Andrew County

Andrew County, in the north-western part of the State, is bounded north by Nodaway County, east by Gentry and De Kalb, south by Buchanan, south-west by the Missouri River which separates it from Kansas, and west by Holt County, and contains 273,025 acres.

Population in 1850, 9,433; in 1860, 11,850; in 1870, 15,137; of whom 14,736 were white, and 401 colored; 8,014 male, and 7,123 female; 14,261 native (7,254 born in Missouri) and 876 foreign.

History
The "Platte Purchase," which now consists of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, Nodaway and Platte Counties, was, up to 1836, an Indian Reservation, having been selected by the Indians, with their usual sagacity. It was considered by the early settlers of Northwestern Missouri, as the natural garden of the State. That far-seeing statesman, Thomas H. Benton, in 1836, secured the passage of a bill removing the Indian occupants and adding this portion of their territory to Missouri; thus giving to the State a large area of the most fertile, and at the same time, the most beautifully diversified land, and most readily accessible district in the country. The "Purchase" was soon afterward divided into counties, and settlers from all parts of the country crowded into what is now Andrew County, and from that time to the present its growth in population and material wealth has been rapid and healthy. The county was first settled by Joseph Walker, Esq., in 1837, and organized January 29th, 1841. Its remoteness from the seat of the late Civil War prevented any conflict in the county.

Physical Features
Andrew County is considerably diversified in its topography. About three-fifths of the county is timbered, the remainder upland, rolling prairie. The bottom lands along the Missouri and in the valleys of the principal streams, are almost level, while the bluffs, except along the Missouri River, are gradually sloping, and the upland portions considerably rolling. The eastern portion of the county is peculiarly attractive in its general appearance, being high rolling prairie, with beautiful groves of timber skirting the streams, while the southern and south-western portions are somewhat broken, but scarcely an acre, except the face of Missouri River bluffs, is so steep as to be unfit for cultivation, and even these are in most cases admirably adapted to grape-growing. The north-eastern portion, known as "Empire Prairie," is the most level district in the county, and will compare favorably in beauty and fertility, with any place in the West. The county is well watered, every portion of it abounding in running streams, and fine springs. The One Hundred And Two River, running from north to south through the centre of the county, the Platte two to six miles eastward, and the Nodaway on its western boundary, with their numerous tributaries, furnish not only excellent drainage, but also supply an abundance of water for stock. The Nodaway, which affords ample mill power, has been navigated by small steamers to State Ferry. Its principal tributaries in this county are Lincoln and Peddler Creeks, into the latter of which empties Arapahoe Creek. Emptying into the Missouri in the southwestern part of the county, are several brooks, the principal of which are Dillon and Caples Creeks. Muddy Creek and its tributary, Third Fork, traverse the eastern part of the county, a distance of 10 miles. Much the greater portion of the bottom lands has an exceedingly fertile soil, being siliceous alluvial, intermixed with clay and vegetable mold. There are, however, along the Missouri bottoms several small patches of "gumbo," a tenacious vegetable mold which cracks in drying, leaving the field lumpy and difficult to cultivate. It has, however, a sandy subsoil, and needs only deep cultivation to make it among the most fertile of alluvials. The peculiar geological formation along the Missouri, being almost identical with the loess or bluff formation of the River Rhine, renders artificial drainage unnecessary, and being deeply impregnated with salts and oxyde of iron it is peculiarly adapted to raising pears, while its fertility insures good crops of other fruits and vegetables. The timbered portion of the county has usually a dark brown calcareous soil overlaid by vegetable mold with a clay sub-soil. The timber is oak, walnut, elm, hickory, sugar maple and hackberry.

Agricultural Productions
Corn is the principal product, and on no upland soil in the West does it succeed better; crops have been frequently made averaging 75 and sometimes 100 bushels to the acre. Winter and spring wheat are staples, while oats, barley, rye, buckwheat and potatoes, yield largely, the latter being a specialty. Grapes are cultivated with great success, large quantities being shipped in all directions, while the grasses and garden vegetables here find a congenial soil, and yield immense crops.

The Manufacturing Interests are exceedingly limited; the whole county being so well adapted to agriculture, the energies of the people are almost entirely bent in that direction. There are about 10 flouring mills in the county, and twice as many saw mills.

