tions. Three miles north is the Big Muddy stream, and an expanse of woodland; two miles and a half south is Flat Creek, and a similar area of woodland. To the west two miles and a half is Brushy Creek, and a narrow area of woodland. The natural drainage of the town is excellent; the general surface of the ground occupied by it is so level that no fill or excavation is required in the grading of streets, beyond the height or depth of from two to seven feet.

The history of Sedalia must be divided, in accordance with the actual facts and the logic of events, into three separate periods. The first is the period from the date of the first laying out of Sedalia, the original town, November 30, 1857, to the erection of the first buildings. The second is from this date to the close of the war, in 1865; and the third is from the close of the war, when the town really began to grow up with rapidity and solidity, to the present time, July 1, 1882. The first period might very properly be divided into two sub-periods-from 1857, when the formal plat of the town was filed, until January 17, 1861, when the Missouri Pacific Railroad ran the first passenger train into Sedalia. In justice and reality the date of the founding of the town ought to be fixed as January, 1861,when the Missouri Pacific Railroad arrived at the place and fixed the destiny of the town beyond peradventure. The second period of the first division would be from 1861 to the close of the war.

During the first sub-period the town existed only on paper. Nov. 30, 1857, Gen. George R. Smith filed for record the plat of a town called Sedville. The town was given the name of Sedville, in honor of Gen. Smith's youngest daughter, Sarah E. Smith, still living, whose pet or nick-name was "Sed.," an inexplicable corruption of Sarah or Sallie. The plat of Sedville included about 160 acres of prairie land lying north of the present line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, between Georgetown and the present city of Sedalia. From Nov. 30, 1857, to Oct. 16, 1860, the town existed still only on paper. The only houses within or very near the present city limits of Sedalia, were those of Wm. Rutledge, located somewhere near the stream that runs through the northern suburbs; the farm residence of Gen. Smith, then situated near what is now the corner of Seventh street and Washington avenue, and the farm residence of Col. D. W. Bouldin, between the present city and Georgetown. It must be borne in mind that Georgetown was at that time a flourishing town of 1,500 inhabitants and the county seat of Pettis County. Ira E. Barnes, then a resident of Georgetown, in those years when he visited the family of Gen. Smith, used to gather strawberries with the daughters of Gen. Smith, both of whom are now living, amidst the prairie grass and flowers, where now stand the stateliest buildings. Mr. W. P. Jackson, another old settler, still a hale, active and vigorous man, says that the prairie was alive with game, and that all up and down Pearl River there were large pools.

filled with splendid fish. There was an unusually large pool, or pond, on the square now occupied by the City Hall, and that it extended clear across the line of the present Second street, between Osage and Kentucky. Some of the walnut trees which are now growing on the place of C. M. A. Chaney, corner of Lafayette and Sixth streets, have grown from walnuts planted by the hands of the late Mrs. George R. Smith. The only other important fact, having a direct bearing upon the history of the city, is the fact that for several years previous to the laying out of Sedalia, and after its location, Gen. Smith had been laboring strenuously to make the people of Georgetown and Pettis County, and in fact all Central Missouri, see the advantages of having the line of the road located in this section. The detached account of his labors together with a history of the Pacific Railroad will be found in the biographical sketch of Gen. Geo. R. Smith.

CHAPTER II.-FROM 1860 TO 1865.

Sedalia Prior to and During the War from 1860 to 1865–When Sedalia was laid out and by Whom-The First Lots Sold-The First Houses Built-The First Hotel-The Arrival of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in January, 1861-Its Significance-The War Makes it the Terminus of the Line-A Picture of Sedalia as it was in May, 1861-The War-The First Union Troops Raised-The First Bloodshed in the County-The Names of Sedalia Soldiers-Interesting Local Sights and Scenes--Biography of Gen. Geo. R. Smith, and History of the Pacific Railroad-A full Description of the Capture of Sedalia by Gen. Jeff. Thompson--Anecdotes and Tragedies.

