On the Sligo Branch of the SLSF Salem Branch was the S&E RR town of East End.

Discussion in 'Other Directly Related Roads' started by mountaincreekar, Feb 8, 2020.

  1. The Sligo Furnace Company Railroad Dept. 1881 - 1901 and their Sligo & Eastern Railroad, Inc 1902 - 1929 both had track rights on the Salem Branch of the St. Louis Salem & Little Rock, then became the Frisco railway, because the Sligo Company had mines and forest lands along the Salem Branch and its other branches; as well along the main line around Cuba.
    ( The St. Louis Salem & Little Rock, and then became the Frisco, also had track rights into Sligo areas and the yards of the furnace complex).

    Many files refer to East End and was prior known as Rulon or Roulon.
    Perhaps it was named Rulon or Roulon was prior to the Sligo Furnace Company in 1880. Or, perhaps the Sligo Furnace Company or its Sligo & Eastern Railroad first named that location as Rulon or Roulon. Then in 1912, the employees may have, using slang, named the site as East End,.... and that name stuck?

    Researching the topic at the State of Missouri Historical Library at Rolla,
    the library's historian read the file of R0172, East End, about Rulon or Roulon.
    She, Carole Goggin copied it for me. ( She only did such research because frisco.org was also a historical society and I lived in another state).
    Here is what she and I learned about East End.


    From Carole, at smo-hs Rolla Library:

    [She did voluntary research for me].

    ref;
    smo-hs file R0172 Brand, Elizie E. “the History of East End and the Community”
    no date, one folder photocopies.


    CHAPTER 1 Early Settlement

    “Original in district of Ste. Genevieve. In 1812 the portion of Ste. Genevieve county around the territory of Mine a Breton ( to become Potosi) was set apart by the territorial legislature as Washington County in which East End was included. Later this section was separated from Washington and called Iron Co.”

    Pg 2
    - Francis Azar dit Breton in 1775
    - Moses Austin in 1798
    -East End is distance of 30 miles from this settlement….
    -earliest settlers c1807 – Belleview Valley

    Pg 3 Adams family from NC

    Pg 5
    The names first applied to this community was Goodwater and Goodland.
    Goodwater is on the north of what is highway 32 and Goodland is on the south.

    Pg 6
    First recorded abstract of Title to land was in 1854-to Darlson S. Love ….
    Although others settled here earlier.

    Naming hills and hollows after early settlers

    Pg 7- CHAPTER 2-
    Later Settlements
    The Love family

    Pg 10- Civil War stories.
    Immigration to the west.. wagon trains…camped along the river bank at Goodwater, - called Camping Grounds

    Pg 11
    Belleview, then known as Cross Roads.
    1913 Shorty Williams kept Blacksmith shop
    1914 Joe Martin established a store at East End.
    1915 John Irving established a store

    Pg 13
    Chapter 3 –schools
    Goodwater school (student Dr. E.L. Anderson) – to Los Angeles and is Jackie Coogan’s doctor (not related but pretty neat. Hope you’re over 50 to remember him!)

    Pg 15
    Goodwater school teachers – 1878 - 1925
    First road known as “Old State Highway and the Iron Mountain and Salem Road”

    Pg 16
    Early Post offices: Foot, Burgandy, Goodwater and Goodland
    Church at Goodland - 100 years old (no date on this writing)

    Pg 17
    1912 first Railroad reached East End. This was the East End of Sligo and Eastern Railroad. That is the reason why the community was named East End (formerly Rulon or Roulon).
    1929 S&E Railroad discontinued – not enough timber to make profitable.
    ~~~~
    From smo,hs'. our website
    Iron County Place names, 1928-1945 https://shsmo.org/collections/manuscripts/ramsay/iron

    Place name: Adams Creek
    Description: Rises two miles east of East End to form the head waters of the Middle Fork of Black River. Named for an early ADAMS family in the vicinity. (E.E. Brand; B.F. Crocker; O.A. Crocker)
    Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

    Place name: Brooks Creek
    Description: Rises at East End and flows into Middle Fork of Black River at Goodland. Named for family BROOKS who lived on its banks. (E.E. Brand; B.F. Crocker; O.A. Crocker)
    Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

    Place name: Abbott Branch
    Description: Rises four miles east of East End and flows into Courtois Creek at Good Water. Named for a landowner, Robert Abbott. (E.E. Brand; B.F. Crocker; O.A. Crocker; W.L. Scoggin)
    Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

    Place name: Ben Brooks Iron Bank
    Description: One and a half miles east of East End. Named for a man living there. (E.E. Brand; B.F. Crocker; O.A. Crocker) (Karl Brand's relative?}
    Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

    Place name: Brooks Creek
    Description: Rises at East End and flows into Middle Fork of Black River at Goodland. Named for a family who lived on its banks. (E.E. Brand; B.F. Crocker; O.A. Crocker)
    Source: Zimmer, Gertrude M. "Place Names Of Five Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1944.

    I saw the blurb on Iron Co web-page about Rulon or Roulon,
    but there is nothing to back that up. I would suggest you go closer to the source.

    Library, historical society, genea society in Washington County, Iron, or Dent County. Wash Co still has their EARLY records. Iron county folks (court house) are pretty nice to talk with.
    I know nothing about Dent.

    Best luck!

    Carole, at smo-hs Rolla Library



    From: Charles Petit <mountaincreekar@yahoo.com>
    Sent: Thursday, February 6, 2020 4:07 PM
    To: Goggin, Carole J. <goggincj@shsmo.org>

    Cc: Pat William Moreland <mpm7222002@yahoo.com>; Jesse Henry <jessehenry15@gmail.com>

    Subject: Re: East End, MO file at the Rolla Library of MO Historical Society

    Carole, smo-hs Rolla Li bray,
    This is the small file: “R172 History of East End and the Community” no date – written by Eliza e. Brand.

