(Editor’s note: This is final installment detailing the life of Sylvester Pattie, whose sawmill brought new life to the region).
He arranged meeting with the Apaches and discovered that they had much more respect for the English speaking trappers than the Spanish. The Apaches agreed not to attack them and to let him reopen the Santa Rita Copper Mine, which is now the enormous Chino Mine near present day Santa Rita, N.M.
Pattie leased the mine from its Spanish owner and operated it for two years. He planted crops, herded cattle and was making an enormous profit. Then in March 1827, he entrusted a clerk with $30,000 in gold, to travel to Santa Fe and purchase supplies. The clerk absconded with the money and was never seen again. A few months later, the owner of the mine put it up for sale at a price that Pattie could not afford. He was forced to leave.
CALIFORNIA
In the fall of 1827, Sylvester and James Pattie joined a small trapping party and headed to an area that is western Arizona today. They again went down the Gila River and trapped all the way down to the Yuma crossing. They then went up the Colorado River becoming the first U.S. citizens to enter that area and to see the Grand Canyon. They experienced numerous attacks by hostile Indians and were near starvation.
They decided to build a raft and float down the Colorado believing that there would be a Mexican settlement at the Gulf of California. When they arrived, they only found more hostile natives. They decided to bury their furs and make an effort to reach civilization on the Pacific coast. It was their only hope of survival.
After a few days of wandering across the desert, they happened upon a Spanish road and followed it to the settlement of El Presidio Real de San Diego. They were taken to appeal to the General Jose Maria de Echeandia, where they begged for food and horses. The general did not believe the men and accused them of being spies for Spain. He was very afraid of being attacked by Spanish soldiers attempting to reclaim California back from Mexico.
The general ordered the Americans to be taken into custody and imprisoned in the guardhouse at the Presidio. Sylvester was separated from the others, put into solitary confinement. The men were harshly treated and given spoiled food. None would have survived if it were not for the kindness of a Mexican sergeant and a young woman who took a liking to James Pattie. The two came to visit the men and to smuggle them decent food.
Over the next month, Sylvester became ill and slowly wasted away. One day some soldiers came and escorted James outside the wall. Some men were in the process of lowering a coffin into a grave. No words or prayers were said. Sylvester Pattie had died on April 24, 1828, at the age of 45. He was the first U.S. citizen to be buried in California.
Soon after, the Mexicans were all talking about an outbreak of smallpox among the Indians of the area and they were very fearful. Some had read of the recent development of the smallpox vaccine but had no knowledge of the means to produce it. The young woman who had been visiting James, sent word to the governor that James Pattie had knowledge of the vaccine.
Then everything changed for James Pattie. He was sent to the general and then put in charge of vaccinating everyone in California. Historians have argued about James’s ability to produce the vaccine. Some have thought he may have tricked the Mexicans. Others believe he did possess the knowledge and did actually save the Californians from a great epidemic. James was honored as a hero. He and his six companions were released from prison and given rewards of horses and supplies.
James Ohio Pattie traveled back east to visit his brothers and sisters in Kentucky. He then wrote a book of his adventures, The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie of Kentucky. It was published in 1831. James is believed to have died about 1833 at the age of 29.
THE OTHER MILLS ON BIG PINEY RIVER
In 1819, Daniel Morgan Boone jumped into the sawmill business by purchasing Alexander Willard’s share of Archibald McDonald’s mill at the mouth of Little Piney Creek where it emptied into the Gasconade. Then about 1821, Morgan Boone partnered with James Morrison of St. Charles and constructed another mill at the mouth of Boone Creek, where it emptied into the Big Piney. Boone brought four slaves to work at the sawmill, making him the No. 1 slave owner in the Piney River region. In 1825, Boone sold out and accepted a job as an Indian agent in the Kansas Territory.
James McDonald died in 1821. In 1824, his son John McDonald sold the Big Piney River sawmill at Hazelton Spring to John Sullens for $1,000. Then John McDonald and his brother-in-law, Joshua H. Burckhartt, decided to start up in a new area. They constructed the first sawmill on Roubidoux Creek at the mouth of Burkhart Branch. They undoubtedly ran unto problems trying to raft the lumber down to the Gasconade. Roubidoux Creek is a continuous stream for only part of the year. A few miles below the present day MO-17 highway bridge it becomes a losing stream. It is dry most of the year from there to the Roubidoux Spring at Waynesville. The place where the McDonald/Burchartt sawmill was located would later become the site of the town of Turley.
