Springfield-Greene
County LibraryCompiled by Arthur Paul Moser
[I]
Crawford County is a county in the southeast central part of the State, bounded on the north by Gasconade and Franklin, east by Washington and Iron, south by Iron and Dent and west by Dent, Phelps and Gasconade Counties...
It is not positively known who was the first white man to make his home in the territory now comprising Crawford County. It is supposed William Harrison was the first, certainly one of the first. He located in the county about 1817. In March, 1821, James Sanders, from Kentucky, settled on Huzza Creek. At that time there were living in the same neighborhood Peter Brickey, William Fulbright and a number of others, most all natives of Kentucky. These settlers had reached the territory previous to Sanders a few years. Harrison, in company with one Reeves, in 1818, opened up an iron furnace on the Thickety, in the northwest part of the county. Harrison also made the first land entry on September 20, 1823. The same day entries were made by William Crow and John Wright, all of whom took up land in Township 39, Range 2 West...
Crawford County was organized by legislative act approved January 23, 1829, out of territory that had previously been attached to Gasconade County for civil and military purposes. January 4, 1831, the boundaries of the county of Crawford were further defined, and on the 18th of the same month a resolution was passed that all unorganized territory south and west of Crawford County be attached to the county for civil and military purposes. On March 3, 1869, an act was passed fixing the boundaries of Crawford County as they now (1901) exist. The creative act of 1829 named John Staunton, of Franklin; John Dunnica, of Cole; and Hugh Barclay, of Gasconade, commissioners, and directed that until a permanent county seat be located, the courts meet at the house of James Harrison, who lived near the old town of Jerome, in what is now Phelps County, and there a post-office was established at Little Piney. It was located on the Gasconade, near the mouth of Little Piney...
The General Assembly, on February 13, 1833, ordered the county court to select a place for holding courts, "which place shall be as near the center of the county as circumstances will permit." The records of the proceedings of the county court from 1829 to 1835, have been lost.
Up to May, 1836, the court met at the house of James Harrison, at Liberty Hill, Little Piney Creek. On December 18, 1835, the county court purchased from James Steel, forty acres of land, now a part of Steelville for $50.00...The court house has been burned twice. On February 15, 1873, a new one was built--it burned January 5, 1884...
Crawford County is divided into nine townships, named respectively, Benton, Boone, Courtois, Knobville, Liberty, Meramec, Oak Hill, Osage and Union. (--Encyclopedia of the Hist. of Mo., 1901, Conard, Vol. 2, pp. 187, 188, 189; History of Crawford County, 1888, Goodspeed, pp. 545, 546.)
[II]
Following is a list of the iron ore mines in Crawford Co., with their locations:
The Scotia Iron Mine--Section 1, Township 38, Range 3 West; Iron Ridge--Sec. 29, Twp. 39, Range 5; Cherry Valley--Sec. 4, Twp. 39, Range 3; Steelville--Sec. 5, Twp. 37, Range 4; Grover--Sec. 21, Twp. 37, Range 4; Rovold--Sec. 26, Twp. 36, Range 4; Key & Anderson--Sec. 27, Twp. 36, Range 4; Clark's--Sec. 26, Twp. 38, Range 4; Railroad--Sec. 14, Twp. 38, Range 4; Clapp's--Sec. 13, Twp. 38, Range 4; Card & Zane--Sec. 13, Twp. 38, Range 5; Preston--Sec. 32, Twp. 39, Range 5; Chapman--Sec. 12, Twp. 38, Range 2; Carson--Sec. 13, Twp. 35, Range 3; Mountain--Sec. 16, Twp. 35, Range 3; Anderson & Clark--Sec. 34, Twp. 36, Range 5; Clark & Halbert--Sec. 25, Twp. 38, Range 5; Seay & Marsh--Sec. 5, Twp. 37, Range 3; Knox No. 1--Sec. 26, Twp. 38, Range 3; Knox No. 2--Sec. 28, Twp. 39, Range 2. (--History of Crawford County, 1888, Goodspeed, pp. 540, 541.)
Lead Mountain is near the Washington County line--mineral. King's Mountain is in the same region, eleven miles east of Steelville...Wheeling's Lead Mines and Furnace...are situated in Sec. 13, Twp. 37, Range 2, fifteen miles east of Steelville. The Parker Lead Mines are about two miles south of the Lead Mine and King's Mountain; they have been, but are not now worked--1888; and the Judge Trask Mines are in the same vicinity.
The Arthur Lead Mines are in the southeastern part of the county.
[III]
The first iron furnace in Crawford County was established in 1818. It was located in the northeast part of the county on Thickety. Reeves & Harrison were the proprietors...At the present time--1888--there is but one furnace in Crawford County, and that is the Midland. It is situated at Midland on the St. Louis, Salem & Little Rock Railroad, two miles north of Steelville...
Midland Blast Furnace Company was incorporated in January, 1874...The furnace was completed in April, 1875...(--History of Crawford County, 1888, Goodspeed, pp. 541, 542.)