Beginning at the northwest corner of section 6, township 38, range 30; thence east six miles to the northeast corner of section 1, township 38, range 30; thence south four miles to the southeast corner of section 24; thence west six miles to the southwest corner of section 19; thence north four miles to the place of beginning.

This township contains an abundance of timber and coal, and is considered one of the best agricultural districts in the county, there being much excellent bottom land. The Marais des Cygnes, Willow Creek, Sycamore and Mission Branches are the principal streams. The broad waters of Muddy Creek flow through the southwest corner of the township. There are also a number of small lakes or lagoons in the township. Prairie Township, though not as large in area as some others in the county, is far richer in historical interest than any of them. With it is inseparably linked the history of Harmony Mission, which constituted the seat of one of the earliest missionary enterprises which was inaugurated by pious men in the East to ameliorate the condition of the red man of the West. Here it was that Amasa and Roxana Jones, Daniel H. Austin, Ethol Bright, Nathaniel B. Dodge and a few other brave, self-sacrificing men and women devoted the better part of their lives to the labors of the missionary field. Like true knights of the cross they displayed a moral courage, a fidelity and heroism that can never be forgotten, and when their deeds of self-abnegation shall have been fully written, they will sparkle upon the historic page with a fadeless luster.

Not only was this township the scene of the early missionary adventure, which was begun more than three-score years ago, but within its borders were located the first and second seats of justice of Bates County. Here were gathered the pioneer lawyers, the judges, the doctors, the officials and that heterogenous class of adventurers who follow in the wake but never in the forefront of civilization. Here, too, was erected the first house in the county, which was dedicated to the two-fold purpose of religion and education. Here, too, were witnessed the first efforts at farming and the projection of the embryo mills and manufactures, which were but an earnest of what is to-day seen in different portions of the county. Here occurred the first marriage, the first birth, and here, too, repose the ashes of the earliest dead. In fact, Prairie Township was to Bates County what Jamestown was to Virginia -- St. Augustine was to Florida, in point of settlement.

Among the original settlers, outside of Harmony Mission, was John B. Chorette, a Frenchman. It is not known at what precise period he settled in the township, but it is known that he erected a water mill on the Marais Des Cygnes, about two miles above Harmony Mission, in 1833 or 1834. He continued to operate the same for several years, when he sold to John M. Parks, another pioneer. The mill was destroyed during the late civil war, while it was the property of Parks. This was doubtless the first mill of any kind, excepting the Missionary Mill, that was erected in the county. Parks was a native of Pennsylvania.

Freeman Barrows came to the township as early as 1838, from Middleborough, Massachusetts, where he was born in 1813. He was the son of Freeman and Susan Barrows, his mother's maiden name being Morton. After reaching the age of manhood he engaged in mercantile pursuits in his native state, and labored so assiduously that his health gave way. He was advised by physicians to come west, and having heard of western Missouri, and especially of the country in the region of Harmony Mission, he emigrated west as stated above, in 1838, arriving at Harmony Mission, about the time the missionary labors were discontinued. Mr. Barrows assisted Captain William Waldo, in his store of general merchandise, at Harmony Mission, until he received the appointment of county clerk upon the organization of the county. He was also appointed clerk of the circuit court at the same time, and by virtue of these positions, he held the office of recorder. These positions he filled for ten or twelve years, with much ability and in an acceptable manner to the people. He married Miss Asneth Vaill, who was the first child born at the Union Mission, in Arkansas, daughter of Rev. William F. Vaill, in 1822. Barrows died in 1860. The writer called upon Mrs. Barrows at her home, one and a half miles southeast of Papinville, in Bates County, and is indebted to her wonderful memory for many of the facts and incidents narrated in this chapter. She has been a widow for twenty-two years, and has continuously resided upon the farm settled by her husband in 1842.

When they located there, Peter Colin was the nearest neighbor. He was a Frenchman and lived about a mile distant. Two miles southeast on the Osage River, was another settlement, which had been made by Melicourt Papin and Michael Geraud, who were also Frenchmen, hailing from St. Louis. The point where they located was called Rapids De Kaw, after the Kaw Indians who were in the habit of crossing the Osage at this point, on their hunting expeditions. The bed of the river here was covered with rocks which formed a shoal, over which the water poured with great velocity -- and the river being shallow, it was more easily forded at this point than elsewhere. The place is now known as Colin's Ford, (pronounced Collee's Ford). Papin and Geraud were connected with the American Fur Company and were Indian traders. Their supplies were transported on keel boats from St. Louis. They settled at Colin's Ford as early as 1834.