In 1828, William Truesdale built the first mill on Arthur’s Creek. The first general store in area opened in that same mill settlement. It was a major convenience for the people of the area to have a place to trade without going all the way to St. Louis.
Settlers began to move into the area that is present day Texas County. Some were looking for jobs in the logging and sawmilling. Another type of settler was just beginning to show up as the river bottoms were cleared of trees for farming.
There were large areas of prairie stretching across the ridge land. The Indians had been burning these areas for hundreds of years to create a great meadow. They could conceal themselves at the edge of the forest waiting for the deer and elk to come out at for grazing at dawn. Then they could easily shoot them with their bows as the animals came near the forest edge to graze.
One of the first areas to be settled came be known as the Lick Settlement, near a salt lick that was a great place to hunt deer. In April 1827, John Baldridge sold one-half interest in his Boiling Springs sawmill to his brother Alexander for $1,000. He then purchased one of the first farms in the Lick Settlement in a government cash-entry sale. A friend, Barney Lowe, purchased another farm nearby. The area would later become the town of Licking.
Numerous sawmills sprang up along Piney River in the 1820-’50s. The ownership of the mills was constantly changing. Some of the big players were names such as: James Addison Bates; John and Alexander Baldridge; Bell; Bradford; Thomas Cork; David Lynch; John and Archibald McDonald; Samuel Nesbitt; John Ormsby; John Sullens; William Truesdale; and Washington Walton.
The community of Ellis Prairie was named after the first Texas County assessor Asa Ellis. It got its name because the area was a prairie when the first settlers came. The farmers there were raising cotton for their own use and for trade. In 1832, a gin mill was build by a man named Nesbitt near Sand Shoals. It was a water-powered cotton gin for removing the seeds from the cotton balls. It was sold to a man named Richardson in 1834. It changed hands to David Lynch and John Fourt in 1835 — then to Oziah Upton and it washed away in a flood. Another gin mill was built by Albert Bates.
By 1840, there were 10 sawmills on Piney River in what is now Texas County, Mo. The easy to harvest pine in the river bottoms was getting thinned out. In some areas along the Big Piney River valley the pine forests extended more than 10 miles on either side. The logs could no longer be dragged straight to the mill. The timber was being cut in rougher places each succeeding year, up the small creeks, hollows and steep slopes. Wagons were being used to haul the logs over rough and dangerous roads.
Transporting the lumber to market became easier after steamboats began to travel the Gasconade and Missouri Rivers. The lumber could be rafted to dealers much closer than before, who could transport it to other towns and cities by boat.
In 1849, the city of St. Louis burned to the ground. This greatly increased the demand for pine lumber. The sawmills on Big Piney ran full-throttle through the 1850s and up to the time of the Civil War.
During the war, the logging ceased. Many of the residents either moved away or found themselves defending their land against foraging armies and bushwhackers. Many of the noncombatants were forced to take up arms to defend their own property.
In many places the second growth forests had gained a foothold, but growing back with a mixture of pine, hardwoods and underbrush. The old mills fell into ruin. Some of the mill settlements were taken over by the Confederate troops and bushwhackers to be used as winter camps or places to lodge when they were traveling. The buildings were eventually burned by one army or the other to prevent their use by the enemy.
By the end of the war, very little trace of the great sawmilling industry on Big Piney remained. Some of the old mill dams were repaired and new sawmills were reconstructed. However, the water-powered sawmilling industry never recovered to what it had been.
THE LEGACY
It has been 200 years since Sylvester Pattie built his sawmill on the Big Piney River. A lot has changed through the years, yet the logging of yellow pine still continues.
To this day, there are surviving houses and barns in Texas County still showing the weathered pine boards with the distinctive yellow streaks. Some of the old barns look as though they are ready to collapse, yet they are still standing strong against winds. The old boards of yellow pine that came from the first growth forests are extremely resistant to rot and the elements.
In St. Louis there are many old structures still standing that were built of Piney River pine planks. One place of note is the home of Missouri Territorial Governor Frederick Bates, built in 1819. The house still stands in Faust Park of St. Louis County where it has been restored to its original appearance. The house and several out buildings were constructed of pine that came from the sawmills on Big Piney River. One of the old barns has wide, vertical siding of yellow pine boards still showing the lathe markings from the up-down saw blade. The widest of these boards is 23 inches.
The village of Slabtown never amounted to more than a sawmill settlement. A sawmill of one type or another existed there up until the mid-20th century.
