Nevada High School - Nevamo Yearbook (Nevada, MO)

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In the year 1825 the United States government bought .ll the land in Vernon County from the Osage Indians. 'or the land the United States agreed to pay the Indians -even thousand dollars a year for twenty years. The 'overlunent was to give the Indians some horses, cows, ogs, and tools to use in farming. The Indians also were 'rovided with a blacksmith. The government built each f the four chiefs of the tribe a house. The Indians had leave their homes in Vernon County and go into ansas. They sorrowfully left the burial grounds of their cestors and the land they loved in search of new homes. ' THE FIRST ACTUAL SETTLEMENT of Vernon Coun- by white men with the intention of making this their e was established in 1829 by Jesse, Moses, and Allen mmers, who came here from Kentucky. They had in- nded to settle at Harmony Mission, but decided not to ate there because they had found other tillable lands the Osage. Then, in 1837, BALLTOWN was established, though it had been called at first Austin's Mill. It was Balltown that the first postoffice in Vernon County 'as located. Balltown was at one time a place of much uportance and was well-known throughout the county. was I 3-fn ' MI L 5 ' :R 1 I' av E yxlyx I .1 W, x Q.. 4 X Cftg' 5 Q WN 5 Q. 55 ' . . X 9 '- xi But the Indians' happiness in Kansas was short-lived. leir crops did not grow well and soon they did not have ough foodg their blacksmith and teacher soon left. The vernment forgot to pay them the money it had promised. 1838 the Indians decided that since the Great White Lther had forgotten his promises, they would go back their old homes in Vernon County. Because they were lngry, they killed a steer and four or five hogs belonging wthe white settlers at Balltown. In a fight which followed, le white man and several Indians were killed. News of e battle was so greatly exaggerated that the Governor lled out 800 militiamen, who proved a greater nuisance an the Indians had. This made the government recogruze E failure to live up to its agreements. Then the Indians Egan to receive payment and other considerations listed the treaty. All the Osage Indians were forcibly remoyed the reservations in Kansas. Though they often. visited eir old homes, the Indians never again tried to fight the hite settlers. Before 1854 Vernon County was a part of Bates County id Cass County. The settlers appealed to COLONEL ILES VERNON, a Virginian who had moved to Missouri, .king Colonel Vernon to help them secure a county of eir own. In 1855, after working four years, he succeeded having the bill passed. Because he had worked for the Lssage of the bill, the settlers honored him by naming e new county Vernon. The bill reads in part: . . . the id new county is hereby named Vernon, in honor of iles Vernon, of Laclede County. 'ft-.4 J' Zr QX 1 r .X f 1 .L m. .. 40 V 6 ?!R'f,-A ,I uk' nf' ' ,lv 1,7 a ' . . ,, , 4-C ,.,.. -- s - 1 cf K .g f R x X , . I. xx X 'l - l 7. Y I. X NN 1. . . X , . 4 w! pf- F in . I 1 1 ,,. ... ,f If L, 'V' . ' 1 Q Q :iff 'xx It , 'W I Q The next problem which faced the settlers was that of building a town in the center of the county. For the sum of S250 the land was purchased, and the city of Nevada was carefully laid out. The next thing which faced the people was the selection of a name for the new county seat. Some one suggested the name of FAIRVIEW. Because the town had many fair views, this name seemed agreeable to all of the men on the committee. But the county clerk, Colonel Hunter, rushed into the meeting and pointed out that it would be a mistake to name the county seat Fair- view because there was already a town of that name in Missouri. Then, telling the men of his trip to California, he pointed out to them that a town which he had liked in California was one called NEVADA CITY. So the name of Nevada City was officially selected. The town began to grow, and by the time the Civil War broke out in 1861, the population of Nevada City had grown to 450. A t i'S--.f-' HOTEL lil Q- ' F' -in .f Wne vx g-fir 'J E E-5.1 x.: H-Nh A 9 I --s-an f- w- ag? AT THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR most of the people in Vernon County were in sympathy with the CONFEDERATE CAUSE. The men soon joined the south- ern army, and the women and children were left at home to carry on as best they could. Although they were in sympathy with the Southern forces, they were situated between two strong Northern supporters. Ft. Scott was the headquarters for many Northern troops, and Cedar County was also a stronghold for the North. ..7-

