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Under this caption the
late John McCoy, brother of
William McCoy, first Mayor
of Independence, wrote a
series of articles for the
Jackson Examiner. Quoting
McCoy:
"Like all Western towns,
Independence had a public
square, but it was not
fenced in. Paths through it
diagonally from one corner
to another were used to
shorten the distance in
crossing from one side to
the other. Along the
sidewalks there were at
intervals a plank or a brick
pavement in front of some of
the houses, showing that the
owners of the property had
lived elsewhere and were
accustomed to the sight of
well paved streets and
sidewalks.
"Taking as a starting point
the northeastern side of the
square, Uncle Wood Noland's
two-story frame hotel, with
a broad porch on the eastern
side of it, was the first
prominent building in the
corner. Belonging to the
hotel, fronting on Main
Street was a large stable,
one of the adjuncts to a
good tavern. Thus provided
it was the duty of his son,
Isaac, to receive and care
for the guests on their
arrival -- Uncle Wood
himself seated in his chair
on the porch always greeted
the newcomer cordially,
asking him pleasantly to
alight from his horse and
look at his saddle.
"Everybody in those days
traveled by horseback with a
pair of saddlebags under him
and an overcoat strapped
behind the saddle, being
thus prepared to shield
himself from the rain or
cold. There were multitude
of travelers constantly
passing to and fro through
the country looking out for
investments or situations to
locate themselves for life.
Some were pleased and others
disappointed, but in either
case they were at the end of
their journey -- could go no
further -- this was the
extreme western limit of the
state or the United States.
All beyond this was looked
upon as the land of savages
or wild beasts. Moses'
geography styled it, 'The
great American Desert.'
"Uncle Wood Noland had a
farm adjoining the town with
a fine orchard and garden,
from which he supplied his
table with vegetables and
fruits. He used to boast
when the peaches were ripe
that nobody could make
better peach cobbler than
his wife, Nancy, and
everybody who tasted them
thought so, too.
"The regular meetings of the
Circuit Court were great
occasions in Uncle Wood's
estimation. Much preparation
for the reception of the
guests were necessary. The
house underwent a thorough
cleaning from top to bottom
-- the rooms were newly
furnished and everything was
in readiness when the courts
opened. The lawyers
throughout the district
(which was a large one)
arrived on horseback, were
shown to their rooms and a
jolly good time they had of
it. About this time J. Brown
Hovey was a student at law,
whom the other lawyers used
to flatter wonderfully as a
singer (he was a good one,
too), and in the evenings
before the hotel they used
to gather around the porch
and listen to him for hours.
As much sport as they made
of him, eventually he became
a more successful member of
the bar than many of the
others.
"The only houses on the
north side of the square
were those of Lucas &
Cavanaugh, they failed in
business and Wilson Roberts,
who had a saloon. Lewis
Jones in after years erected
a large three-story brick
building, which remains
still on the corner, and is
now used as a hotel, called
the Metropolitan. On the
northwest corner there were
two one-story log houses,
one as a shoe shop and the
other with a fine gilt
lettered sign (gotten in New
Orleans) of West India
fruits; in my simplicity I
turned in, hoping to get
some of the fine fruits of
the season; imagine my
disappointment when I found
nothing but a few bottles
and jugs containing liquor.
Not being a lover of their
contents I made a hasty
retreat to the amusement of
a few loungers around the
door.
"Next
and the only house on that
side was a two-story frame
building, unoccupied at
present, except as the
postoffice. A weekly mail
was all we had and that was
seven days out from St.
Louis. The postmaster was a
very accommodating man, who,
when the letters and papers
were not called for, he
delivered them in person. A
letter in those days
amounted to something, the
postage on each was 25
cents. Such a thing as an
envelope was not heard of,
the whole sheet of foolscap
was carefully filled with
writing to the outer edge, a
little space being left when
folded, to direct it to its
destination -- a few years
later, round thin wafers of
various colors were used to
fasten the sheet, then
sealing wax was tried, but
soon prohibited, as in hot
weather it caused trouble
with the mail matter."
John McCoy, addressing the
old settlers' meeting, said:
"Independence was selected
as a place of arrival and
departure as well as an
outfitting place for
trappers and hunters of the
mountains and Western
plains. It was well worth
while to witness the arrival
of some of the pack-trains.
Before entering they gave
notice of their arrival by
the shooting of guns, so
that when they reached the
Owens and Aull store a
goodly number of people were
there to welcome them. A
greasy, dirty set of men
they were. Water, surely was
a rare commodity with them.
They little cared for it
except to slack their
thirst. Their animals were
loaded down with heavy packs
of buffalo robes and peltry.
Occasionally they had a
small wagon, which, after
long usage, had the fellies
and spokes wrapped with
rawhide to keep the vehicle
from falling to pieces. So
accustomed were they to
their work that it took them
little time to unload the
burdens from the backs of
the animals and store their
goods in the warehouse. The
trappers let the merchants
attend to the shipping. The
arrival at Independence was
always a joyous ending of a
hazardous trip, and when
once safely over it, they
were always ready for a
jolly time, which they had
to their hearts' content.
They made the welkin ring
and filled the town with
high carnival for many days.
"The mountain trade at
length gave way to the
Mexican trade, this being on
a much larger scale. Pack
mules and donkeys were
discarded and wagons drawn
by mules and oxen were
substituted. Such men as
David Waldo, Solomon Houke,
William and Solomon Sublett,
Josiah Gregg, St. Vrain,
Charvez and others of like
character were early
adventurers, and as the
government gave permission
to enter and trade with the
people, they ventured across
the plains regardless of
danger. Samuel C. Owens, it
is said, was the first
trader in Independence. He
came to Missouri from
Kentucky when he was a young
man. He was the first clerk
of the Circuit Court of
Jackson County. John Aull,
his partner, had owned a
store in Lexington,
Missouri. Owens and James
Aull lost their lives while
with Doniphan in Mexico." |
