Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-02-27
Arcadia.

Ed. Regtster-In your yesterdays REGIS
TER | saw and read with pleasure an artlcl'
headed"Arcadia,' pin which the writer speak
of the beauties OF the Valley and of th'
mountains surrounding the Valley. l wa
glad to find there were other lovers of it!
beauties besides myself. You know L have
been critisized for some of my writings abou
the Valley.
Now, the object of my writing this article
is to correct one mistake which the writer
has made, and which other writers have
made. The writer saws, chow or when thi:
name was given is unknown in the present
generation" There are now living in the
east part of Arcadia Valley two old persons
who were living in this Valley before the
name was even thought of. This Valley was
/ first called Lost Cove" by the Indians
About the year 1895, in the month of May, a
man by the name of Ephram Stout settled
on the land now owned by the writer, at the
red bank near my house on the south bank
of the creek, which took its name from this
settler, and is still called Stout's Greek. In
| the year 1880, or near that time, | was com
ing up the F-edericktown road just this side
horse; as | came to him he said to me, "Do
you know who live in all those houses in
this valley, and do you know who lives way
down yOnder on that hill near Stout's
Creek"
| answered, "Yes; | live over on the hill.
Do you know who first made settlement ia
this valley? | have always heard man by
the name of Stout first settled here?"
He said, ~ am the man. This was always
called Stout's settlement, until the Yankees
came, and now they have changed the name
to Arcadia
He seemed to feel badly that his name had
been dropped.
Now, way back in old slow times, before
there We're any public schools in this coun-
try, the wealthy families who had sons and
daughters To educate, would send to the
Eastern States for teachers and governesses
for their children until they were old enough
to send to some of the Eastern States to fin
ish their education. At our school in the
town Of Ellington, Connecticut, we had
boys from all oyer the South and South
America, and the West India islands. So
the South and West was filled with Yankees.
In the year 1856, there were some Eastern
people in POtosi; among them was a yourg
lady teacher. on one of their horseback
rides the people INDUCED in at :he time, sew
eral gentlemen and ladies rode to see the
famed Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob. They
thought nothing of riding hundred miles,
or such a matter, in those days. Among
the number was this young lady teacher.
When the company had reached the Pilot
Knob, they hitched their horses at the foot
of the mountain, to await their return. At
ter IabOring up the steep sides of the noun
tain, at last the top was reached. As they
stood on the very top and gazed off over the
Valley, this young lady said, "drc0dia" and
it was so christened. But it took long
time for the old settlers 10 get used to the
n lme. Not until my father got post ofice
here, called the Arcadia post-oftice, did its
name become fully established.
z, And now | hope l shall have the pleasure
of reading many more such letters by lovers
of nature. 7. 2. RUSSELL.