefully beneath the sod they loved so well.
The following pages present a true and accurate history of Johnson county, based upon personal narratives, research, compilation, and official records. Inasmuch as history in the aggregate is a record of the composite achievements of all the people in a community during a course of many years, it is necessary to present much personal history in a work of this kind.
True history is based upon personal achievement. True history, then, in its wider sense is but biography. The biographical department of this history of Johnson county, therefore, is important, as presenting a record of the leading families of Johnson county and recording the personal achievements of the men and women who have made Johnson county what it is today. In the publishing of this important department which is destined for the enlightenment of the present and future generations as to the best information available concerning their forebears, the publishers desire to state that no effort has been spared to insure accuracy without exaggeration, to produce a department which is readable and interesting from the standpoints of both the student and the reader.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER I. — GEOLOGY... 65-72
CHAPTER II. — INDIANS... 73-76
CHAPTER III. — TRAILS AND ROADS... 77-84
CHAPTER IV — EARLY SETTLEMENTS... 85-91
CHAPTER V. — ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS... 92-101
CHAPTER VI. — RAILROADS... 102-105
CHAPTER VII. — MILITARY... 106-118
CHAPTER VIII. — REIGN OF TERROR... 119-127
CHAPTER IX. — PUBLIC SCHOOLS... 128-141
CHAPTER X. — STATE NORMAL SCHOOL.
District No. 2... 142-150
CHAPTER XI. — COUNTY FINANCES... 151-155
CHAPTER XII. — WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP... 156-163
CHAPTER XIII. — JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP... 164-169
CHAPTER XIV. — MADISON TOWNSHIP... 170-176
CHAPTER XV. — HOLDEN... 177-184
CHAPTER XVI. — JACKSON TOWNSHIP... 185-191
CHAPTER XVII. — WARRENSBURG TOWNSHIP... 192-200
CHAPTER XVIII. — WARRENSBURG... 201-223
CHAPTER XIX. — POST OAK TOWNSHIP... 224-231
CHAPTER XX. — HAZEL HILL TOWNSHIP... 232-238
CHAPTER XXI. — CHILHOWEE TOWNSHIP... 239-247
CHAPTER XXII. — GROVER TOWNSHIP... 248-255
CHAPTER XXIII. — ROSE HILL TOWNSHIP... 256-2B4
CHAPTER XXIV. — COLUMBUS TOWNSHIP... 265-273
CHAPTER XXV. — KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP... 274-279
CHAPTER XXVI. — CENTERVIEW TOWNSHIP... 280-286
CHAPTER XXVII. — SIMPSON TOWNSHIP... 287-294
CHAPTER XXVIII. — MONTSERRAT TOWNSHIP... 295-300
CHAPTER XXIX. — POLITICAL... 301-303
CHAPTER XXX. — MEDICINE... 304-312
CHAPTER XXXI. — BENCH AND BAR... 313-327
CHAPTER XXXII. — BANKS AND BANKING... 328-336
CHAPTER XXXIII. — JOHNSON COUNTY NEWSPAPERS... 337-342
CHAPTER XXXIV. — AGRICULTURE... 343-357
CHAPTER XXXV. — LIVE STOCK... 358-364
CHAPTER XXXVI. — SOILS... 365-375
CHAPTER XXXVII. — CHURCHES... 376-414
CHAPTER XXXVIII. — LODGES AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS... 415-426
CHAPTER XXXIX. — MISCELLANEOUS ORGANIZATIONS... 427-432
CHAPTER XL. — THE WORLD WAR... 433-440
CHAPTER XLI — BIOGRAPHICAL.
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Johnson county is on one of the earliest formed ridges in the United States. This is the Ozark ridge or uplift, which is said to be far older than the Rocky mountains. In eastern Kansas this uplift divides into two sections as it goes eastward, a northern one beginning in Cass county and continuing east down to the Lamine district, and a southern part lying in southern Missouri and Arkansas. The northern section contains Johnson county.
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