Among other early settlers were R. A. Baughan (who succeeded Freeman Barrows as county and circuit clerk in 1853), G. R. Garrison, John Zimmerman, Thomas Scroghern, George W. Hopkins, Daniel Johnson, A. Goodin, John Hartman, A. B. Bradley, Philip Zeal, James McCool (who was the first county seat commissioner), Major J. N. Bradley, H. A. Thurman and D. A. W. Moorehouse. The two latter were attorneys. Scroghern purchased the old Mission house and moved it to Papinville in 1848, where it was destroyed by fire, during the war of 1861. Alexander Weddle was also an old settler and lived in the northeastern part of the township.

has already been referred to in our chapter on first settlements. It came into existence in 1821, under the auspices and protection of the American Board of Home Missions, and continued its labors unremittingly among the Osage Indians until they were removed west by the govern- ment, in 1837. The mission was then broken up, and the missionaries separated, some returning to their former homes in the East, others locating in Henry County, and others remaining in Bates. The old mission buildings, in which the Indians were instructed in the study of the English language, and where they were taught also those things which pertained to their spiritual welfare, were bought by the government in 1838, which paid therefor the sum of $8,000. There remains at this time nothing to denote the spot on which the buildings once stood, or the locality of the mission, except a few trees of an old apple orchard which were planted by missionary hands soon after their settlement. Nor is there remaining anything to indicate that at this point was located, for the space of seven years, the first county seat of Bates County.

Among the early residents of the place after the mission was abandoned were: Col. Robert Allen, John Bloy, James Moore (a shoemaker), Miss Mary Etris, and others, Capt. William Waldo opened the first store at Harmony Mission, in 1838. He brought his goods overland from Lexington, Missouri, in wagons drawn by ox teams, a distance of 150 miles. Hubbard & Loring brought the first stock of goods to Harmony Mission after the place became the county seat, in 1841.

Freeman Barrows was the first postmaster after the town became the seat of justice. The following letter was received by Mr. Barrows, in July 1843, from the auditor at Washington City, and shows the vigilance of governmental officials at that day:

Auditor's Office, Post Office Department,
July 3, 1843.
Sir: You are requested to call on James Allen, Jr., late mail contractor, who is now residing in or near Batesville, for $8.43 balance due on his account, and inform him that prompt payment alone will save him the heavy costs and expenses of a suit in the U.S. Court to recover the debt. Your prompt attention and report are expected.
Respectfully, E. Whittlesay, Auditor,
Freeman Barrows, Esq., Postmaster, Batesville, Bates County, Missouri.

Miss Sarah Lutzenhiser taught the first school at Harmony Mission after it became the county seat.

The post office, although located at Harmony Mission, was called, as will be seen above, Batesville. In 1848 the county seat was located at Papinville, and in the course of a few years the old town of Harmony Mission was numbered with the things of the past.

We endeavored to get biographical sketches of the lives of the men and women who composed that devoted band of missionaries, but succeeded only in obtaining a brief sketch of the life of the Rev. Amasa Jones, who was the superintendent of the Mission. He died in 1870; the following article was written in a few days thereafter:

Amasa Jones was born at Rindge, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, April 28, 1796, and died at Deepwater, Henry County, Missouri, April 17, 1870. His father's name was Asa and his mother's Mary. He was one of a large family, nearly all of whom have preceded him to the world of spirits. He remembered his Creator in the days of his youth, and in early life became a follower of Jesus. The consecration of himself to the service of his master was whole-hearted. In answer to the inquiry, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" God spread out before him the mission field. In his endeavors to discern the indications of Providence to duty, he was made to behold the broad field for Christian enterprise among the benighted heathen of all nations of the earth. These researches, laying the foundation of characteristic benevolence and self denying toil, resulted in the resolve, "Here am I, Lord, send me." He desired to teach the heathen and to lead them to Christ.