The village of Slabtown never amounted to more than a sawmill settlement. A sawmill of one type or another existed there up until the mid-20th century. The village never had a store or a post office. In 1869, the Laclede and Ft. Scott Railroad was formed with $100,000 worth of bonds sold to investors. The planned railroad was to be built between Ft. Scott, Kan., and Lebanon, Mo. Future plans were to extend the railroad east, through Licking and Salem to St. Genevieve, Mo. The proposed route of the railroad would have crossed Big Piney River at Slabtown, an event that would have certainly put the town on the map. However, the railroad was never finished. Part of the roadbed was constructed but the company went bankrupt before any ties or rails could be laid down.
For more than 100 years, the hillsides of the Piney River valley were still dotted with the old pine stumps that were resistant to rot. Up until the 1940s, the pine knots were still being harvested by busting up the stumps. Most of them were used to heat the steam boilers on the many steam tractors used to power sawmills across the Ozarks. They were also used as torches for gigging fish. A basket made from iron wagon tires at a blacksmith shop could be attached to the front of a johnboat. When filled with pine knots and set on fire, it was a wonderful gigging light.
Sylvester Pattie’s name would again be remembered during WWII. From 1941 to 1945, the United States constructed 2710 Liberty Class cargo ships to transport arms and equipment to the war effort. Each of these ships was named after a famous American. Liberty Ship number 1914 was launched on Nov. 23, 1943, and given the name of the USS Sylvester Pattie. This ship was involved in the actions of the Battle of Leyte Gulf during Nov. 28 to Dec. 16, 1944, which was considered to be the largest naval battle of WWII and the history of the world. The Navel Armed Guard of the USS Sylvester Pattie was credited with shooting down an enemy plane during the battle, which earned them their “Battle Stars.”
The ship survived WWII but was scrapped in October 1967.
In northern Texas County, Paddy Creek and the Paddy Creek Campground are named in honor of Sylvester Pattie. On Jan. 3, 1983, the Paddy Creek Wilderness became a federally designated Wilderness Area of 7,035 acres.
TODAY
Today, the waters of the Big Piney River still roll on, though much has changed. Paddy Creek still pours into the Big Piney but at a point that is one-quarter of a mile upstream from where it emptied 200 years ago. The course of the river has changed many times over the years. In some places the course of the river has moved hundreds of feet from where it once ran.
The exact location of Sylvester Pattie’s sawmill is not known. In fact, the locations of very few of the water-powered sawmills on Big Piney River can be located with certainty. The buildings were constructed almost entirely of wood which disappeared over time. Any iron parts were removed and recycled. It would take an archeological dig to identify a site and there would be little to be found other than a few post holes, broken dishes and small lost items.
Today, there are very few reminders of the era of the water-powered sawmills. A few place names in the region hint at the history of those who first settled there. Of course, Paddy Creek in northern Texas County, although misspelled, was named for Sylvester Pattie. Roubidoux Creek is the namesake of Joseph Robidoux IV. Boone Creek was named for Morgan Boone. Bald Ridge Creek is a corruption of John Baldridge’s name. Burkhart Creek, which empties into Roubidoux Creek at the old town site of Turley, was named for Josiah H. Burckhartt who build the first sawmill there.
Those who float the river today can sometimes see a relic of that era beneath the waters. In the ever-changing river, interesting things are sometimes revealed in the mud below. It is often an old railroad tie from the late 1800s or it could be a pile of plank from a busted raft of pine lumber.
There is one relic of this era that still stands. However, if you want to see it, you had better go soon as its days are numbered. James Addison Bates was one of the early sawmill owners in the Slabtown area. The home he built near Roby in 1850 is still standing — barely. It is a fine, two-story, Georgian style home built of yellow pine from his sawmill. The house is 166 years old and is the oldest building in Texas County. It is one of only two houses that have survived from before the Civil War and it is in very bad condition. The roof has completely caved in and the rain beats down on the interior.
It is not a lost cause, and the building could still be saved but it would take a heroic and urgent effort. A group of concerned individuals could still put a roof on the old house, board up the windows and preserve it for future generations. It would cost a large sum to restore it properly but for a much lesser amount the decay could be halted.
One interesting fact is that in all those years of logging and sawmilling, not all of the old growth pine was harvested. There are many places where it was simply too rough to cut the timber and drag it out. One can stand at the high point, near the old Merrill Cemetery at Slabtown, and look down the river valley. The bluffs and hillsides, far down and across the river are still forested with virgin short-leaf pine that no logger has ever touched with a crosscut saw.
It is one place that still looks close to the condition that Sylvester Pattie found it, 200 years ago.