On October 16, 1860, Gen. Geo. R. Smith and Col. David W. Bouldin filed the plat of a town which they called Sedalia. This town plat included all of the original town plat of Sedville, and in addition, a large section of land extending from the present line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad as far south as the present Third street. The name Sedalia was probably chosen because the original "Sed" could be united to the more euphonious termination "alia", like Van-dalia, Cent-ralia, et cetera. Lots were sold in the original Sedville in 1858, the first to Eward Powell, and the deed recorded Sept. 4, 1858. On March 2, 1859, next year, Dr. W. L. Felix sold to Col. D. W. Bouldin an undivided one-fourth interest in a large tract of land north of the present line of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which included the original plat of Sedville. It was in October, 1860, that there was the first public sale of lots in Sedalia, and this was really the beginning of the town. A large number of lots were sold, most of them, except those on Main street, north of the railroad line. It was soon after this sale of lots began, that the first buildings were erected and the town became such in reality. The town plat of Sedalia was surveyed by Mr. Mentor Thomson, who is still living in the city, and is president.

of the Sedalia Savings Bank. He was assisted by Richard Hulland, now dead.

In 1860, John Hodges had a small store and country postoffice at the point where the old well is, north of the Garrison House. The first house built after this was erected in the fall of 1860, by Jacob Skinner, at a point one block west of Ohio street, and about one block north of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It is still standing at this time, June 30, 1882. The third house was erected by Richard Hulland, not far from it. Mr. B. H. Offutt, still living, kept the first hotel, which was located just north of the present Garrison House, and owned by General Smith. The next hotel was also located near the present site of the Garrison House, and kept by a Mr. Maiden. It was called the Sedalia House. It was burned in 1866. About three months after the erection of the first few houses the Missouri Pacific Railroad line reached the place, and the first passenger train arrived about January 17, 1861.

This is one of the great epochs in the history of the city. A railroad meant everything; it meant immediate development and growth; it united the beautiful, unbroken prairie land with New York City and the Atlantic Ocean. It made it a part of the railroad country of the Union. During the temporary stoppage of the railroad at Tipton, forty-five miles east, at Syracuse, twenty-five miles east, and at Otterville, eighteen miles east, large business houses had been established temporarily, because, wherever the railroad stopped, there, for the time being, was the great depot and headquarters, outside of Boonville, on the Missouri, from which the great southwest, then without a foot of railroad, received its supplies; and where the great Overland Stage Line had its eastern headquarters in Missouri. The writer can remember when, in 1860, the then thriving railroad termini, first Tipton, then Syracuse, then Otterville, and Smithton, were crowded with wagons of every description, and with goods in immense quantity, brought there by the railroad, and taken thence by wagon trains to the west and southwest. As soon as the railroad left each of these towns the big houses and the great trade, the hum and excitement of business left them, and rolled on, like a tide, with the thunder of the iron horse, to the next terminus. When the railroad reached Sedalia, those who lived in this vicinity, and still live here, can remember that there was a genuine rush for Sedalia, like that made for some rich. mining district in the far west. The name of the town was attractive in sound, and novel as well, in a region filled with towns with old, staid, practical, every day names. The novelty and euphony of the name seemed to be significant of a new era in Central Missouri, and it has proven so. The large stores and establishments at Otterville and Syracuse were moved to Sedalia, not only the stocks, but in many cases the buildings or portions of them, or the timber. Houses and portions of them were