On February 15, 1821, he was married to Miss Roxana Stearns, of Ashburnham, Worcester County, Massachusetts. In a few days afterwards he set out, with a number of others, to go to a mission field of the then far West, by an overland route, there being then but few facilities for traveling. He came out under the auspices of the American Board of Foreign Missions, and became an assistant missionary at the "Harmony Mission," a station established on the Marais des Cygnes, about three miles from its mouth, and in the extreme western part of the then new State of Missouri. This was then the home of the Osage Indians. His labors there were principally in the school. His letters spread upon the pages of the Missionary Herald of the years 1825 to 1835, inclusive, amply testify to his devotion to the cause of civilizing and Christianizing the Indians. He attained to other spheres of usefulness. He devoted much of his time spared from the school to the study of theology. It seemed necessary for him to study medicine, also. Dr. W. N. Belcher, now in New York, was for six years the physician of the station, but his health failing, he was required to quit the post. Foreseeing this step, and knowing Mr. Jones' general adaptation to the work. Dr. Belcher recommended that he prepare himself, and he studied medicine under the Doctor for some time. But the taking care of souls was a higher sphere of life and duty for him. He was ordained and set apart to the ministry of the gospel at Harmony Mission, October 12, 1830, by the Arkansas Presbytery, having been licensed to preach a few years before. He ever had a realizing sense of the grave responsibilities of the office, but his soul was fired with fresh hopes and nobler aspirations. But as the white man advanced the red man receded, and, in 1835, the Harmony Mission Station was abandoned, the old site is still descernable near Papinville, Bates County. Dr. Jones moved with his family -- his wife and two daughters, Mary and Jane -- to Deepwater, then in Rives County, where he procured a tract of land and opened a settlement. A church was soon organized, and he took charge of it as pastor, and continued so till July 1867, when Rev. B. F. Powelson was associated with him. He preached the word in many places throughout this region, and the old settlers can well testify to his attachment to the cross ofChrist, and zeal for the glory of God. He went about doing good, and was successful in winning many souls to Christ. He was quite successful in the practice of medicine, and contributed much towards ameliorating the sufferings of mankind. He gave always liberally of his means towards the support of the various benevolent schemes, and was ever ready to assist his fellows when in straits.

He was an earnest, self-sacrificing, indefatigable laborer in his Master's vineyard. He sought not, desired not, compensation for his toil from among the stores of earth. His practice as a physician and the results of his own ingenuity and industry secured for himself and family a comfortable living and ample provision for old age.

He was a student all his life -- assiduous and unrelaxing in his efforts in early life, and determined, fixed ever in his purpose to acquaint himself with the movements of mankind, in the various spheres of life, and especially to keep himself posted in regard to the progress of the church of Christ. He was a close reader, and though he had never seen the great improvements of the age, remaining at his post on the frontier, yet he had a fair knowledge of these things, and his descriptions of them were astonishingly accurate. His independence of mind and originality of thought, shaped and drawn out, no doubt, by necessity, were evidenced in quite a number of productions, material and immaterial. He looked with favor upon the progressive spirit of the age. But he set his face against countenancing, in any way, the great evils of the world. He refused to enter upon any compromise with intemperance, profanity, or Sabbath breaking. He was unflinching in his devotion to the great principles of Christianity, and sought, in every conceivable way, the establishment and perpetuity of truth, and the maintenance of the right. He labored among all classes faithfully for the sowing of the precious seed, for the culture of the tender vines, and for the maturity of the fruits of the spirit. He oftentimes seemed impatient in sickness -- desiring to be in his place with God's worshippers, and fearing lest his absence should prove a hindrance to the cause of Christ. His zeal thus carried him sometimes beyond the capabilities of the flesh. The last Sabbath he spent on earth was one of special exertion and anxiety to him. It was the Sabbath preceding the meeting of his own Presbytery and a neighboring Presbytery among his people. He wanted the people to be interested in these things. He longed for this meeting. He wished to see the last vestige of separation carried away, and the two branches of the Presbyterian Church inseparably united. He longed to greet the brethren once more, and congratulate them on the accomplishment of so noble a work. As Simeon to see Christ, so he longed to see the running together of these kindred streams. He was desirous to share with his people the promised feast of love and joy. He attended services in the morning, and a prayer meeting in the evening, where he made an earnest appeal to sinners to come to Christ. In his last days, the few appeals he attempted were exceedingly earnest. The fire glowed fervently on the altar of his love. His soul yearned for the salvation of those who surrounded him. His conversation indicated a ripening for heaven and glory. For many months he seemed to be amid the scenes of the Delectable Mountains and the land of Beulah. He was near Christ, and could well call upon his friends to come to him. And yet his soul longings were: "Nearer my God to Thee." While subject to temptation and danger, he kept his armor on, and when death came it thus found him. The last foe was conquered, and he breathed his last breath out sweetly reposing on the breast of the Conqueror -- Him whom he delighted to serve while upon the earth -- Him, who called him to come up higher -- Him, whom he now adores with the hosts of heaven. Jesus called him. He was ready -- willing to go. His longings had been satisfied beyond expectation. The latest intelligence assured him that the ark of the covenant was being carried forward, that his youngest granddaughter was singing a song of praise to Christ's redeeming love, and that his brethren, in the glorious light of the reunited church, had seen each other face to face, and sung as they emerged from the shadows of separation, "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love, etc." His face seemed radiant in the light of his triumph. The conflict was over. Victory blazed out upon the banner of his faith. Victory made resplendent the cross, and rendered altogether lovely the dying Savior. He triumphed in Him who burst the gates of death. It was enough. "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." And heaven opened its portals. He is gone --

