Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/436

 376 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ing ten teachers and giving opportunity for a good high-school education. Under the pat- ronage of the school there have been held each year, for a number of years, an Old Settlers' day which has attracted many people and been the cause of great interest. In 1911 there was organized a Fair Association which that year gave the first of a series of fairs, which was very successful in every way. It is the pui-pose of the association to continue the custom of an annual fair. The association is pursuing a somewhat different course from other fairs in laying particular stress upon farm improvement and farm development. Campbell is located on the main line of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway and on a branch of the St. Louis & San Francisco. It is situated in a prosperous farming commu- nity and doubtless has before it a considerable growth. Its present population is 1,781. Four miles south of Campbell on the Frisco Railroad is the little town of Gibson. It is the junction point of two branches of the Frisco Railroad and is a flourishing village. It has three general stores, blacksmith shop, two churches and a school. HOLCOMB Two miles south of Gibson is the town of Holcomb, both in Dunklin county. This was laid out as a town about the year 1870. Ow- ing to its situation with i-egard to the farming country about it has experienced a steady growth and now has a population of 279. It has good general stores, banks, and school such as are usually found in towns of this size. It is constantly growing and the re- sources of the country around it warrant the belief of its people that it will continue to grow. Senath Ten miles south of Kennett, the county seat of Dunklin county, is the town of Senath. The tirst settler in the town was A. W. Doug- las who moved there about 1878. The town had very slow growth, and was a mere village for a long time. It depended for its support entirely upon the farming community about it. The farms in this vicinity, however, are among the richest in Southeast Missouri and so the town continued to grow. A postoffice was established and some general stores opened, among the first being J. M. Baird & Company. Cotton gins were built and a mar- ket was formed for the purchase and selling of cotton. In 1897, Louis Houck, who built so many railroads in Southeast Missouri, ex- tended his St. Louis, Kennett & Southern Railroad from Kennett to Senath, and this immediately brought about a growth of the town. Today it is a flourishing community of more than a thousand population and is sub- stantially built of bi'ick in its business section, and has all the evidences of a prosperous com- munity. Cardwell The town of Cardwell, Dunklin county, is situated on the line of the Paragould-South- eastern and Paragould & Memphis Railroad not far from the Arkansas line. It was first settled as a town in 1896 and was not incor- porated until 1904. Among the eaiiy settlers were J. T. Meredith, J. A. Southers, W. D. Jackson, J. M. Barber and J. D. Washington. The first merchants were J. M. Seaborn, J. D. Hale, and the Bertig Mercantile Company; the latter two stores are still in existence and transact the greater part of the mercantile