The History of Newton County
[ History
| Genealogy | Hall of
Fame | Legends & Lore |
Museums ]
The
Civil War in
Newton
County
– The fight for Mines and Mills
Newton
County
saw much activity during the Civil War. Although
there were a few significant battles, many of the conflicts were small
skirmishes or revenge, one-on-one, killings that could hardly be considered
military actions. These small engagements occurred in every section of the
county.
more.
.click here
Native
Americans in
Newton
County
In practical terms, Native Americans had left
Newton
County
by the 1820s. The Osage were the last tribe to have full-time inhabitation in
the county. Members of this tribe
did wander back and forth for a time, but they never set up permanent villages
again. One of the last recorded contacts between white settlers and the Osage
came in the early 1830s. The story goes that two early settlers, Matthew H.
Ritchey and Gideon Henderson, went with about ten armed men to see a band of
Osage who had come to camp near the home of the two men. After suffering several
losses through theft, the men took other settlers with them and “reasoned”
forcefully with the Osage, causing the Indians to move on out of the county.
more.
.click here
Camp
Crowder
History
Camp
Crowder
was constructed in 1941-42 as a signal corps training
center for the United States Army. The camp was named for General Enoch Crowder,
a prominent military lawyer who was born on April 11, 1859, in Grundy County, Missouri.
more.
.click here
Mining
History in
Newton
County
Even though there were many small or even one-man mining operations
in the early years of
Newton
County
, the undisputed center of mining was in and around
Granby
. Billed as the “
Oldest
Mining
Town
in the Southwest,”
Granby
has a proud mining history. According to local historians, Madison Vickery
found lead in what is now
Granby
in 1840, but he did not establish a mine. In 1853, William Foster came to the
Granby
area and started mining in what turned out to be a very rich deposit.
more.
.click here
Aviation
and Space in Newton County
Newton County has a prominent role in the
development of flight. Hugh Armstrong Robinson, born in 1882, is a member of a
very select class of pioneer aviators and much of his success can be traced back
to his childhood in Neosho. After gaining an education, taking a bride and
starting a business, Hugh Robinson left Neosho and became the chief engineer for
Curtiss Aviation, one of the world’s premiere aviation companies.
more.
.click here
Neosho
Resident Saves French Wine Industry
Newton County has a rich agricultural
history, but the story of its more famous grape grower is the stuff of legends. Herman
Jaeger was born on March 23, 1844, in Switzerland. He came from a well known
and highly educated family. In fact, his great grandfather was Pestalozzi,
founder of the public school system. As a young man Jaeger took a job in a wine
warehouse on Lake Geneva and then immigrated to the United States. In 1865, he
settled east of Neosho in the Monark Springs area. The following year he and his
brother, John, planted a vineyard and became grape growers and wine makers.
more.
.click here
The
Civil War . continued.
Newton
County
saw much activity during the Civil War. Although
there were a few significant battles, many of the conflicts were small
skirmishes or revenge, one-on-one, killings that could hardly be considered
military actions. These small engagements occurred in every section of the
county.
But in the
bigger picture, mines and mills were the catalysts for much of the fighting in
the county. Armies have a tremendous appetite for ammunition and food.
Newton
County
had both. The lead mines around
Granby
provided the material for ammunition. Rich crop lands
and gristmills on Oliver’s Prairie in the Newtonia -Jollification region
provided the food.
Neosho
, being the county seat, was coveted primarily as a
place to “run up the flag” to show which side was in control.
Along with
numerous small skirmishes at
Granby
, a significant battle was waged there on October 4,
1862. This battle was for control of the lead mines.
Many of
the Confederate units in this area were members of the state militia. Much of
the state militia was allied with a former governor, Sterling Price, who tried
to raise a great army to win
Missouri
for the South. Union forces included some local home
guard units as well as several regular army units from
Kansas
,
Wisconsin
, and
Texas
.
A highly unusual element of the
fighting in
Newton
County
was the presence of Native American soldiers, serving
on both sides. The most famous Indian soldier in the Civil War, General Stand
Watie, spent much time in
Newton
County
. It is believed that he personally led his Second
Cherokee Mounted Rifles in what is known as the Battle of Shoal Creek near
Neosho
. Colonel Watie (he had not yet been made a general)
fought against Union forces, which included Creek and Seminole Indians.
