Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-06-21
TELLS OF THEIR SOUTHERN HOME.
Young Morton, Who Removed to Missouri With His
Fathers Family Year Since.

| SPRINGFIELD, Mo, June Is, 1899
EDITOR CENSOR:-As other Vernon
ties write to their friends back home"
of different localities through the col
umns of the CENSOR, deem it my turn
to tell something of the Land of the
Ozarks, and particularly of its Queen
| City" and surroundings. Springfield is
IL city of thirty thousand inhabitants
and lacks one great thing, capital There
| are very few wealthy men in the city
| yet it is the great commercial center of
southern Missouri and northern Arkan-
sas. Six railroads enter it now and two
more probably will ere long The city
| itself is rather unattractive. The bust
| ness blocks are mostly two story build
| ings and few houses are nicer than many
of Viroqua's. It's principal streets are all
paved some with brick, some macada-
mixed. The city covers a great deal of
| territory and is situated ON gently roll
ling plain. Although called Ozark
mountains, the altitude is but fourteen
hundred feet and only fifty feet lower
than the highest point i'll the state. Be-
sides Il fine high school building, the city
has college, Dowry and the normal
Dowry college is situated near the cen
ter Of the city and has several buildings.
The normal is just outside the city
limits in Pickwick Place. 1t is a private
institution and has been under several
different managements. When first
opened it was a great success but bad
management ruined it. Last year Prof
Allen Moore, proprietor of the Chillicotte
normal, took charge of it, and it is re-
gaining its former place. The main
building is an immense affair, 270 feet
| by 80 feet and four stories high Besides
this there is large annex Most of the
students room in the building. Over
half of them hail from Arkansas.
Our home is mile south of the normal
building. A mile south of us is the
National cemetery. Here lie those that
fell at Wilson's creek and other engage
| ments around here in the dark and
bloody days, 1t contains but a few acres
of ground and is kept in beautiful shape
| by an old veteran. 1t is under the direct
| control of the war department. South
of the National is the Confederate GENE
terry, only about half the size and kept
| up by private subscriptions. Surround
ing and separating the two are stone
walls OF elegant design, the Confederate
being the nicer. / think the time has
come when the wall between should be
torn down and the Confederate cemetery
brought under national control | have
| met many sons of Confederates, and the
Northern youths do not surpass them
one bit in loyalty to the stars and stripes.
South and west of these cemeteries is
HazelwoOd cemetery, where my father
lies. South of Hazelwood lies the Negro
grounds. The four cemeteries cover
about 80 acres of ground Extending
from the National cemetery to the city
limits, Is the National Boulevard, said
to be the finest drive in the United
States except one in California. Here
every day, and especially evenings can
be seen vehicles and bicycles by the
score. The roadway is macadamized
and in places is almost like asphalt.
Wilson creek battle ground lies eleven
miles southwest of the city. | was a
member of party of four normal stu
dents who visited it several weeks ago
1t is surrounded ON each side by wild,
rough country. The battle was described
to us by a man who lived near there at
the time, but was only boy. AS we
stood on the point of hill where the
contending forces surged back and forth
we became impressed with the fact that
this was the right way to study history
My father was ON the Union side and
the father of another member of the
party wore the gray, was in the last
wild charge and saw the gallant Lyon
fall. That spot was marked by a heap
of rough stones. Wilson creek was one
of the most desperate battles of the civil
war.
Springfield has many other places of
interest two beautiful parks, many
caves, etc, but / have not time nor
space to tell of them now. And the
variety and beauty of the wild flowers
to be seen along the roads, surpasses all
descriptions. Yours truly,
j. N. MORTON.