Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/372

 312 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI the public square. This building served the purposes of the courts until 1859, when D. B. Miller and Solomon G. Kitchen entered into a contract with the county for the erection of a new building. As at first organized, there were only two townships, Black River and Otter Creek. In 1850 the county court created four townships, Beaverdam, Epps. Butler and Mud Creek. Later, the name of Mud Creek was changed to Black River, and a new township, called Polk, was formed in the southeast corner of the county. In 1856 the township of Ash Hills was established, and in 1860, Thomas township. In 1866 the townships were relocated and established as follows: St. Francois, Black River, Cane Creek, Epps, Beaverdam, Thomas, Gillis Bluff, Ash Hills and Poplar Bluff. Thomas township was divided in 1871 and Neeley township formed from part of it ; in 1886 Beaverdam township was divided, a part of it being erected into Harviell township. In 1850 the records show that the collector had reported the entire amount of county revenue as $156.02. In the same year he had collected a total state tax of $122.28. The first circuit court in Butler county was held September 15, 1849, at the house of Thomas Scott. Judge Harrison Hough pre- sided over the court. The sheriff was New- ton Wallace. A grand jury was impaneled at the next meeting of the court, which re- turned indictments against a number of per- sons for selling liquor without license. Butler county was named in honor of W. A. Butler of Kentucky, and the coimty seat. Poplar Bluff, received its name from the fact that it was situated on the bluffs above Black River, which at that time were covered with a dense growth of the famous tulip tree, com- monly called the poplar. One of the earliest settlements in Butler county was made at the head waters of Cane creek, where there is fine farming land, by John Eudaly, who came to the neighborhood about 1841 from Tennessee. The land, at the time he came, was government land and he took up a homestead. He was accompanied by a number of his neighbors and friends and others came later. Among them were John and Nathan Wisecarver, Nathan Davis, Mr. Walton, Mr. Franklin and James Eudaly. At the time these settlements were made the territory was a part of Wayne county, the present Stoddard county not having been created. The immediate vicinity near which the settlements were made was one of the few sections of Southeast Mis.souri which were not timbered, making the cultivation of the soil easy. The people lived the life of pioneers. There were no railroads in the vicinity. All their goods were hauled from Cape Girardeau. The houses that were constructed were of logs, as there was no saw mill within fifty miles. The produce of the county was used almost entirely by the settlers themselves, as there was no opportunity for shipping them away. After the organization of Stoddard county John Eudaly was made assessor and made the first assessment in 1850. At that time the fees for making the assessment amounted to $34. There was not a village or community in the entire county. When Poplar Bluff was located and the land selected for a site of the county eoui't, a commissioner was ap- pointed to make a public sale of the lots and John Eudaly was the man that was ap- pointed. A number of lots were sold within the present town of Poplar Bluff. The high- est price obtained for a lot was for one at the corner of Vine and Second streets, which sold for $30. The two lots on the corner of Vine and Main streets were sold at $5 each