STODDARD COUNTY HISTORY
  • Home
    • Southeast Mo to 1811
    • Southeast Mo 1820 - 1850
  • Communities
    • Dexter >
      • Castor St.
      • Stoddard St.
      • Walnut St.
      • North of Tracks
      • Locust St & S. Main
      • East Dexter
      • West Dexter
      • Vine Street
      • Poplar Street
      • Prominent Citizens
    • Aquilla
    • Swinton
    • Bloomfield >
      • Bloomfield People
      • Businesses
      • Churches
      • Courthouse
      • Fire - 1912
      • Poor Farm/County Home
      • School
      • Stock Show 1909
    • Buffington
    • Essex >
      • Essex History
    • Bernie
    • Ardeola
    • Bell City
    • Brownwood
    • Dudley
    • Leora
    • Puxico
    • Acorn Ridge
    • Advance
    • Powe
    • Penermon
    • Gray Ridge
    • Stoddard (Town)
    • Rural Stoddard County
    • Communities Outside Stoddard >
      • Butler County >
        • Ash Hill
        • Broseley
        • Fisk
        • Qulin
        • Poplar Bluff
        • Harviell
        • Neelyville
        • Rombauer
        • Lost Towns of Butler County >
          • Poplin
      • Cape County
      • Dunklin County >
        • Kennett
        • Malden
        • Clarkton
        • Wilhemina
      • Mississippi County >
        • Bird's Point
        • Charleston
        • Wyatt
      • New Madrid County >
        • Boekerton
        • Canalou
        • Conran
        • Gideon
        • Kewanee
        • Lilbourn
        • Marston
        • Morehouse
        • New Madrid (Town)
        • Parma
        • Portageville
        • Risco
      • Scott County >
        • Vanduser
        • Oran
        • Chaffee
      • Pemiscot County >
        • Hayti
        • Pascola
        • Caruthersville >
          • 1950 - 1985
      • Wayne County >
        • Piedmont
      • Carter County >
        • Ellsinore
        • Grandin
  • Civil War & Other Periods
    • Stoddard Rangers
    • Post Reconstruction >
      • Swamp Drainage
      • Small Pox Outbreak, 1895
      • Spanish Influenza
      • Yellow Fever Epidemic, 1905
      • Crime & Punishment >
        • Stoddard County Sheriffs
      • Spanish-American War
      • Civil Rights Southeast Missouri
    • Reconstruction Era
    • Pre Civil War >
      • Slavery
    • The Civil War >
      • Union Stoddard County >
        • 2nd Mo State Militia Cavalry
        • 3rd MSM Cavalry
        • 12th MSM Cavalry
      • 1st Division Missouri State Guard >
        • McDonald's Co. C Artillery
      • 2nd Missouri Cavalry
      • 4th Missouri Cavalry (CS)
      • 7th Missouri Cavalry
      • 8th Missouri Cavalry
      • 12th Missouri Cavalry
      • 1st Confederate Infantry Btn
      • 6th Cavalry (Phelan's Regiment)
      • 6th Missouri Infantry >
        • Roster of Company D
        • Stoddard Countians in Company D
        • Roster Company K
      • Pilot Knob
  • Other Categories
  • Sources
  • Mr. Arnold's Classroom
    • Nat'l History Day
    • 7th Grade World History >
      • Unit 1 Intro & Geography
      • Unit 2 Page
      • Unit 3 England's Colonies
      • Unit 4 Colonies To Revolution
      • Unit 5 American Revolution
      • Unit 6 New Nation
      • Unit 7 - Early Republic
      • Unit 8 - Emergence Of American Economy
      • Unit 9 Nat'l & Sect
      • Chapt 10 - The South
      • Unit 11 - The Gathering Storm
      • Unit 12 Civil War
      • Unit 13 - Reconstruction
      • Unit 14 - Bus. & Labor
      • Unit 15 - New South & West
      • Unit 16 - SEMO History
    • 8th Grade American History >
      • Unit 1 - Civil War Reconstruction
      • Unit 2 Bus & Labor
      • Unit 3 - New South
      • Unit 4 Gilded Age & Populism
      • Unit 5 - The Progressive Era
      • Unit 6 - WWI
      • Unit 7 - The 1920s
      • Unit 8 - The Great Depression
      • Unit 9 - WWII
      • Unit 10 Post WWII to Korea
      • Unit 11 The Cold War in the 50s
      • Unit 12 - Turbulent 1960s
      • Unit 13 - Nixon & Ford Years
      • Unit 14 - Conservative Revival
      • Unit 15 - The 90s
      • Unit 16 - 9/11 To Present
      • Unit 17 - Global War on Terror
    • 3rd Hour Gov't >
      • Introduction
      • Chapter 1 - Ideals of Democracy
      • Chapter 2 Types of Democracy
      • Chapter 3 The Constitution
      • Chapter 4 Principles of Constitution
      • Unit 5 - Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
      • Chpt 6 Civic Resp. & Civic Duty
      • Chpt 7 American Political Ideologies & Beliefs
      • Chpt 8 Spec Interest
      • Chpt 9 - EOC Economics
      • Chapter 10 Elections
    • 4th Hour Gov't >
      • Introduction
      • Chapter 1 - Ideals of Democracy
    • DC American History >
      • DC Unit 1 - Exploration/Colonization
      • Unit 2 - English Colonies
      • Unit 3 - F & I War To Revolution
      • Unit 4 - The Early Republic
      • Unit 5 - Age of Jackson
      • Unit 6 - Religion, Romanticism, & Reform
      • Unit 7 Westward Expansion
      • Unit 8 The Gathering Storm
      • Unit 9 The Civil War
      • Unit 10 - Reconstruction
      • Unit 11 The Industrial Era
      • Unit 12 - The New South and New West
      • Unit 13 - Imperialism & Reform
      • Unit 14 - WWI & the 1920s
      • Unit 15 - The Great Depression
      • Unit 16 WWII
      • Unit 17 - The Cold War & 1950s
      • Unit 18 The Vietnam Era
      • 2nd Semester Final