Wealth
Valuation of the county, per census of 1870, $8,000,000.*

Educational Interests
The citizens are fully alive on the subject of education, and fine school houses are a characteristic of the county. Each district has a comfortable and commodious building. The one at Savannah, is an imposing structure, built in 1872, and cost about $18,000. There are 83 districts, and 84 school houses, with 93 schools for white, and 2 for colored children. The average wages paid teachers are: male, $58; female, $39 per month. The average daily attendance at school in the county in 1872 was 3,197.

Railroads
The Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad traverses the south-west corner of the county, following the Missouri River. From Amazonia the Chicago Branch runs north, through the centre of the county, connecting with the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad at Hopkins, forming a through route from Kansas City and St. Joseph to Chicago. The county subscribed $100,000 (the bonded debt below named) to aid in building this road.

The Exports are flour, wheat, oats, rye, corn, apples, peaches, grapes and other fruits; cattle, hogs, horses, mules, and in fact everything usually raised for exportation in a strictly agricultural community.

Andrew County Places in 1875

Amazonia, the second place of importance in the county, is situated on the Missouri River, at the junction of the Chicago Branch, with the main line of the K. C., St. J. & C. B. R. R., 6 miles south west of Savannah. The town has a fine, picturesque appearance, with many beautiful building sites, and is an excellent shipping point for a considerable section of country. A number of saw-mills, 1 flouring mill, 1 turning mill, and a box factory, are among its industries. It has 10 or 12 stores, and a fine graded school. Population about 400.

Bolckow, a station on the Chicago Branch of the K. C., St. J. & C. B. R. R., 11 miles north of Savannah, has a few stores, and a population of about 200.

Castle is a post-office 10 miles south east of Savannah.

Empire Prairie, 15 miles north east of Savannah, contains a Presbyterian church and a few stores.

Fillmore, pleasantly situated in a thickly settled locality, 12 miles north west of Savannah, is a good business point, has about 12 stores, a flouring and a saw mill, a Presbyterian and a Methodist church, and a fine graded seminary. Population about 350.

Flag Springs, 10 miles north east of Savannah, has a woolen, a saw and a grist mill, and several stores. Population about 100.

Nodaway is a station on the K. C., St. J. & C. B. R. R., 10 miles (by rail) west of Savannah. Population about 100.

Parker, 17 miles north west of Savannah, has one store.

Rochester, on the west bank of Platte River, 8 miles east south east of Savannah, has about 12 business houses, a Methodist church, and a fine seminary. Population about 400.

Rosendale is a station on the Chicago Branch of the K. C., St. J. & C. B. R. R., 6 miles north of Savannah. Population about 100.

SAVANNAH, the county seat, and principal town, is finely located, near the centre of the county, on the Chicago Branch of the K. C., St. J. & C. B. R. R., 15 miles north of St. Joseph. It is situated on gently rolling ground which insures perfect drainage. The conformation of the adjacent ground gives many beautiful localities of which advantage has been taken for the erection of elegant dwellings. The town was laid out in 1842, incorporated as a city in 1854, and is settled by a thrifty and enterprising people, mostly from the Eastern and Northern States. Population in 1870, 1,256; now estimated at 2,500. It contains 1 first-class steam flouring mill, 1 wagon, 1 plow, and 1 furniture factory; 2 banks, about 30 stores, and 1 newspaper and job printing establishment, the "Andrew County Republican", 0. E. Paul, editor and proprietor. The following churches have each one building, valued at from $1000 to $3000: M. E. Ch. South, M. E. Ch., 0. S. Presbyterian, Presbyterian, Christian, Episcopal, Congregational and colored Methodists. A fine graded seminary building was completed in 1873-the seven departments of which are well filled and ably taught.

Whitesville, on the Platte River, 5 miles east of Rosendale, has a few stores and two churches, Baptist and Reformers. Population about 200.

*Assessed valuation in 1873, $4,936,418. Taxation, $1.00 on $100. Bonded debt, $100,000.


Source: Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri, Revised Edition, by R. A. Campbell, Published by R. A. Campbell,
St. Louis, Missouri, 1875

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