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His ory of Vernon County The 1955 NEVAMO pays tribute to VERNON COUNTY, MISSOURI, which is observing its 100th ANNIVERSARY. To record 100 years of history is a goal beyond the limita- tions of a school yearbook. It is our intention only to emphasize to the students the importance of this event, and to attempt to create an enthusiastic participation in the celebrations being planned by the Vernon County Centennial Committe for the week July 3-9. Since this year marks a great milestone, the NEVAMO staff has worked especially hard to make the 1955 book one to remember. We have found it fascinating to learn of the historical events which have shaped our community. It has been exciting to read the Histories of Vernon County: the files of the yearbooks and the special issues of the newspaper. We are also indebted to a summary of Vernon County history made several years ago by Miss Beulah Roller and Mrs. Amos Wight. We have found that dis- crepancies exist in some records and dates, and we know that our portrayal of this school year and some of our educational past is not always accurate. Consequently, the 1955 NEVAMO is not an attempt at historical re- search, but it is published with the idea that taking part in the VERNON COUNTY CENTENNIAL is an exciting experience long to be remembered. Long before the coming of white men, Vernon County was inhabited by the OSAGE INDIANS, an name mean- ing the strong armed. This tribe of Indians was said to be the finest specimen of western Indians. The mem- bers were tall, erect, and dignifiedg they were very agile and muscular. The two branches of this tribe were known as the Big Osage and the Little Osage Indians. The vil- lages of the Big and Little Osage Indians were about six miles agart, and were located in the northern part of the county the angle formed by the Union of the Marmaton with the Osage River. This location would be in the present Blue Mound township near the Blue Mounds. 15? -2 A rs: 3? 4 QS W 6 1 1 1 W if I A . 6 S' . ', . ft 4 L .1 wr? ., ,an A I The year 1719 is a year of importance, for it was then that the first white man ever came to this area of America. He was a young French-Canadian named Du TISSENET lDu Teenb, who was sent here by the governor of Louisi- ana, De Beinville. It was his purpose to explore this county and to make friends with the Indian tribes. The Indians were friendly toward Du Tissenet, giving him food and clothing and guiding him over the country. It is un- fortunate that Du Tissenet's name was not bestowed on some feature of Vernon County, so that his memory could endure forever. -6. Before 1763 the Louisiana territory of which Vernon County was a part was owned by France. After the French and Indian War, France ceded the territory to SpainQ While Spain owned this territory, many fur traders roamed over the country which is now Vernon County, In 1803 the territory of Louisiana was given back to France. Napoleon sold the whole of the Louisiana territory to the United States for fifteen million dollars. President Thomas Jefferson seleetea LIEUTENANT ZEBULON PIKE to head an exploring expedition to del termine whether the Louisiana Purchase had been a wise investment. Pike found Vernon County to be a beautiful place, rich in natural resources, and well Worth the 3 CENTS PER ACRE, for which it had been purchased. He had a guarantee of a friendly reception by the Osag Indians, because he brought with him 51 Osage India whom he had rescued from another tribe. By befriendin these Indians and returning them safely home, Pike knew that he was assured of their friendship. A great ceremony was held to celebrate the return of the captive Indians. One of the Indians, Totobasi, made a great speech in which he said, Osages, you now see your sons, daughters, wives, and brothers returned to you. Who did this? Was it the French? No. Was it the Spanish? No. It was the Americans. What can you do in return for all this goodness? All youn lives would not suffice to repay their goodness. After Pike's visit, the Omge Indians for the most par were friendly to the United States. In 1808 they made : treaty of friendship and peace with the United States and at the same time ceded some of their land. During the war of 1812 they remained faithful to the United States The British were never able to buy the support of the Osage as they were some of the other Indian tribes. Tw: British agents, entering the Osage village, trying to incit4 the Indians against the Americans, were hanged as spies by the Indians. The Osages remained loyal to the term: :ifgttheir treaties with the Great White Father in Wash- n on. f 'N WWI? Si:-'l t .Q g, f- r ..: 'fr In 1820 a delegation of Osage Indians who were or business at Washington expressed a dedre to have mis- sionaries sent among them. As a result of this request HARMONY MISSION was established in 1821. It was the hope of the missionaries that the students at the school would return to their tribes and lead them to adopt theil new ideas and modes of living. Unfortunately, after leav- ing the school, the students relapsed into their former ways of living. Strangely enough, a majority of the stu- dents died soon after reaching their homes. Death prob- ably came as a result of the change in the mode of living but the Indians chose to consider it the result of attending school, and were more opposed to education and civiliza- tion than ever.