Throughout the war, Native
American soldiers moved in and out of
Newton
County
on a somewhat regular basis. Their movements sent
them back and forth from
Missouri
to
Arkansas
and back to “the Nation,” (now
Oklahoma
). General Stand Watie, the great Cherokee soldier,
has the distinction of being the last Confederate general to surrender.
The two most significant Civil
War battles in
Newton
County
occurred in Newtonia. Both battles were fought in the
fall of the year - when the crops had been gathered and food was abundant in the
region. The first battle was on September 30, 1862, and the Second Battle of
Newtonia was fought October 28, 1864. The first battle pitted General James
Blunt against Colonel Jo Shelby and his famous “Iron Brigade.” Accounts of
the battle vary greatly, depending on the author of the report. However, it is
widely accepted that the Confederates fielded at least 4,000 men and the
Union
at least 6,500. Some accounts suggest far greater
numbers. One account reports 16,000 Confederates and 13,500 Union troopers.
The Second Battle of Newtonia was
the final gasp of the Confederacy in
Missouri
. At this time, General Price was being run out of the
state after his famous, but unsuccessful, raid. General James Blunt led the
Union forces that were chasing General Price. At Newtonia, now-General Jo
Shelby
protected General Price’s flank in a delaying
action at Newtonia. This engagement, which gave Price cover to escape into
Arkansas
, was the last major Civil War battle fought west of
the
Mississippi River
.
Both of the battles in Newtonia
saw action in and around the home and barn owned by Matthew H. Ritchey, a Union
officer. The Ritchey home, which was built in 1852, and a few acres of the
Ritchey farm are owned by the Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association.
Fighting in and around
Neosho
was often for control of the old brick courthouse. On
several occasions, the building was occupied by Native American troops loyal to
the Confederacy. Occupancy of the courthouse was shuffled back and forth, often
given up by one side after major shelling blasted the building. In May of 1863,
part of the business section of
Neosho
was burned in the fighting. Following the Civil War,
citizens of the town, with no support from county government officials, removed
the courthouse ruins. A new courthouse was not constructed for another twenty
years.
Native
Americans - continued.
In practical terms, Native Americans had left
Newton
County
by the 1820s. The Osage were the last tribe to have full-time inhabitation in
the county. Members of this tribe
did wander back and forth for a time, but they never set up permanent villages
again. One of the last recorded contacts between white settlers and the Osage
came in the early 1830s. The story goes that two early settlers, Matthew H.
Ritchey and Gideon Henderson, went with about ten armed men to see a band of
Osage who had come to camp near the home of the two men. After suffering several
losses through theft, the men took other settlers with them and “reasoned”
forcefully with the Osage, causing the Indians to move on out of the county.
But white settlers in
Newton
County
always had Native-American neighbors, mostly on the west in
Indian Territory
, which is now known as
Oklahoma
. Many of these neighbors were among the Five Civilized Tribes which were
removed, along the Trail of Tears, from
Georgia
,
Florida
and the
Carolinas
to
Oklahoma
. But these tribes did cross the border to shop and trade in Seneca and
Neosho
.
One of the most controversial and tragic events that did
occur between whites and Indians occurred on
May 29, 1879
, in Seneca. Shepalina, an eighteen-year-old Modoc Indian, was killed by John T.
Albert, a local merchant. Mr. Albert was charged, unsuccessfully, in the death
of Shepalina by Newton County Prosecutor, M. E. Benton.
Ironically, M. E. Benton’s son, artist Thomas Hart
Benton, used local Indians extensively in his murals. Artist
Benton
wrote that he, as a boy, was greatly influenced and highly fascinated with the
Indian men who visited
Neosho
. Often on Saturdays, he talked to these men who sat around the
Neosho Square
waiting while their wives shopped. Tom Benton spent many hours at his
father’s law office on the city square. That is how he came to meet some of
the Indian men who came to town.
Native Americans left a tremendous influence on the town of
Seneca
and the community takes great pride in its Indian heritage.
One of the most remarkable stories of Native American
history in
Newton
County
occurred during the Civil War. On
September 30, 1862
, during the First Battle of Newtonia, Native American soldiers played a
prominent role. The most remarkable part of this event was the fact that Native
American regiments fought on both sides of the conflict. These were regiments,
not just individual Indian soldiers belonging to regular army units. Even more
remarkably is the fact that in the heat of the battle, fate brought the opposing
Native American regiments face to face in hand to hand combat.
