Road Trip – Missouri (Part 8)

…continuing with our summer-time road trip to Omaha Nebraska via ‘backroads’ and mostly 2-lane highways.  I ended the last post in Marshall Missouri, the county seat for Saline County Missouri.  I’ll complete our visit to Marshall and then move north via US Hwy 65 to Carrollton Missouri.

Laurie loves horses and when we heard that there was an equine statue or tribute in Marshall, we had to search it out.  I’m still not certain that we found the memorial that was described but this statue in the town’s Park Ridge Cemetery will suffice as it has an interesting story to tell.

The horse and rider…a very large memorial…represents the division between 2 brothers during the Civil War.  Like happened in many families, especially in the Border States, one brother, Austin Dennis fought for the South.  His brother Davis Dennis fought for the north.  Following the War, both brothers ended up living in Saline County.  This memorial for both brothers was erected in 1901 and it stresses unity rather than division.  The rider on the horse has both Union and Confederate elements on his uniform.  FYI, the horse represents Davis Dennis’s “Turk”.

This is the Saline County Courthouse in Marshall Missouri.  This 2-story structure follows a cruciform plan and it measures 100 feet by 110 feet.  It was completed in 1883.  That 4-stage square clock tower with the pyramidal slate roof makes a real architectural statement. 

The original Saline County Courthouse (ca. 1840) stood until the Civil War.  After being used by Federal/Union Troops as a barracks during their occupation of the town, it was burned down by a Confederate military unit.  Fortunately, the county offices had already been moved out and all the records had been moved elsewhere for safekeeping.  A second courthouse had been constructed after the war, but it burned down in 1881.  Since a new courthouse…this one…was already under construction and the old courthouse was deemed unsafe, the county records had once again been moved to a safe place.

History: Originally, a well-to-do citizen had donated 65 acres for the city of Marshall to be built upon.  The town was named for the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Marshall.

Superman’s superdog, Krypto, had nothing over the skills possessed by Sam VanArsdale’s Jim the Wonder Dog! (1925 – 1937) How many dogs have their own museum, memorial park and statue?!!  The museum is right next to the little park and the building also serves as Marshall Missouri’s Welcome Center…

Jim the Wonder Dog was a Llewellyn Setter.  He came from champion breeding stock in Louisiana.  Sam VanArsdale found that he had acquired an amazing hunting dog.  Jim knew if a field contained quail and if it didn’t he wouldn’t hunt in it.  Sam kept track of the number of birds shot while Jim was hunting with him but he stopped counting at 5,000.  At one point Jim was named “The Hunting Dog of the Country” by Outdoor Life Magazine.

Are you ready for this…!  Jim could identify different objects, even types of trees.  He could locate a car by make, color, out-of-state plate or license number.  He could pick out some people by their professions.  He followed commands in foreign languages, shorthand and Morse code.  He choose the winner of 7 consecutive Kentucky Derbies, the winner of the World Series in 1936 and even the sex of unborn babies.

Hocus Pocus?  He puzzled psychologists from both Washington University and the University of Missouri.  The Director of U of M’s School of Veterinary Medicine tested Jim and concluded that he “possessed an occult power that might never come again to a dog in many generations.”  Jim showed off his abilities at the Kemmerer Hotel in Kemmerer Wyoming, the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia and even in front of a joint session of the Missouri Legislature.  Newspaper and magazine writers witnessed Jim’s abilities and they were amazed.  Eventually he was featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!  Website: Home | Jimthewonderdog.

As the saying goes…”Believe It or Not!”

I’m beginning to believe that there are more locally owned, even family owned banks left in corners of the United States than I ever imagined.  Following the Civil War, Joseph Huston, Jr. and William Wood operated a trading and transportation business in Arrow Rock Missouri.  Arrow Rock was a prosperous Missouri River trading village in the 1800s…  In 1874, Messer’s Huston and Wood moved 15 miles west to establish a bank in Marshall Missouri.  It was time to change their business model as railroads were overtaking steamboats for the movement of goods.  The bank has obviously survived and succeeded.  They now have 7 locations in the state.  Today, the 5^th generation of Hustons serve their customers with the great-great grandson of Joseph Huston serving as the current Chairman.  It’s another rock solid looking bank structure, that’s for sure!

History: Saline County Missouri is located along the Missouri River.  It was established in 1820 and it’s named for the region’s salt springs.  The county was primarily settled by migrants from the Upper South during the 1800s.  It was part of the region bordering the Missouri River that was known as “Little Dixie”.  Prior to the Civil War the county had many plantations that operated with enslaved workers.  In 1847, the state legislature had passed a law prohibiting any African Americans from being educated.  At the start of the American Civil War, a third of the county’s population was African American.

It’s not too hard to understand why the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall Missouri is also known as “Rock Church”.  This one-story Gothic-Revival style yellow sandstone building almost looks like one solid rock.  It was completed in 1873.

The Presbyterian congregation was actually organized in early 1840, with services at the county court house.  A frame church was built in 1860 and it was used as a hospital during military dust up in town.  It was also commandeered by Union soldiers who used it as a barracks and stables.  Then, in 1864 the county courthouse burned down and the court took over the church building as a courthouse.  Then in 1866 it was used by the board of education.  By the time the elders got that early frame church back, it was a mess and the congregation had dwindled away so they sold it.  Subsequently, the number of Presbyterian citizens grew, money was raised and the “Rock Church” was built.  It is still in use every week.  For more information see First Presbyterian Rock Church Marshall MO | Marshall MO | Facebook.