The earthly Sabbath gave place to the eternal Sabbath. He sleeps! -- "not dead, but sleepeth."

The funeral services were held in the Adobe Church, (a building the deceased had erected during his life), in the morning of the 18th, the room being crowded to its utmost capacity. Rev. Mr. Paige, of Springfield, delivered a sermon and was followed in brief and touching addresses, by Rev. Mr. Brown, of Neosho, and Rev. Mr. Requa, of Lone Oak, and a contemporary with Mr. Jones among the Indians. The corpse was taken from the church to its place of burial, one mile east of Germantown, preceded by the members of the Osage and Southwest Missouri Presbyteries and followed by a large concourse of relatives and friends.

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, blessed blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labor; and their works do follow them." - B.F.P., Germantown, Mo., April 28, 1870.

Papinville was laid out in April 1847, and was located on the southeast quarter of section 16, township 38, range 30, and was named after Melicourt Papin, a Frenchman, and an Indian trader.

The original proprietor of the town site, was George Pierce; he "squatted" there about the year 1844, and followed agricultural pursuits. Among the early settlers and business men, were Dr. Samuel Hogan, who was the pioneer physician of the town. The early settlers, however, thought that it was

and the consequence was, the doctor found the location a distressingly healthful one, for a year or two after his arrival. The doctor came from Cooper County, Missouri, and died about the year 1850. The first drug store in the town was opened by Dr. Zachariah Anderson, who located in Papinville in 1854, and died there in 1868. He came from Johnson County, Missouri, to Papinville, but was a native of East Tennessee. He left a widow, two sons and three daughters, all of whom are now living in Bates County.

Augustine Deville, a Frenchman, and a blacksmith, was among the earliest settlers in the town, and is said to have been an excellent workman.

Benjamin Richardson operated the first mill in 1853. It was at first a portable mill, ten-horse power. He located it finally on the bank of the Marais des Cygnes, and afterwards improved it by adding steam. This mill remained intact until the breaking out of the war of 1861, when it was destroyed by fire. Thomas Burnside was perhaps the pioneer attorney, settling in the town at an early day. S. H. Loring opened the first store, general merchandise; F. F. Eddy, the second. Each of these men moved their goods from Harmony Mission in 1848, when the county seat was located at Papinville. The postmasters before the war, were Dr. Z. Anderson, J. L. Richardson, John Richardson. Postmasters since 1867, have been: F. F. Eddy, --- Hatcher, W. H. Summy, Robert Lyle, Dr. J. A. Brian, E. K. Brian, and M. M. Kaufman, who is the present incumbent.

F. F. Eddy kept the first house of entertainment. Wiseman Hollingsworth, Preston Denton and Jonathan Kemper were early residents; the latter was a Baptist minister.

The county seat was again changed, in 1856, to Butler. Papinville during the years 1852, 1854 and 1855 was the center of much business. The town had grown rapidly, both in population and business. In 1854 it contained five dry goods stores, and other business and trades were represented in proportion. Although the town had no railroad facilities then (and has none now), it had occasional communication with St. Louis and the outside world by the means of a few small enterprising steam- boats which plied their business on the waters of the Osage and Marais des Cygnes at an early day. The town is located on the east bank of the Marais des Cygnes, about three miles above its junction with the Osage. The river at the town is perhaps two hundred feet in width from bank to bank when the water is very high, but at this time the water is very low -- scarcely entitling the stream to be dignified with the name of a creek.

