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Saturday, April 8, 2017

Field Trip to Greenwood and Pomona Townships

Louis Reed tells about Keokuk.
Huddled under a shelter with hands in pockets, braced against a chilly wind, several curious members of the Franklin County Rural History Club listened carefully. Fellow member Louis Reed was explaining what we would see during our first field trip of 2017, a Saturday excursion through west-central Franklin County. From our starting point here at Greenwood Baptist Church, we would meander through Greenwood and Pomona Townships, briefly crossing the line into neighboring Osage County for a look at Quenemo, a one-time boom town.

But first, Louis told us about Keokuk, the Sac and Fox Indian chief who died in Kansas in 1848 but whose remains were exhumed 35 years later and laid to permanent rest in Iowa, where the city of Keokuk keeps his name alive. Fortunately, the expedition that arrived in Franklin County from Iowa in 1883 was able to find some local old timers who knew where Keokuk was buried. The party was escorted to a remote field where they found the remains lying beneath a marble slab with the inscription: "Sacred to the Memory of Keokuck: a distinguished Sac Chief. Born at Rock Island in 1788; Died in April, 1848." Remains and slab were successfully moved to Iowa.

Greenwood Baptist Church cemetery
We toured the Greenwood Baptist Church cemetery and noted the contrast between the new grave markers and the old ones, many in deteriorating condition. We wondered about the proper way to restore weathered markers and vowed to do some research. (We have included a link to one resource below; other suggestions are welcome.)

We heard tales of the notorious James brothers, and pondered whether there was any truth to the legend that they hid out in a local sandstone cave. An 1877 article in the Ottawa Republican describes the foundation of the legend, which lies in an old Indian Agency in Greenwood Township. "Here Jessie and his brother passed their youth, we are told; here they received all the schooling (?) they ever got; here they learned the wonderful wood craft and Indian cunning which has since enabled them to accomplish so many marvelous escapes. This interesting legend, we are sorry to say, has no foundation in fact. One Burton A. James, of Green County, Missouri, was located here, as agent, in 1855, and this simple fact is all there is in the foregoing historical claim." So perhaps the name James was a source of confusion that somehow gave rise to a false claim to fame for Franklin County.

Is this where the James Brothers hid out? Maybe...
Still, we piled into our three vehicles and convoyed to the cave itself, a beautiful nook surrounded by trees and the first signs of spring. The remote cave is on private property, so we won't discuss its exact location here. But let's just say it would be a good place to hide out for a while.

After exploring the cave, we continued our tour, the three navigators staying in touch by two-way radio, stopping at various historical sites and natural wonders. Old barns, cemeteries, Keokuk's original burial site, and a swimming hole that might have been more tempting on a warmer day were all fodder for thought and discussion.

We crossed into Osage County for a look at Quenemo. The town grew quickly in the late 1800s when the railroad came through, but the flood-prone Marais des Cygnes River forced local growth in other directions.

The Reed barn
We wrapped up the excursion with a trip to Louis' family farm, where a large quilt block marks the barn--and the farm--with four large letters "R" for Reed.

Future tours are being planned. Anyone is welcome to attend our regular meetings and join our club to learn more about rural Franklin County and participate in our field trips: http://fcrhc.blogspot.com/p/membership.html

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