Mexico Missouri message., 1916-11-16
MINNEOLA SPRINGS
Back in The Time of Daniel Boone
The First Frame House in Mont
gomery-No 7-Passenger S-Cylin-
ders in Those Days.
(By l.. Roy Ferrls.)

Nesting between the picturesque
the monarchs of the forest, each tree
If it could but talk would tell many
tales of the Indians and early set
tiers, lies the little village of Min
nicola, which, in the Indian Ian
guage, means Medicine Waters"
1t was here in the days of the In
dian that failing to get relief from
sickness by their Medicine Man, as
last resort they pinned their faith
in the mysterious Salt Springs, and
rarely ever were they disappointed.
At these springs the great hunter,
! Daniel Boone, spent many pleasant
hours, now and then, visiting the
two or three settlers and drinking
the waters of these springs, whose
wonderful power was well known
among the Indians and early settlers
as curative for kidney trouble.
Daniel was often heard to recon-
mend the Spring.
1t was in the year 1913 while one
of the early settlers and his son, a
manly young fellow, were blowing in
a clearing near the bank of the
small stream, that the fathers sharp
ear heard the call of an owl. Know
ing that the owl rarely chooses he
daylight to do his counting in the
treetops, he cautioned his son to be
plow. Now when a fellow doesn't
mind his dad he is apt to come to
some kind of grief, so while the ia
Their was trying to discover the In
dians, two of them swan the creek
and finding the boys gun, they shot
the boy dead In a little church
yard where the people of the village
go to worship lies the body of the
boy.
The first cabin was built by Thos
Massey, in 1912, assited by Daniel
Boone and one of his sons. Massey
was afterwards killed in "a battle
fought near the Springs. Maj. Isaac
Van Bibber, who was named by Dan
el Boone, afterwards lived in this
house. Daniel N. Boone, a son OF
|, Daniel Boone, built himself a cabin
of logs in 1919 northwest of Min
nicola and settled there.
: DR.. Graham purchased this farm
from N. NJ Boone and in 1916 the
In 1879 the village was surveyed
4 In 1879 the village was surveyed
and laid out in lots by j. l.. McCleary
and the town name was changed
from Luter Lick to Minneola.
Van Bibber built the first frame
house in Montgomery county. or the
first in that part of the State, in
1921.
Nathaniel Boone was the first set
tier from Kentucky, in 1894. His
father followed in 1895. Daniel, as
every one knows, would rather hunt
than eat, and many are the pretty
stories tradition hands down to be
told round the fireplace today down
there, where they still use the old
fireplace and in many instances will
live in log houses. Until recently a
piece of heavy timber still chung to
one of the mOnarchs of the forest.
which was part of the platform used
by the mighty hunter, Boone, to
shoot deer from as they came to
lick the crust of salt formed by the
water as ii flowed from the Springs.
One of the old buildings of hewn
logs covered over with whip-sawed
boards still stands northwest of the
spring about one-half mile. Tho it
has stood the blasts of over 100 win
ters, and time has caused a part of
= the roof to fall in, the straight lines
of the roof are retained showing the
work of the newer, who has long
since gone to his rest--it stands as
testimonial for those sturdy, honest
men.
A road passing the spring has been
Known as trail since 1920. 1t is
called the Boone Lick Trail.
Coming from st. Louis by stage
the cities were: st. Louis to st.
Charles, 20 miles; St. Charles to
Coonts, miles; to Pong Flat ~
miles; to Journeys, Is miles to Camp
Branch, IL miles; then to Williamson
Is miles and on to Loutre Lick or
Minneola, T. miles
Mr.. e. B. Scantlan, who furnished
this information and who owns the
present site of Minneola, says they
have no record back in those early
days of any passengers arriving from
st, Louis in 7-passenger S-cylinder
touring car.