Butler County

Butler County was formed from Wayne County on February 27, 1849.  Butler County became important for many reasons, one of which was the amount of waterways that flow through the county.  The largest river, Black River, was named by the French as, "La Riviere Noire," or Black River.  

Communities


Ash Hill
Fisk
Harviell
Lost Communities
Neelyville
Poplar Bluff
Qulin
Broseley
Rombauer

Butler County Colonies (Cultural Settlements)

Catholic Settlement

About 1902 Father M. O'Flaherty of Poplar Bluff attempted to start a Catholic community east of Poplar Bluff about three miles.  The location of the community proved to be a bad one because it flooded too much.  The failure of the community led Father O'Flaherty to establish a Catholic community west of Malden known as Glennonville.  

Mennonite Colony

In 1924, Ernest Bacon, who owned large tracts of land south of Poplar Bluff and convinced a number of Mennonites to settle there.  

Cropperville

Located about 15 miles southwest of Poplar Bluff, Cropperville, was established to house about two hundred African-American sharecroppers recently displaced in Mississippi County.  They had been participants of the 1939 sharecropper's strike.  The ground constituted about two hundred acres, only ninety of which was tillable.  The ground was purchased by Claude Fisher and the new inhabitants lived in government tents until housing could be built.  

Butler County 1930s


Mussel Shell Digging

The Great Depression was hard on everyone, many Southeast Missourians found creative ways to make ends meet, in Butler County, one way was to harvest mussel shells.  During the Depression, the prices paid for mussel shells plummeted like everything else, but at $20 (previous decades had realized $40-$60 at ton a ton, the money was still worth hunting for them.  The hunter would wade the river towing his boat behind him constantly spying the bottom of the river looking for the "eye" or opened part of the shell that would always be found sticking upward.  A sharp stick usually with a wire connected on the end would be quietly lowered to the bottom and inserted into the "eye" at which time the shell would clamp onto the wire allowing it to be raised into the boat.  On a good day, a mussel shell hunter could harvest four pounds of mussels a day (August 11, 1932, Poplar Bluff Republican). 
Digging for mussel shells in the Black River was not a new profession during the Great Depression.  Ever since the late 1800s and early 1900s, locals hunted the shells which were used to make buttons and fine handled knives.  Sometimes, if a hunter was lucky, they might run across a pearl.  Depending on the quality and color of the pearl, it might fetch the finder several hundred dollars to over two thousand dollars.  The record price fetched for a Black River Pearl was $2,500 for 150 grain pearl found by the Fry brothers from West Plains (History of Butler County).  
Poplar Bluff
Proudly powered by Weebly
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
    • Southeast Mo to 1811
    • Southeast Mo 1820 - 1850
  • Communities
    • Dexter >
      • Castor St.
      • Stoddard St.
      • Walnut St.
      • North of Tracks
      • Locust St & S. Main
      • East Dexter
      • West Dexter
      • Vine Street
      • Poplar Street
      • Prominent Citizens
    • Aquilla
    • Swinton
    • Bloomfield >
      • Bloomfield People
      • Businesses
      • Churches
      • Courthouse
      • Fire - 1912
      • Poor Farm/County Home
      • School
      • Stock Show 1909
    • Buffington
    • Essex >
      • Essex History
    • Bernie
    • Ardeola
    • Bell City
    • Brownwood
    • Dudley
    • Leora
    • Puxico
    • Acorn Ridge
    • Advance
    • Powe
    • Penermon
    • Gray Ridge
    • Stoddard (Town)
    • Rural Stoddard County
    • Communities Outside Stoddard >
      • Butler County >
        • Ash Hill
        • Broseley
        • Fisk
        • Qulin
        • Poplar Bluff
        • Harviell
        • Neelyville
        • Rombauer
        • Lost Towns of Butler County >
          • Poplin
      • Cape County
      • Dunklin County >
        • Kennett