Fighting on the side of Federal forces were Cherokee
soldiers. Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw troopers fought for the Confederacy.
Although he probably was not there in person, the famous Cherokee General, Stand
Watie, sent his own regiment to fight at Newtonia. Historians believe General
Watie was in
Neosho
at the time of the First Battle of Newtonia. General Watie is best known as the
last Confederate general to surrender at the end of the war.
This battle is said to be the only time in the Civil War
when full Native American regiments faced each other on a battlefield.
Camp
Crowder - continued
Camp
Crowder
was constructed in 1941-42 as a signal corps training
center for the United States Army. The camp was named for General Enoch Crowder,
a prominent military lawyer who was born on April 11, 1859, in Grundy County, Missouri.
During World War II, the camp
trained thousands of men to be clerks, radio operators, photographers and
telegraphers. For a time, the camp was home to one of the more unusual branches
of the signal corps - the pigeon corps which used carrier pigeons as messengers
on the battlefields.
The average population of
Camp
Crowder
during the war years was about 45,000. This included
a contingent of WACs (Women’s Army Corps). Although only about 1,000 women
were stationed at
Camp
Crowder
, it was the single largest group of WACs in the
military.
|
The camp encompassed about 66,000
acres and had about 1600 buildings. Besides the usual barracks, mess halls and
classrooms,
Camp
Crowder
also had churches, a brig, hospital, theater,
gymnasium, ball fields and a prisoner of war (POW) camp. The first prisoners to
arrive at
Camp
Crowder
came on October 6, 1943. These prisoners had been
captured from Rommel’s forces in
North Africa
.
|
 |
Camp
Crowder
was very much a typical World War II military camp.
After some initial shunning of soldiers, civilians in the surrounding
communities took an interest in the men and women at the camp. On many Sundays,
soldiers were allowed to leave the camp to attend church and have Sunday dinner
with families in the area. On the camp, the men formed athletic teams, had
visits from celebrities who came as part of USO shows or just to stop off and
greet the soldiers. Most of the men who were trained at
Camp
Crowder
went overseas, serving in both the European and the
Asian theaters of war.
|
 |
With the end of the war in 1945,
activities at
Camp
Crowder
began to wind down. For a short time, the camp was
active as soldiers came there to be mustered out of the service. Despite efforts
to keep the camp active,
Camp
Crowder
was never the same as it had been in World War II.
During the Korean Conflict, the camp saw a small bump in activity, but that was
only a brief respite. Eventually the military moved out and the land was either
returned to those farmers who had given up land for the camp or was turned over
to other government entities.
|
Today, the camp has seen a
remarkable rebound as a significant training site for members of the National
Guard.
Mining
History - continued
Even though there were many small or even one-man mining operations
in the early years of
Newton
County
, the undisputed center of mining was in and around
Granby
. Billed as the “
Oldest
Mining
Town
in the Southwest,”
Granby
has a proud mining history. According to local historians, Madison Vickery
found lead in what is now
Granby
in 1840, but he did not establish a mine. In 1853, William Foster came to the
Granby
area and started mining in what turned out to be a very rich deposit.
|
The discovery of this huge deposit of lead
attracted hundreds of miners and, in 1855, what became known as the Granby
Stampede brought many hundreds of prospectors to the area. Some ten years later,
during the Civil War, the lead mines of
Granby
were highly prized by both sides in the fight. Gaining control of
Granby
meant having access to abundant amounts of lead for making bullets.
|
 |
Waste, tons of which came up out of the lead mines,
was called “black jack.” This material was dumped into great piles around
all the mines. Then, after the Civil War, miners learned that “black jack”
was not waste – it was zinc. This created another mining boom, and by 1880
more than 100 million pounds of zinc had been shipped out of
Granby
by rail.
|
 |
For the most part, the mines in
Granby
closed at the end of World War II. Although individual miners worked their
small mines, the mining heyday was over by 1946. Only old photographs and
memories remain of the wild and wooly mining day in
Granby
and many of these are displayed in the
Granby
Miners
Museum
. Today, visitors are charmed by the colorful names of the mines. These names,
no doubt, have a story of their own. Some of the more interesting names for
local mines included: Red Rooster, Fortune Teller, Morning Glory, Dutch Girl,
Grasshopper and Blue Goose.
|
On the western side of the county, another mineral
was discovered that also proved to be profitable. Locally called “cotton
rock,” a large deposit of tripoli was discovered in 1871. A mineral used for
grinding and polishing, tripoli is vital material in such processes as finishing
and buffing new automobiles and in manufacturing household cleaning agents.