In the spring of 1844 the gallant little steamer, Maid of the Osage, ascended the river to Harmony Mission, three miles above Papinville, in command of Captain William Waldo, who performed this wonderful feat to show that the Osage and Marais des Cygnes were navigable. His starting point was Jefferson City, his destination Harmony Mission, Missouri.

After the Maid of the Osage had made a successful trip to Harmony Mission and returned to Jefferson City, other boats ascended the river, some of them making two or three trips during the spring. The Wave, another side-wheeled steamer, commanded by Captain William Waldo, came up to Papinville, in 1847, bringing salt and lumber which were purchased by Philip Zeal, an old merchant who resides in Papinville. The U.S. mail landed at Papinville in 1856. In 1868-9 the Tom Stephens, a stern wheeled boat, made four trips to Papinville.

The town of Osceola, the county seat of St. Clair County, on the Osage, is now about the head of navigation.

was laid out May 2, 1858, by Joshua N. Durand, on sections 12 and 13. in township 28, range 30. There has been a post office there for a number of years; the first and present postmaster being John Durand, we son of Joshua. John Durand is the proprietor of the single business house at that point.

There are three church edifices in the township. The German Reformed Church has a house of worship (frame) one mile north of Prairie City, built about 1879. A. Hammer and wife, Leonard Hegenaur and wife, Peter Kamm and wife, and Christopher Hegenaur, were among the first members.

The German Lutheran Church erected a frame house of worship in Prairie City about the year 1870. The church divided about the year 1878, but the seceding portion thereof continued to hold services in the same house. Nicholas Johannes and wife, Leonard Johannes and wife, Henry Meiers and others were among the organizing members.

The Old School Presbyterians, erected a house of worship in Papinville in 1873. It is a frame building and cost $1,000. Hugh Wilson and wife, Mrs. Freeman Barrows, John N. Barrows, Daniel Wilson, Miss Eliza Wilson and one other person whose name is not now known, composed the organic members. The ministers of this church have been Rev. S. G. Clark, W. M. Newton, John F. Watkins, William Reed, and J. D. Hughes. The M. E. Church, South, and Christian denominations have organizations in the town and township but have no houses of worship.

In the month of December 1848, there fell a sleet that remained on the ground six weeks. Nothing had ever before or has ever since been seen like it in this portion of Missouri. The entire surface of the country was covered with a solid sheet of ice, which was so slippery and impervious that travel was almost wholly suspended until about the middle of January following. During the time many accidents occurred, and many limbs of both man and beast were either broken or dislocated. Hogs fattened more rapidly while the ice was on the ground (it being so smooth that they could not get about) than the farmers had ever witnessed.

The drouth, which extended almost over the entire nation in the summer of 1881 caused much suffering among the farmers, and compelled many of them to sell their stock because of the scarcity of corn and grass. The drouth, however, of 1854, as remembered by the early settler, was much more severe and of longer duration than that of 1881. The streams which usually supplied an abundance of water became as dry as a dusty road, and the farmers were compelled to go a distance of several miles to get water. The drouth of 1860, although not so prolonged and parching as that of 1854, was quite destructive to the crops.

The cemetery is in the northwest part of the town, near the complaining shores of the Marais des Cygnes. It is enclosed with a fence, but the burial grounds are grown over with weeds, briars and undergrowth. The graves are in a neglected condition; many of the head and foot stones are moss-covered and have been broken, and now lie in pieces among the leaves and weeds. The whole scene was one of dreariness and gloom, the very atmosphere seeming to have been surcharged with musty exhalations -- such as are emitted from a profusion of dead leaves and damp, decaying vegetable matter, whilst the whistling of the autumnal winds through the overhanging branches of the trees impressed one with a weird feeling of loneliness and desolation which were in keeping with the place.

Among the earliest inscriptions, some of which are now barely decipherable, we noted the following:

Madorah Ann Anderson, daughter of Z. and Susan J. Anderson, born January 15, 1851, died January 8, 1859.

Nathaniel H., son of F. F. and C. A. Eddy, died June 20, 1852.

Samuel G. Potts died February 13, 1857, aged fifty-seven years.

Dr. Christian A. Boettinger, born in Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany, May 6, 1832, died November 5, 1858.

Bates County Missouri MOGenWeb