brought from Georgetown on wagons, and just as soon as a man could get anything to protect goods, that would pass muster for a house, he began business. In 1861, just before the railroad got to Sedalia, the supplies for the Southwest Expedition were brought by rail to Smithton, and that was about the last time that it had, what would be called in the expressive slang of the present day, "a business boom." As soon as the railroad reached Sedalia it became at once the depot of the Overland Stage Line and the headquarters for supplies, as the other towns where the line had paused for a time had been. Here, in a few weeks after the railroad had reached the point, the trains of wagons loaded. Just when the excitement and rush was at its height, war was declared. In one respect this was a misfortune to them; in another, it was an immense advantage. It delayed the active and vigorous work of building the town for the four years that the war continued. On the other hand it held at the place the terminus of the railroad for nearly three years. Men had time to establish a trade; the citizens of the vicinity had time to realize the immense advantages to be derived from a railroad; the thousands upon thousands of Federal troops which were stationed here for weeks and months had among them shrewd and observant men who saw the beauties and the richness, and the brilliant possibilities of the country. Many of them remained here long enough to get clear, distinct, and lasting impressions, and if they did not return here themselves, when war's harsh voice was hushed, and gentle peace was singing lullabies, their descriptions of the land, and the town, and the people, induced others to return or made a picture for the man seeking a home and a business to think over. It is not necessary to poetize over this matter, though there is room for it; but the most practical, hardheaded business man can see in a moment that this is a fact. Instances could be cited of at least half a dozen property owners of the present day who first saw Sedalia during the war. One man who did, now has over $10,000 of property in the city. This is an important fact in the history of Sedalia, and it is one that people have only now begun to recognize.

To clearly understand what Sedalia was just after the railroad arrived here, it will be necessary to draw a rough picture of the place. For the correctness of the picture the historian relies somewhat upon his own memory as to the appearance of the spot, when first viewed in the spring of 1862, but chiefly upon the still, clear and vigorous memories of a dozen or more of the very first settlers and actual business men of 1861. Outside of the three or four houses mentioned heretofore, the town was confined to the two blocks between Ohio and Kentucky street, the store buildings all being on the present Main street. Between the date of Jan.

1, 1861, and May 1, 1861, quite a number of buildings went up, and many of them were in process of erection at the same time. On March 9,

1861, the store of C. F. Lohman & Co. opened its doors for business, on the northwest corner of Main and Kentucky streets. Jacob Nussberger and Henry Vitt were in charge of the house. Ben B. Lyon, Sr., and his son, Ben B. Lyon, Jr., were clerks in the house. Jno. L. Hall was for three months a member of the firm and in the house a short time. When the house was opened the prairie grass around the store was high enough to reach to a man's feet when on horseback. The sum of $999 was paid for that lot then. Five doors west of them, and on the spot now occupied by H. H. Dix's marble store, was a small frame storeroom occupied by John A. Reed. Just east of C. F. Lohman's building was a small storeroom run by Wm. Gundlefinger, now cashier of a St. Louis bank. Still further east of these two buildings, on the corner of Osage and Main, was the large store and commission house of Cloney, Crawford & Co. This house and storeroom covered three lots. Thos. W. Cloney, now cashier of the Sedalia Savings Bank, was an active member of the firm. "Uncle" Tom Millett, still a vigorous old man and a resident of the city, was the porter of the establishment. Just north of the last mentioned house was the Missouri Pacific Railroad depot.

The next house east was on the northeast corner of Osage and Main, on the spot where now stands the Sedalia Savings Bank, a small store run by David Phillips. About three doors east, where Jos. K. Yeater & Co.'s store now is, was a small store room, a grocery owned by Wm. Nichols and Mr. J. R. Barrett, who is still a wealthy resident of this city. Chas. Lesher also had a small frame shanty on the square, in which he had a photograph or art gallery. Next to him, on the same spot now occupied by Bard & Miller, was the drug store of William E. Bard. On the northwest corner of Ohio and Main streets was a large grocery house run by Dr. Logan Clark. Just across the street from it, on the northeast corner of Ohio and Main, was the general commission house of W. G. Wear & Son. On the south side of Main between Ohio and Kentucky were the following business houses:

Southeast corner of Osage and Main, David Hancock's store; west corner of Osage and Main, Roderick Gallie and Samuel Ford's butcher shop; three or four doors west of the corner, James G. Tesch, groceries and liquors; five or six doors west of Tesch, was the store of William and Theo. Bloess; next, Bixby & Houx's store, tinware and hardware; one door west, on the present site of Rod Gallie's grocery store, was the large dry goods and grocery store of William Beck. These were the principal houses on Main street, and constituted the business portion of the town. Capt. F. L. Parker, who died recently at Parsons, Kan., had a livery stable on the north side of what is now the Garrison House Park. Northwest of him were the stables of the Overland Stage Line, and near him a small hotel. During the year Richard Hulland and a