Tripoli is still mined and processed in Seneca.
In various parts of the county, limestone is mined.
One of the largest and most unusual quarries is located near Neosho
. This quarry was opened by Russell Hunt, a mining engineer. When Mr. Hunt
opened his mining operation, he created huge underground rooms, leaving large
pillars of limestone in strategic places as roof supports. Once a large area is
mined out, these underground rooms are ideal warehousing space. A cool and
constant temperature makes these caverns perfect storage areas for perishable
goods and for such things as explosives. This idea of creating underground
warehousing, fathered by Russell Hunt, caught on, and now hundreds of limestone
and other mines have a second life as underground storage.
Aviation
and Space - continued
Newton County has a prominent role in the
development of flight. Hugh Armstrong Robinson, born in 1882, is a member of a
very select class of pioneer aviators and much of his success can be traced back
to his childhood in Neosho. After gaining an education, taking a bride and
starting a business, Hugh Robinson left Neosho and became the chief engineer for
Curtiss Aviation, one of the world’s premiere aviation companies.
Hugh Robinson is credited with
being the third man to fly an airplane, making the first right turn in an
airplane, devising the art of dive bombing, making the first medical flight,
conducting the first air-sea rescue and inventing the tailhook which allows
planes to land aboard ships at sea.
Robinson retained his affection
for Neosho and returned to his birthplace to visit his parents, family members
and friend many times until his death in 1930. In 2001, Robinson was honored
when the City of Neosho named its airport the Neosho-Hugh Robinson Memorial
Airport.
Newton County also has a role in
the development of America’s space program. In 1963, Skyline Magazine
called Neosho “Spacetown, U.S.A.” In
describing the history of space in Neosho, the magazine published the following:
“The town and its youth can pridefully say that it has sent out of this world
more satellites than any other town on earth, for a made-in-Neosho mark could
truthfully have been placed on more than two-thirds of America's successful
satellites and space probes.”
The magazine listed many major
space projects that were made possible because of the contributions made in
Neosho. Some of the projects that benefited from work done in Neosho include the
Discoverer series, Echo I, Tiros satellites, and the mighty Atlas booster
engines.
Neosho
Resident Saves French Wine Industry
Newton County has a rich agricultural
history, but the story of its more famous grape grower is the stuff of legends. Herman
Jaeger was born on March 23, 1844, in Switzerland. He came from a well known
and highly educated family. In fact, his great grandfather was Pestalozzi,
founder of the public school system. As a young man Jaeger took a job in a wine
warehouse on Lake Geneva and then immigrated to the United States. In 1865, he
settled east of Neosho in the Monark Springs area. The following year he and his
brother, John, planted a vineyard and became grape growers and wine makers.
Extremely intelligent and proficient in several
languages, Herman Jaeger worked to breed new varieties of grapes, many of which
came from wild Ozarks grapes - grapes commonly called "possum grapes."
He also communicated with other grape experts around the world, sharing
information about his work and learning from the works of others. He also wrote
articles for scientific and grape journals, explaining the mysteries of grapes
and his work on his Newton County farm.
In the 1870s, when the vineyards of France, Spain
and Portugal were struck by a deadly disease, a call went out around the world
to find grapes that were resistant to the disease. After some testing, it was
determined that grapes bred by Herman Jaeger proved to be a savior for the great
vineyards of Europe. Working with other scholars and grape growers, Jaeger
supplied cuttings from his Neosho/Monark Springs vineyards to replant those lost
in Europe. For his contribution to the grape and wine industries of France,
Jaeger was awarded the coveted French Legion of Honor, the highest award that
nation can bestow on a civilian.
In May of 1895, Herman Jaeger disappeared and was
never heard from again. His death is truly one of the great true mysteries of
the Ozarks. The home which John Jaeger built still stands and has been restored.
Several members of the Jaeger family are buried on the old farm or on land which
once was home to Herman Jaeger, a world famous grape grower and nurseryman.
Top