Leaving Marshall Missouri, we drove west and north on US Hwy 65 to Carrollton Missouri.  It was time for lunch when we arrived!

Once again, we should never look at an object and reject it at first glance.  The Main Street Restaurant at 11 South Main Street in Carrollton Missouri certainly doesn’t grab your eye or tempt your appetite with its glitz and fancy exterior.  FYI, Carrollton has a population of 3,514 and Carroll County as a whole has 8,495 residents.

This is a third generation, family owned restaurant that has been open since 1962…that’s 61 years!  That is truly amazing longevity for any restaurant in any town.  By now, the Main Street Restaurant has been around long enough to become a local tradition… 

A local tradition couldn’t survive if it didn’t offer good food at a good price, and the Main Street Restaurant is not an exception to the rule…

I ordered the Broasted Chicken Dinner…with 2 pieces of white meat and served with a potato of choice, a vegetable/side dish.  Since I can’t eat greens, I ordered a serving of what we always called ‘dreamsicle’ salad, mainly because I knew that Laurie would like it.  The chicken was excellent and the mashed potatoes were real with nice white gravy.  I don’t recall the price but it was more than reasonable.  We’d have to add $5 or $6 to each meal if we ordered similar offerings near our home in East Tennessee.

The same pricing comment also applies to Laurie’s Double Cheese Burger with potato chips.  The bun was grilled and those burger patties were nice and juicy.

Our dining experience at The Main Street Restaurant greatly exceeded expectations… This restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch only, 7 days a week.  Phone: 660-542-2782.  They are on Facebook at Main Street Restaurant | Carrollton MO | Facebook.

This is the Carroll County Sheriff’s Quarters and Jail.  This Classical Revival style brick residence was built in 1878 and it consists of the 2-story residence with an attached jail.  The current jail, visible at the right rear of the photo, was constructed in 1958 to replace the original jail…which had collapsed.

Historical Nugget: Carroll County Sheriff George E. Stanley (1895 -1896) is tied to the saga of the “Taylor Brothers”, who, along with the Younger Brothers as well as the James and Dalton Gangs, represented an unwelcome criminal chapter in Missouri’s history.  William and George were prominent citizens of northern Missouri.  William had a law degree and he married money.  He was elected to the State Legislature and became a farmer and rancher.  James’s brother George taught school before he became a rancher.

Both brothers were repeatedly implicated in crimes ranging from embezzlement to murder early in their careers, but justice didn’t prevail given their influence and reputation.  A problem arose however when an ex-convict named George Meeks threatened to expose the brothers’ horse rustling activities.  So the brothers ‘axed’ Meeks, his wife and 3 young daughters and buried them in a shallow grave under a hay stack that they set on fire.

A problem arose for the brothers when one of the Meeks’ daughters survived to testify at the Taylor’s trial.  George Stanley was the sheriff at the time the trial took place in Carrollton.  The brothers were found guilty and they were sentenced to be hanged on April 30, 1896.  With the help of insiders at the jail who provided the brothers with hacksaws and rope, they escaped.  William was quickly recaptured and was hung on schedule…the only man ever officially put to death in Carroll County.  George Taylor was never recaptured....

This lonely and rather decrepit abandoned Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe depot in Carrollton lies along tracks that are still in heavy use.  The Santa Fe Railroad has been supplanted by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.  At some point part of this old depot’s waiting room was converted to a storage garage for a local electric company…but now it just looks empty.  At one point in time, this was a busy place with a large and bustling combination freight and passenger depot.

I had a hard time determining just when this large brick Santa Fe depot was built although I did find a photo of an old Wabash Railroad depot in town.  Then I discovered that the Santa Fe Railroad used to publish a sizable monthly magazine for its employees.  In their issue published in May of 1916, I found a little information.  It had been announced that the railroad would build a new depot in Carrollton Missouri.  To quote: “Agent James F. Geary is the most popular man in town”.  It’s safe to assume that the new depot was finished no later than in 1917.

FYI: Santa Fe Employees' Magazine - Google Books

History: Carroll County and the city of Carrollton are named for Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was one of the nation’s founding fathers.  He owned 10,000 acres in Maryland and was perhaps the wealthiest man in the American Colonies when the Revolutionary War began in 1775.  He owned 300 enslaved African Americans, probably more than anyone else in the Colonies at that time.  He was a supporter of ‘gradual emancipation’, even going so far as to introduce a bill in Maryland’s legislature to that effect.  It didn’t pass…

From Carrollton Missouri we drove east on US Hwy 24 and rejoined MO Hwy 5 north to Marceline Missouri and then west for a few miles on US Hwy 36 to check in at our Best Western Hotel in Brookfield Missouri. 

But, it was still early and we decided to find and explore the Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge which is about 6 or 7 miles south of town.  This National Refuge was established in 1937 primarily as a sanctuary and breeding ground for migratory birds.  After the purchase of the land, the Great Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps created wetlands and the roads.  The refuge encompasses 10,795 acres encompassing Swan Lake and it is focused on wetland habitat management.

It was a pretty drive along one of the refuge’s road and we only encountered one other vehicle, a father and son who were fishing.  As for wildlife, mid-summer limits the possibilities.  We saw the usual blue heron and a few wading birds plus we caught a glimpse of an otter dashing across the road from the lake to the creek on the other side.

In the fall it would be stunning to see the annual gathering of tens of thousands of red-winged blackbirds and other birds roosting in the marsh.  Large flocks of northern pintails are also plentiful in the fall.  247 species of birds have been observed at the refuge.  To learn more, just go to Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave