Cape Girardeau History and Photos
News photos that have grown whiskers and have become history
This tiny, well-kept cemetery earned a whoa-back, if not a U-turn when I was driving down Hwy HH in Mississippi county. (Click on it to make it larger.)
There’s an inlay into the steps leading up to the graveyard that says “Smith-Griggs,” but this marker calls it the Griggs, Smith and Staples Family Cemetery. It was established in 1866.
I couldn’t find much information on it. FindAGrave lists 30 interments.
I was photographing the Morley Community Building – a structure that may have been a bank in an earlier life – and looked down at my feet to see a strange disk that looked like a survey marker. The only thing is that I had never seen one that looked exactly like this one.
The round marker bore “Norman Lambert” across the top, some indecipherable marks in the middle, an arrow which pointed approximately north and “LS 1492” or “LS 1402” on the bottom. Click on the photo to make it larger.
A Google search for that name turned up two references: a 2008 Missourian story said the Scott county commissioners met with Norman Lambert of Lambert Engineering and Surveying, engineer for the Scott County Consolidated Drainage District No. 2, during their regular meeting Tuesday. He’s a logical candidate, but I still don’t know what the marker marks.
The other Norman Lambert to pop up was the Lambert who first started tossing rolls in Lambert’s Cafe, which eventually became known as the Home of Throwed Rolls.
A peek through the glass front door shows that the roof must be leaking. It’s a shame that such a beautiful building from the outside is being allowed to deteriorate inside.
Depending on which source you believe, the city was laid out in 1868 or 1869 by John Morley, a railroad engineer (the civil kind, not the kind that blows a whistle), and it was named for him.
The Iron Mountain Railroad and Louis Houck’s M&A Railroad intersected here. Later, the Missouri Pacific would pass through the town.
Melons and cotton were important crops in the latter part of the 19th Century and into the 20th. Several cotton gins were built in the town, but none remain today.
These silos are still dominate the skyline, though.
The two most prominent feature in many Bootheel communities include the city limits sign and the water tower. Holland, in Pemiscot county, is not exception. Click on the photos to make them larger.
The 2010 population of Holland was 229 people in 98 households and 62 families. In the 2000 census, the numbers were 246, 96 and 71.
Place Names of Six Southeast Counties of Missouri identifies Holland as a town in the eastern part of Holland Township on the Frisco Railroad. The first known settlement, which was made in 1871, was known as Middleburg because it was midway between Upper Cowskin (later known as Covington), and Cooter.
The town was laid out in 1902 by J.C. Winters and J.W. Holland and named for the latter. A post office was established in the same year. No proof exists for Eaton’s statement that the town was so named because, like much of the country of Holland, it was built on reclaimed land formerly submerged; however, the selection of Mr. Holland’s name rather than Mr. Winter’s was doubtless influenced by the name of the country.
The first thing I saw when I drove into Holland was a pair of strange-shaped houses, apparently abandoned. My guide, David Kelley, said the builder was trying to provide housing with a bare minimum of materials. Instead of a single building, this one is a series of rooms joined together by hallways.
While cruising around the Bootheel this afternoon, I noticed lots of fields sporting what looked like green, green grass. I asked my guide, David Kelley, what had been planted.
He’s gotten used to my total lack of farming knowledge, so he didn’t even give me the head-shake, eye-roll I deserved. “It’s winter wheat.”
“We’ve already had one night below freezing. The cold weather doesn’t hurt it?”
“Nope.” (I discovered that wheat planted in autumn needs the cold weather to make it “head” in the spring.)
The irrigation system made me think of a huge preying mantis making its way across the field. (Clicking on the photos make them larger.)
I was a little drowsy, so I pulled into the truck stop at the intersection of I-55 and 80 in New Madrid county for a short nap. It was still light when I stopped, but the sun had just dropped below the horizon when I headed out of the parking lot.
Even though it’s the same intersection where Curator Jessica spotted a Padiddle last year, I couldn’t pass up shooting a picture that will help me illustrate how the Interstate has siphoned traffic off Highway 61.