Reprinted here with the permission of the "Cedar County Republican Newspaper".
Cedar County places we've never been...and a few we have
by Aaron Sims
Cedar County, like much of rural America, has seen a decline in small towns and
communities. Progress has taken away the identity of the communities and
distance between places seems much less.
Driving 20, 30 or 50 miles to shop is not uncommon today. However, little more
than 40 years ago, walking to the general store was a common task. Stores
and communities were scattered throughout the countryside, allowing access to
local residents. Often, not far from the local store was a one-room school or
church, all forming a center for a local community. As times
changed, the importance of the local store decreased as both parents worked away
from the farm and home. Buying groceries and supplies at
the grocery store in the larger towns became more common, and the smaller stores
closed.
School consolidation closed the one-room schools, and the small communities
faded. Some remain as clusters of homes, others just as memories.
Other settlements died long before when natural disasters, such as floods,
destroyed the life blood of the community ‹ the local mill. Many Cedar County
communities were destroyed by armies during the Civil War, when villages were
burned and not rebuilt. Some were bypassed when highways were built and traffic
no longer traveled through their location. No matter what the reason,
these communities disappeared or grew smaller. Here are more of the places
of Cedar County. Again, our thanks to the late Arthur Paul Moser for his work łA
Directory of Towns, Villages and Hamlets
of Missouri,˛ the source of much of our information.
Dunnegan's Mill was a location on the Sac River where Francis Dunnegan,
an uncle to T.H.B. Dunnegan, a founder of Bolivar, settled in 1856 and built a
mill, located just above what now is the Highway 32 bridge. The mill was in
operation until about 1880, when it was believed to have been destroyed in a
flood.
Eaton was a community built about 20 miles northwest of Stockton in Box
Township. The community was named after a pioneer family who settled in the
area. A post office was established in the 1840s along the mail
route from Osceola to Clintonville. The community was destroyed
during the Civil War and never fully rebuilt. A store and blacksmith shop were
reopened, but the community did not flourish.
Edsall was established around 1840 when John Edsall operated a store
about a quarter-mile west of Cedar Creek on the main road between Stockton and
Filley. The community was named for John Edsall, store owner and postmaster.
A post office was in operation at Edsall from 1901 through 1904, and the
store remained in operation well into the 1900s. By the late 1960s, only
remnants of the buildings remained.
Filley is located about 12 miles southeast of El Dorado Springs on
Highway 32 between Stockton and El Dorado Springs. The community also was known
by the names Alice, Horse Creek and Mule Creek.
Once a thriving town, Filley had at least two stores, a school, churches, a
number of houses and a blacksmith shop. By the mid-1970s, a few houses, empty
stores, the Christian Church and a community building remained. Today, the
community building still is in use for 4-H meetings, the Christian
Church still is prospering, and a few houses remain.
Forest Grove was a post office location and store 8-1/4 miles southwest
of El Dorado Springs. The origin of the name is not known.
Graceland was located in section 35, township 36, range 26 in Washington
Township ‹ near the Arnica area ‹ and for a time had a store, school and post
office. The community took its name from the beautiful country around it.
Rural free delivery closed the post office by about 1905, and the school closed
with school consolidation in the 1950s.
Gum Springs is the name of a former Cumberland Presbyterian campground
four miles southwest of Stockton, along Highway 39. The location was named for a
group of local landowners. At one time, the community had a store,
church and school, but no village.
Hamlet was the name of a small trading post in the eastern part of Cedar
County, named for Charles Hamlet who owned the store. The location was known
earlier as Sexson, after Mort Sexson who built the first store. An
exact location is unknown.
Hartley was the name of a store in southeastern Cedar County, established
by Dick Hartley. The community also was known by the name of Needmore and
was so named by a local joker as a criticism of the small amount of goods in
stock. A small group of houses remain in the vicinity, which is near
the eastern shore of Stockton Lake. The former road from Stockton to Needmore
remains, but is covered in locations by the lake.
Hyattsville, now known as
Olympia, was founded by a man named
Hyatt around 1895, who submitted names to the postal department and asked for a
post office. From his list of names, Olympia was selected.
The post office closed in the early 1900s, but a few homes remain in the area.
Ivy, located about 5-1/2 miles southwest of Caplinger Mills, was named
because of the quantity of ivy growing on the swamp land in the vicinity.
The community was founded in the early 1890s when T.J. Phipps and his son W.E.
Phipps bought property on the courthouse steps. W.E. Phipps later built
his home on the property, and later the store, blacksmith shop and post office
were located in the vicinity.
By 1900, the community had about 40 residents, but after the post office and
store closed around 1906, the community faded.
Jaketown was the name of the trading post near the Mollie post office and
was named for Jake Dixon who owned the store.
Jerusalem is the name given by residents to a part of Jerico Springs that
is cut off from the main village by Jordan Creek. Jerusalem had no legal
standing, but was known by the people of the region who took amusement from the
imaginary biblical trips from one town to the other. The creek was jokingly
named for the river in Palestine, as it was near Jericho.
Kader was a country store located some eight miles southwest of Stockton
about the time of the Civil War. Julian Osborne owned the store and named the
location after a friend named Kader who later became postmaster. The
community faded after the post office was closed. A cemetery is located nearby.
Kinneytown or Kenney Town, was the name of a store on the highway between
Stockton and Fair Play, established about 1905 and named for Mitch Kenney who
owned the store. The store closed in the 1930s.
Lamberton's Store was a trading post named for Christopher Lamberton who
began operating the store in 1838. The exact location of the settlement is
unknown, but Moser found several references of the store and community, believed
to have been in the area of Cedar Creek east of Filley. The store is believed to
have been the earliest mercantile business in what now is Cedar County.
Leila or Lelia was a store established about 1895 in section 20, township
36, range 27 in Cedar Township, about 3-1/2 miles southeast of Balm.
According to tradition, the store was named for a woman in the neighborhood by
store founder John Schmidt who operated the store and post office until his
death in 1922. Schmidtąs wife Laura then operated the business until 1943.
Malt's Point was a community in Washington Township. At one time the
settlement likely had a store and post office, but the location is unknown.
Masters was the location of a store 3-1/2 miles southeast of Hartley and
six miles southwest of Fair Play. About 1895, Colonel James Masters, a prominent
lawyer from Springfield, made a speech there during a political campaign and the
residents named the location for him. The community was founded when James
Hartley and his 11 children moved to the area in 1837. The Hartley
School at Masters was at first a one-room school, but records show that by
1902-03, 106 children attended the school and in 1909 a second room was added.
The Hartley School closed in 1950. The community at one time
included the school, a horse-powered sorghum mill, a hardware store and
telephone switchboard. The store closed by the 1980s after the construction of
Stockton Lake moved the main roads away from the community.
Meadow was a small store site in the western part of Washington Township,
named for the meadow at the side of the store. The store closed by the 1930s.
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