Pleasant Hill
Community & Church
Also known as
Peakey Church & Cemetery
Richwood
Township, near Iberia, MO
Also included
is an article by Peggy Smith Hake
The communities of Pleasant Hill and
Madden are steeped in history. Both were located in south Miller County,
Richwood Township, about 3 miles apart and are still known by their community
names today. Neither was considered an actual village or settlement because the
nearest businesses were found in Iberia, a few miles northeast. However, both
had churches and schools in the vicinity. The Madden Church and School were
founded in the late 1800s and located on the north side of the Big Tavern
Creek, overlooking the valley below. In 1888, John Martin was the school
teacher for Madden. By 1930/31, when the county had a large number of schools,
Madden was listed as District #83. The teacher during those years was Layard
Cross; the clerk was W.T. Ferguson. In 1895-96, a post office called Carroll
was in existence. Since the Carroll family resided in the Madden area, it is
possible this post office was housed in a private home somewhere in the Madden
Community.
The original Pleasant Hill Church was
organized in the 1870s. It was built of logs and sat about 1 1/2 miles
southeast of the present location. It is said that at least three graves were
located near the old church. The first church was also referred to as
"Peakey Church" because young, mischievous boys would crawl under the
puncheon log floors during church services and try to "peak" between
the logs…they probably go an eye-full of the ladies umbrellas, too!
In the 1880s, the second Pleasant Hill
Church was built, a frame building. It was erected at the present site, 1 mile
east of State Highway EE on County Road EE-10. The folks in the community
called them Pleasant Hill Church No. 1 and No. 2…some of the old-timers
continued to call them Peakey Church No. 1 and No. 2. I do not know why the
church split into two separate congregations, but the one-room frame church
continued long into the 20th century while the log structure eventually faded
away in obscurity.
Today's church is made of cement blocks
and sits on the same site as the frame church (which still existed until the
1950s.) The cemetery is located nearby and the oldest grave is a Civil War
soldier, William Long, buried in the late 1880s. Prior to the beginning of
Pleasant Hill Cemetery, many ancestors were buried at the old Rankin
Wright/Spearman Cemetery, situated a short distance northeast of the community.
Since the Pleasant Hill community did not
have a school in the 1880s, I am presuming the children attended the nearby
Madden School while others may have attended Curry School to the southwest. In
1930/31, there was a school district named Pleasant Hill, but it was located in
Saline Township near Eldon. It was not associated with the Pleasant Hill
community of Richwood Township.
A well-known lady around both the Madden
and Pleasant Hill communities during the last century was a midwife named Mrs.
Griffin (Louisa Wright Griffin). Since doctors were few, her services for
assisting in childbirth were commonly called upon quite often.
An interesting legend about this
community is the resident ghost who roamed about the church and the surrounding
countryside of Pleasant Hill. In the mid 1880s, a fight broke out between C.R.
Adams and the Whittle brothers which resulted in the death of John Whittle. In
the book, GOODSPEED'S HISTORY OF MILLER (and other Missouri Counties) 1889, a
paragraph is devoted to the incident where Whittle was killed. In part, the
following was written…"The State of MO vs C.R. Adams, in 1886, was another
Iberia killing affray in which John Whittle was killed and another wounded. The
Whittle and Adams families had been rather feudal for years..on one occasion,
the boys were at Pleasant Hill Church and Chas. Adams was accused by John
Whittle of ridiculing a certain girl…Adams denied it & finally Robert
Whittle made a rush at Adams. He fired and shot both Whittle brothers…Robert
was wounded; John was killed." It is legend that the restless spirit of
John Whittle, only wanting to avenge his wrongful death, can be seen on a clear
night, dressed in white, roaming the quiet hill sides of Pleasant Hill.
Regional Ancestral Names (For Madden):
Anderson, Boren, Carroll, Cross, Ferguson, Hodgden, Hyle, Knatzer, Long,
Lively, Lowery, Madden, Shelton, Smith, Teaverbaugh.
Regional Ancestral Names (For Pleasant
Hill): Abbott, Alexander, Allen, Andrews, Boren, Brown, Desuza, Drace, Duncan,
Eaken, Greenwood, Hatton, Johnson, Keeth, Lankford, Law, Lawson, Long, Madden,
Manes, Meredith, Moneymaker, Neal, Parkhurst, Pemberton, Reggan, Rowden, Shart,
Shelton, Sloan, Stites, Stone, Strutton, Sturdavant, Tabor, Teaverbaugh,
Thomas, Thompson, Vaughan, Wall, Wallace, Whittle, Woolery, Wright, Wyrick
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There have been
two churches called Pleasant Hill. Before his death in the early 1980s, I spoke
at length with Hite Boren of Hawkeye. He had reached the age of 101 years and
when I spoke with him, his memories were wonderfully vivid. He told me about
the two different churches called Pleasant Hill.
