Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/316

 CHAPTER XVIII CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY TOWNS Cape Girardeau a Steamboat Town — Incorporated as a City — Prosperity After the Wab — State Normal School Located — Stage of Stagnation — Really Remarkable Progress — Founding of Jackson — First Institutions and Persons — Civil Government — Pres- ent County Seat — Burfordville — Appleton — Pocahontas and Oak Ridge. Cape Girardeau is described iu 1817 as a village containing two stores and about fifty houses. Within a short time a tan yard was established by Moses ilcLain, near the cor- ner of Spanish and Independence streets. Another tan yard on the Painter place was established by William Scripps and his son, John. This tan yard was afterward pur- chased by the Painter brothers, who conducted it and also a saddler shop. A still was oper- ated just north of the town bj' Levy L. Lightner. In 1818 the estate of Louis Loritnier was divided and the commissioners made an addi- tion to the town. These lots were sold at public auction, November 22, 1818. The prices paid for the lots were very high. Ninety-three lots brought $34,733.00 and twenty-one out lots brought $26,523.00. These prices indicate the fact that Cape Girardeau was coming to occupy a more important po- sition and that its advantages were coming to be known. A Steamboat Tovfn Just as in the case of Ste. Genevieve, how- ever, it was the steamboat which made Cape Girardeau prosperous. The steamboat traffic assumed large proportion in the decade lying between 1830 and 1840, and dui-ing these j'ears Cape Girardeau experienced a remark- able expansion in its business. Some of the men who were in business here during these years were : Andrew Giboney, James P. Ful- kerson, Alfred P. Ellis, I. R. Wathen, H. L. Sloan, Robert Sturdivant, Thomas J. Rodney, A. D. Leech, T. and W. Johnson, Joseph Phil- lipson, J. and S. Albert, Eugene Garaghty and C. F. Gale. The first bank in the town was established in 1853. This was a branch of the state bank, and had formerly been in operation at Jackson. The fir.st president here was I. R. Wathen, with A. F. Lacy as cashier. Lacy being succeeded in 1857 by Rob- ert Sturdivant. A steam fiouring mill, the first of the town's manufacturing establish- ments of much importance, was built by James Reynolds and B. il. Horrell. The IMarble City mill was erected a few years later by I. R. Wathen. Attention was paid during these years in the town to education, the first schools being taught in the log house not far from the site of the St. Charles hotel. The schools were of a purely elementary char- 256