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ff A f fY J J fl' 9 N X f- F '-- - ---Q .1,'3!ffP- is ,X il' I ,X 1 fc U X ' ef Ji IXSN 5' ',f'.-5 ft ED, ,T-J! h Qi 6 X .MF K. -fi -- i a! I of r rs Q- , E.-srfzif f ' if X If 0 -1: .1 E, ,M 1 I 'sf X my 1 - . ,,N,..-- Q ' ,Q , 'yd 4 1 6 ,f s. y X,-A3 fr , f , , ll A I . VF. f . ,xg-T'-:X j. lyk 4 'f ' M 'semi Qs XS f 1 'X Q Y I 'A ' '.1'j Y i ' f -7 f ZJQN - , A ig! so '. , 'rf 133 -. f . w e-1 Q - zi- -X N 1 71' fi fe ' ,N . i xi' . -vi ff N Y A- ' is X ,X X '. ff, 'Y' ss , - f 1 W AT THE CLOSE OF. THE CIVIL WAR, there were not - Gi A' over 100 families left in Vernon County. Nevada was a CX! f I ' 74 mass of fire-blackened ruins. About ten or twelve families By the winter of 1861, the inhabitants of Nevada were in much danger. Many people became fearful lest the Federal troops from Ft. Scott or the bushwackers from Cedar County might bum the town. Accordingly, COLO- NEL HUNTER detached himself from Price's Army and came back to Nevada to get the COUNTY RECORDS and take them back to the Confederate Army for safekeeping. Colonel Hunter and a half-dozen brave men from Monte- vallo rode into Nevada and took all the books, records, and papers they could find pertaining to public business. These were loaded into a wagon and Colonel Hunter drove rapidly away with them. The records had a re- markable experience. Hunter took them to Springfield. When Price fell back into Arkansas, the Vernon County records went with him. After a year or two, the Confed- erates had to abandon these records, then they fell into the hands of the Kansas regiment of the Federal Army. Since the hatred of the Kansans for the people of Vernon County was so great, it was naturally supposed that the Kansas people would have burned them immediately. This was, however, not the case, The Federals took the best of care of the records. They placed them in strong boxes and the records of Vernon County passed from their place of capture in the deep South from post to post until they finally came to Ft. Scott. Here they were kept until the close of the war when they were returned to Vernon County with the LOSS OF ONE DEED RECORD BOOK. The year 1863 was one of the saddest in the history of Nevada. There were only a few families who remained in the town. Most of the men were gone, and the women and children lived in fear of the frequent raids by the Federal troops from Ft. Scott or from Cedar County. Nevada was called the UBUSHWACKERS' CAPITAL, and the Federal troops were determined to get rid of this enemy center. Federal troops were issued ORDER NO. 11 to search the country side for bushwackers, and to burn the city in an attempt to destroy the hideouts. The soldiers gave the occupants of the houses only 20 minutes to leave their homes. By the time they had fin- ished burning the houses, only a few buildings remained in all of Nevada. Nevada City was only an ash heap. In all, about 75 houses were burned. The court house, the county buildings, and the stores were destroyed. About a dozen small houses belonging to MR. AUSTIN and MR. MOORE were saved. These houses were spared because Mr. Austin and Mr. Moore promised to take the bodies of two militiamen back to their families in Cedar County. Egfese two men had been killed in Nevada three days ore. ...B- were scattered over the town. Supplies had to be hauled from Ft. Scott as there was not a single store in the entire county. But soon families began to come back to their land. Soldiers returned from the warg they built new homes. Many new settlers came also to make their homes in Vernon County. Schools and churches were established. f X X 5 fy I - V ,fx X ' fi? e, 45,1 1 r A C' at - . - 2 wtf' 5 wwf-1 551 ,I 3 'D' ' IHA 4 f' M -ff fi . -M .-e-- .. if X .2 fi X .gzs-i 1,73 ' a.-. i X. p An interesting and important event of the year 1866 was the establishment of the NEVADA CITY TIMES, the first newspaper in the county, whose first issue ap-N peared on June 16th. The first editor and proprietor of the paper was Mr. R. C. Brown. A matter of general in- terest which caused much excitement at this time was the importation of vast herds of Texas cattle into south- western Missouri where fine grazing was abundant. Bring- ing with them a contagious disease they passed it on to native cattle. The seriousness of the situation led to the enactment of stringent laws on the subject by the legis- lature. It became necessary to station armed men on bor- ders who turned back the proscribed cattle, only the commissioners' wise mastery of the situation preventing actual bloodshed. Another matter of importance was the INCORPORATION OF NEVADA CITY, for it brought about the removal of the word City from the title of our town. Ever since that time, it has been called Nevada.