The first church
was built about one and half miles southeast of the present location. It was a
small, log structure and was near what was later called 'the Johnny Shelton
place'. He also believed there were at least 3 graves located near the old
church.
The first Pleasant
Hill church was also called Peakey Church. Of course, there was a reason for
that name! Some of the mischievous, young boys would crawl under the puncheon
floors during church services and would 'peak' between the logs. They got an
eye-full of the pointed end of the ladies umbrellas!
When the second
Pleasant Hill church was built in the 1880s at the present location, the folks
of the community called them Pleasant Hill Church No. 1 and No. 2....some
continued to call the churches Peakey Church No. 1 and No. 2.
Today's church,
constructed of cement blocks, is the third to sit on the present site. The
first was built of logs and sat in the southwest corner of the cemetery. The
second, a one-room frame building, was built where the present church sits. I
remember the old frame church so well because it was in use when I was a child
in the 1930s and 40s.
The oldest grave
in Pleasant Hill cemetery is a Civil War veteran, William Long, who served in
Company E of the 52nd Kentucky Infantry. His burial place is in the southwest
corner of the cemetery. He was buried there in the late 1880s. Prior to the
beginning of Pleasant Hill Cemetery, many ancestors were buried at the old
Rankin Wright/Spearman cemetery, situated a few miles northeast of Pleasant
Hill.
Members of the
following families, familiar to the area, are buried at Pleasant Hill:
ALEXANDER, ALLEN, ANDREWS, BOREN, DRACE, DUNCAN, GREENWOOD, JOHNSON, KEETH,
LAW, LAWSON, LONG, MADDEN, MEREDITH, MONEYMAKER, PEMBERTON, ROWDEN, SHELTON,
SLOAN, STITES, STONE, STRUTTON, TABOR, TEAVERBAUGH, THOMAS, THOMPSON, VAUGHAN,
WALL, WALLACE, SHITTLE, WOOLERY, WRIGHT, and WYRICK.....Less familiar names to
the community buried at Pleasant Hill include: ABBOTT, BROWN, DESUZA, EAKEN,
HATTON, LANKFORD, MANES, NEAL, PARKHURST, REGGAN, SHART, and STURDAVANT.
And, as in many
cemeteries, there are several fieldstones marking gravesites. Many of the
persons buried in such places are known only to God.
In the mid 1880s,
there was a fight, which broke out on the outside of the old church house (I
imagine it was the original log structure). John Whittle was killed in the
fight and his brother, Robert Whittle, was wounded. In the history book,
GOODSPEED'S HISTORY OF COLE, MONITEAU, MORGAN, BENTON, MILLER, MARIES, &
OSAGE COUNTIES @1889, there is the following paragraph describing the fight at
Pleasant Hill.........
"The State of
Missouri vs. C. R. Adams, in 1886, was another Iberia Killing affray in which
John Whittle was killed and another wound. The Adams and Whittle families had
been rather feudal for years, and it extended to the boys, who, on one
occasion, were at Pleasant Hill church. Charles R. Adams, then about 19 years
old, was accused by John Whittle of ridiculing a certain little girl. Adams
denied it, and finally Robert Whittle made a rush at Adams, who shot both.
Attorneys Wyrick, Musser, Moore, and Williams secured a verdict of $500 fine,
but through the influence of the defense, Attorneys Robinson and Pope and
others, the governor remitted the fine."
The full
transcript of the trial, which was held at the courthouse in Tuscumbia, can be
found in the office of the Miller County Circuit Clerk.
NOTE: Pleasant Hill Church is located in Richwood
Township, Miller County, MO, a few miles southwest of Iberia. It sits about a
mile east of State Highway EE on County Rd. EE-10.
It first had
members that were Church of Christ believers and also Disciples of
Christ.....there was an argument that occurred many years ago about a piano being
used in the church during services and some of the members left (the Church of
Christ folks) and the others remained. It is considered a part of the Christian
Church movement today. My mother attended this church as a child and she told
me this old story many times!