Maryville (Mo) Tribune: In the early pioneer days, as now, the tide of oncoming civilization followed the trail of an iron horse, thus leaving many an embryo cit stranded in the stagnant backwaters, while new commercial centeres sprung up like mushrooms along the arteries of commerce. So, like an old graveyard, with moss grown stones slanting tippsily earthward as if tired of their eternal vigil with the dead, here and there over Nodaway county are scattered the evidences of pioneer trading centers. Perhpas only a dilapidated building, with broken windows like staring, sightless eyes, marks the place where some early settler established a trading point or country store, while in other localities only te name and old familiar memories linger in the minds of those who still turn the pages of ancient history.

Lamar Station, which is now only a name, was platted in January, 1871, by John Lamar. But with the change of route and the building of the Burlington Junction and Elmo, or "Ebony" as it was then called, the hamlet of Lamar Station lapsed into decay. Most of the buildings were moved to nearby towns while others weathered the storms for years, finally being torn down and used for fuel.

Cartersville, on the east bluff of the Platte river, was laid out at an early date, the hamlet boasting a postoffice and general store. The name of the town was later changed to Guilford, but the Guilford known to county residents is situated just south of the old hamlet of Cartersville.

In 1870, some railroad contractors bought the A.O. Howard tract of land and laid out the village of Bridgewater, south of Maryville, on the One Hundred and Two river. At a very early day the place boasted a grist mill, a general store and postoffice, also two or three dwelling houses.

Tradition has it that the Elkhorn creek, flowing through Hughes Township, derived its name from the fact that a very large elk was killed by the Indians at an early date, and his horns hung up in a tree near the stream where they remained in the branches of a tree for several years, thus giving the stream and community the name, Elkhorn.

The town of Graham was laid out in 1856 by Andrew Brown and constituted only four blocks. The town was known as Jacksonville from the first until the name was changed by law to Graham in 1859.

Memories still linger around the old pioneer hamlet of "Sweet Home," which was the first town in Jackson township. Here a postoffice was established in 1864 with Henry Reed as the first postmaster. The coming of the Great Western railroad changed the tide of industry and Ravenwood, which was platted in 1887, absorbed the interest of business to such an extent that Sweet Home went to decay. In its prime the little hamlet boasted of a store, postoffice, blacksmith shop, a hotel, and resident physician.

Clyde, once known as New Conception, is located eleven miles southeast of Maryville. The little town was named at a public meeting in 1880 when about fifty persons assembled together to give the new postoffice a title. Frank Bellows, stockman, had recently returned from Canada with some imported Clydesdale horses and at the suggestion of some one at the meeting, it was voted to call the postoffice Clyde after the famous horses.

History has it that the village of Elmo in Lincoln township was first name "Ebbony," probably after some pioneer settler whose name is lost to history, and afterwards "St. Elmo" and finally "Elmo" as it is now known.

Before the platting of the town of Barnard in 1870, a small hamlet existed one mile south of the present town. This place was called Prairie Park by the early settlers and consisted only of the postoffice, a small general store and two or three primitive dwellings. No record has been made of the names of these inhabitants of the small frontier village and all trace of its existence has passed away.

John Bilby was the first resident in Fairview and he was the also owner of several thousand acres of land surrounding the town site. During the late '70's Mr Bilby erected another building which was a general store and postoffice, blacksmith shop and lumber yard, but only a few of the buildings remain and there are no commercial activities, the postoffice being long since removed.

FIRST RAILROAD IN 1869

Burlington Junction, (Mo) Post: The pioneers of Nodaway county, in common with those of other countries, had to undergo the hardships of having to go to mill before the advent of the railroads, which now place the market almost at the door of the farmer.

The first railroad to be completed in Nodaway county was the Burlington, known by the corporate name of Kansas City, St Joseph and Council Bluffs road (Maryville branch). This was completed as far north as Maryville in the autumn of 1869, and to the Iowa line in the winter of 1870. Bonds to the extent of $125,000 were voted by the county toward this railroad.

The second railroad to be built through the county was the Wabash, St Louis and Pacific, called at the time of its construction the Council Bluffs and St Louis, and it was built entirely by private subscription. This company demanded the sum of $50,000 from Maryville in consideration of the road being built through that town and $75,000 from the country outside of Maryville. In all, about $116,000 was actually raised and the road was completed and cars running regularly by October 24, 1879.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy system was built from Villisca, Iowa, on its main line from Chicago to Council Bluffs, to Burlington Junction via Clarinda, Page county, Iowa, reaching Burlington Junction Oct 9, 1879. The line was extended south to Skidmore in 1880, work being completed that far on Aug 15 of that year. All the steam roads of Nodaway county, it will be seen, with the exception of the Chicago Great Western, were completed with a decade.

From about 1879 to 1889 the Wabash company operated a branch line from Roseberry, a mile east of Burlington Junction, to Clarinda, Iowa, but it was abandoned. It failed to prove a paying proposition, due to the fact that the Burlington road traversed the same territory.

What was known as the Diagonal route, but now the Chicago Great Western road, was built through the county in 1887. It crosses the Wabash at Conception Junction.

With the lines giving direct communication with St Joseph, Kansas City, Omaha, Lincoln and St Louis, the mileage of roadbed is: For the Wabash system, 45 miles; for the Burlington system, 56 miles; and for the Great Western system, 23 miles; making a total milesage in the county of well equipped rail lines of 124 miles.

SLAVERY IN MISSOURI COUNTY. How it was in Nodaway County before the Civil War.

Maryville Tribune: George W. Blagg, for nineteen years before the war a resident of Grant Township told in an interview given a Tribune reporter sixteen years ago, of the slavery conditions in the county.

"There were not a great many slaves in Nodaway county, " said Mr Blagg. "In fact there was not a great deal of work to which they were adapted. A number of farmers in Grant township owned from one to half a dozen though and it did not seem at all strange to us at the time. I didn't believe in slavery but had always been used to seeing it so it didn't seem as bad as some new thing to me."

"I never attended a sale of slaves, don't even know that one was ever held in the county. Now and then a negro would change owners though, and a good strong worker would bring a high price. The slaves sometimes ran away to Iowa and at one time I helped catch a bunch who had managed to get over the Iowa line."