Tales from Days Gone By

The period from May 25 through June 1, 1917, was one of the worst severe weather weeks in the history of southern Missouri. During that time, three low pressure systems in succession formed on the Plains and swept through the southern Midwest and upper South.

Perhaps no physician who practiced in southeast Missouri in the 19th century had as varied a career as Dr. Drake McDowell. Drake, or Isaac, McDowell was eldest son of Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell of St. Louis. He was born in Cincinnati in 1831 and came to St. Louis in 1840 with the family.

The present-day community of Lawrenceton is about 15 miles west of Ste. Genevieve. It is unincorporated, but in its heyday, it had a post office between 1867 and 1941. The initial town, Punjaub, officially changed to Lawrenceton in 1877. So how did an Ozark border community receive the name of a region in India, then later become Lawrenceton?

The wheels of justice operate in most cases—but often slowly. A tale from St. Francois County illustrates exactly how slowly.

In 1869, the lawyer and future railroad entrepreneur and historian Louis Houck rode the court circuit to Kennett with other lawyers and court officials. Upon reaching a point south of Bloomfield, as he later wrote, “I sat down on a hillside on the left of where Dexter now stands, looking over a vast forest of timber on all sides, greatly impressed; not a single farm in sight or opening in the vast woods except at the foot of the hill, an open place known as Miller’s Farm. Going south for miles we traveled along the edge of what was known as the East Swamp, all covered with heavy timber.”

Economic conditions boomed in Missouri and the country in 1835. The cotton market and prices increased throughout the South, resulting in increased land purchases and growing demand for enslaved workers. Across the Lead Belt of southeast Missouri, rising lead production and increased demand for furs fueled the boom conditions.

On a summer’s day in July 1926, a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian noticed an old man sitting in Courthouse Park across the street from the newspaper. The reporter greeted the man, who introduced himself as William A. Bacon, a Union Civil War veteran who had just celebrated his 80th birthday.

The area around Arcadia in Iron County first became known to many young people of the mid and late 20th Century as a place to go to summer camp. Many of these camps were church camps and remain, although they are not as popular as they once were.

Not that long ago, a frequent practice of local newspapers was to have a representative of communities in their circulation area report on happenings in those smaller towns. Some of the reports give valuable insight into local history, while others border on gossip.

When the U. S. declared war on Japan and Germany at the end of 1941, mobilization of the armed forces began immediately. An acute need for fighter pilots required that training had to begin as soon as possible. The War Department acquired several new sites for airfields, including 2900-acre site four miles north of Malden in Dunklin County.