        • Malden
        • Clarkton
        • Wilhemina
      • Mississippi County >
        • Bird's Point
        • Charleston
        • Wyatt
      • New Madrid County >
        • Boekerton
        • Canalou
        • Conran
        • Gideon
        • Kewanee
        • Lilbourn
        • Marston
        • Morehouse
        • New Madrid (Town)
        • Parma
        • Portageville
        • Risco
      • Scott County >
        • Vanduser
        • Oran
        • Chaffee
      • Pemiscot County >
        • Hayti
        • Pascola
        • Caruthersville >
          • 1950 - 1985
      • Wayne County >
        • Piedmont
      • Carter County >
        • Ellsinore
        • Grandin
  • Civil War & Other Periods
    • Stoddard Rangers
    • Post Reconstruction >
      • Swamp Drainage
      • Small Pox Outbreak, 1895
      • Spanish Influenza
      • Yellow Fever Epidemic, 1905
      • Crime & Punishment >
        • Stoddard County Sheriffs
      • Spanish-American War
      • Civil Rights Southeast Missouri
    • Reconstruction Era
    • Pre Civil War >
      • Slavery
    • The Civil War >
      • Union Stoddard County >
        • 2nd Mo State Militia Cavalry
        • 3rd MSM Cavalry
        • 12th MSM Cavalry
      • 1st Division Missouri State Guard >
        • McDonald's Co. C Artillery
      • 2nd Missouri Cavalry
      • 4th Missouri Cavalry (CS)
      • 7th Missouri Cavalry
      • 8th Missouri Cavalry
      • 12th Missouri Cavalry
      • 1st Confederate Infantry Btn
      • 6th Cavalry (Phelan's Regiment)
      • 6th Missouri Infantry >
        • Roster of Company D
        • Stoddard Countians in Company D
        • Roster Company K
      • Pilot Knob
  • Other Categories
  • Sources
  • Mr. Arnold's Classroom
    • Nat'l History Day
    • 7th Grade World History >
      • Unit 1 Intro & Geography
      • Unit 2 Page
      • Unit 3 England's Colonies
      • Unit 4 Colonies To Revolution
      • Unit 5 American Revolution
      • Unit 6 New Nation
      • Unit 7 - Early Republic
      • Unit 8 - Emergence Of American Economy
      • Unit 9 Nat'l & Sect
      • Chapt 10 - The South
      • Unit 11 - The Gathering Storm
      • Unit 12 Civil War
      • Unit 13 - Reconstruction
      • Unit 14 - Bus. & Labor
      • Unit 15 - New South & West
      • Unit 16 - SEMO History
    • 8th Grade American History >
      • Unit 1 - Civil War Reconstruction
      • Unit 2 Bus & Labor
      • Unit 3 - New South
      • Unit 4 Gilded Age & Populism
      • Unit 5 - The Progressive Era
      • Unit 6 - WWI
      • Unit 7 - The 1920s
      • Unit 8 - The Great Depression
      • Unit 9 - WWII
      • Unit 10 Post WWII to Korea
      • Unit 11 The Cold War in the 50s
      • Unit 12 - Turbulent 1960s
      • Unit 13 - Nixon & Ford Years
      • Unit 14 - Conservative Revival
      • Unit 15 - The 90s
      • Unit 16 - 9/11 To Present
      • Unit 17 - Global War on Terror
    • 3rd Hour Gov't >
      • Introduction
      • Chapter 1 - Ideals of Democracy
      • Chapter 2 Types of Democracy
      • Chapter 3 The Constitution
      • Chapter 4 Principles of Constitution
      • Unit 5 - Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
      • Chpt 6 Civic Resp. & Civic Duty
      • Chpt 7 American Political Ideologies & Beliefs
      • Chpt 8 Spec Interest
      • Chpt 9 - EOC Economics
      • Chapter 10 Elections
    • 4th Hour Gov't >
      • Introduction
      • Chapter 1 - Ideals of Democracy
    • DC American History >
      • DC Unit 1 - Exploration/Colonization
      • Unit 2 - English Colonies
      • Unit 3 - F & I War To Revolution
      • Unit 4 - The Early Republic
      • Unit 5 - Age of Jackson
      • Unit 6 - Religion, Romanticism, & Reform
      • Unit 7 Westward Expansion
      • Unit 8 The Gathering Storm
      • Unit 9 The Civil War
      • Unit 10 - Reconstruction
      • Unit 11 The Industrial Era
      • Unit 12 - The New South and New West
      • Unit 13 - Imperialism & Reform
      • Unit 14 - WWI & the 1920s
      • Unit 15 - The Great Depression
      • Unit 16 WWII
      • Unit 17 - The Cold War & 1950s
      • Unit 18 The Vietnam Era
      • 2nd Semester Final