Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/370

 310 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI the Bank of Kennett and one of the most prominent citizens of the county. No account of the pioneers of Dunklin county would be complete without a mention of Hon. David Rice, who was a native of Tennessee, and came to the county in 1853. At first he lived northwest of Campbell, where he married, but within a short time he re- moved to a farm east of Senath, where he lived until his death. He devoted himself principally to farming but was also interested and active in all affairs of public concern. Just before the war he was assessor of the county and from 1872 to 1876 was public ad- ministrator and later served a term in the general assembly. Major W. C. Rayburn, a native of Ala- bama, came to Dunklin county in 1865, locat- ing near Clarkton. He was immediately rec- ognized as a man of ability and character and soon came to occupy a prominent place in the affairs of the county. He was always in- terested in schools and churches and served as a county surveyor for a number of years. His son, Moore M. Rayburn, served throughout the war in a regiment of Arkansas infantry and at its close came home to devote himself to farming and stock raising. He was for four years sheriff and constable of the county and carried on the activities which had for many years interested his father. One of his sons, M. B. Rayburn, is cashier of the Bank of Maiden and a highly respected citizen of that town. Dimklin county was created February 14, 1845. Stoddard county was divided by a line running on the parallel of 36 degrees and 30 minutes. All that part of Stoddard coimty south of this line of division was called Dunk- lin county. In 1853 the north line of the new county was moved to the north nine miles. The territory included within the limits of the county, with the exception of this nine mile strip, was a part of the territory which was originally left in Arkansas, but was added to Missouri through the efforts of John Harde- man Walker and others. The town of Kennett was selected as the ccimty seat of the new coxmty. The town was named for Hon. Luther M. Kennett, though when it was laid out in 1846 it was called Chillitecaux. It was later known for a year or two as Butler and then received its present name, Kennett. The county was named for Hon. Daniel Dimklin, who was at one time governor of the state. The circuit court was probably organized in 1845 by John D. Cook, who was the judge of the circuit which included this eoimty. The first county court in Dunklin coimty is said to have been composed of Moses Farrar, Edward Spencer and Alexander Campbell; Joseph S. Houston was the first clerk and Lewis Holcomb the first sheriff; Houston was soon succeeded by Jolm H. Marsh, who held office until 1861. The fir.st court house in the coimty was a log building erected in 1847 in the middle of the public square where the present court house stands. This building v.-as destroyed during the war ; it was not until 1870 that another was erected, which was a large frame building, and was burned in 1872. For a number of years this county had no court house and the courts were held in an old frame store building on the corner of the square now occupied by the Tatum building. In 1895 the present two-story brick court house building was erected. About the time of the building of the first court house a log jail was erected ; it was destroyed by fire and another of the same character was built. In 1882 a frame building was erected on the cor-