    Carole, would you look in the file and see if the prior name of East End, MO was Rulon or Roulon?
    without the normal fee.

    I am a self-appointed historian on frisco.org, the St. Louis - San Francisco Railroad historical society.
    For our Library (Forums and Achieves @ frisco.org) the name East End ( prior Rulon or Roulon) would be an interesting to have on file.

    Rulon or Roulon was the east end ( became East End, MO) of the Sligo & Eastern Railroad, a branch named off of the Salem Branch of the FRISCO (SLSF) railroad.
    Thank you,

    Charles Petit


    Carole, at smo-hs Rolla Library;

    On Thursday, February 6, 2020, 11:05:50 AM CST, Goggin, Carole J. <goggincj@shsmo.org> wrote:
    Charles,
    I just found a collection in the office “R172 History of East End and the Community” no date – written by Eliza e. Brand.
    Had you seen that collection?

    Carole, smo-hs Rolla Library


    From: Goggin, Carole J.
    Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 11:45 AM
    To: 'mountaincreekar@yahoo.com' <mountaincreekar@yahoo.com>
    Subject: East End

    Hi Charles,
    I just spoke with one of our smo-hs “railroader” and he suggested you contact the Iron County Historical Society. They just had someone, 8 days ago, who gave a presentation on that area.
    (I think that is what he said), and he felt the Presenter may have done a thorough research before giving his presentation. [ I found out later that much of David Dillard's presentation included the Iron Mountain Railroad. David is now writing a book ].
    Iron County Historical Society:
    Address: 13700 MO-21, Arcadia, MO 63621
    Open⋅ Closes 4 PM
    Phone: (573) 546-3513

    Carole Goggin.


    State Historical Society of Missouri
    400 W. 14th Street, G3 Curtis Laws Wilson Library
    Missouri University of Science & Technology
    Rolla, MO 65409 573-341-4440

    The smo-hs libraries have many more files about the state's railroads and those areas within Missouri where the railroads operated. The Missouri members of frisco.org can do research at those locations, particularly at Rolla. At the Missouri University in St. Louis library now includes the special collection of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library, witch stands today as one of North America’s largest and finest railroad history collections.
    Carole Goggin

     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
  2. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Thanks Charles. Appreciate all the research you have done on the Sligo Iron Works and the railroads that supported it in that part of the Ozarks - a beautiful, rustic part of mid-Missouri, also Frisco Country - Eastern Division ..... Cuba, Steelville, Newburg et al. As we discussed some time ago, my family in the 1950's-early 1960's spent two or more long weekends each summer at the Dillard Mill Lodge, outside of Dillard, Mo, fishing, swimming, hiking and exploring the countryside - and fighting chiggers! That included several trips to Sligo to visit the long abandoned site of the Sligo Iron Works. I became fascinated by all of this. Still have a piece of "Sligo slag" from one of the slag piles, but more chiggers! Always wanted to learn more about the history of the area, and you have provided more info to study. Neat!
    FYI, Charles and I are fellow Monsanto alumni. RIP MTC!
    Ken
     
  3. I found a picture of one of the Sligo Furnace and S&E RR buck houses. Hope to find more. Will post such soon.
     
    Ozarktraveler likes this.
  4. Found another photo of the impressive Sligo Furnace, 1906 A postcard. Picture attached.

    [​IMG]

    Shows some rails in a yard. Short cars may be for charcoal? The other car may be for ore to feed the furnace? The postcard shows a part of the Furnace and Stock Houses.

    I am puzzled by the postcard statement: sligo-mo-furnace-close.-early [1906 stamp intact].
    In 1906 was their first Shay locomotive. Furnace blow out ~ 1921. Tracks were removed about 1929 - 1930 on the main line. Likely earlier in the mid 1920's the rails were removal around the furnace yard.

    The furnace company in 1880 was named Sligo after the parent company named after the Sligo forges near Pittsburg, PA.

    As the population increased 1881 + the company began to build homes for the workers which they rented for $1 or $2 per month, depending on the size of the house. The population grew to over 1,000 people in the early days 1881 +. At the height of the furnace operation over 3,000 people worked in the Sligo community at ~1920. When they closing down the railway in 1929, the company then allow the remaining employees to stay with no rent. Just a few folks were remaining in 1934 when the company closed their financial books for all their companies.

    The spur jct. at the mainline of the St. L Salem & Little Rock Railroad was name Sligo Jct. 1880. The Jct.'s name was changed in 1898 to Goltra Jct. when Edward F. Goltra bought the company. The third owner was the American Car and Foundry when Mr. Goltra became their President. Edward died in 192o just before the furnace blow out.

    Wagons hauled ore from the mines to points along the St. Louis, Salem and Little Rock Railway. Sligo’s early iron ore came first came from mines in Dent, Crawford and Phelps counties, including those at Simmons Hill, Cherry Valley, Pomeroy, Clinton, Hawkins Bank, Plank, Stephens, Orchard, DeCamp, Riverside Mine and others. Wagons hauled ore from the mines to points along the St. Louis, Salem and Little Rock Railway. As time went on, some ore and chunk locomotive coal came from other states.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
    Ozarktraveler likes this.
  5. palallin

    palallin Member

    That is an IMPRESSIVE operation. I had always visualized it as being much smaller in scope.
     
  6. Hi Steve,
    You can view another impressive Sligo Furnace picture by going to


    MISSOURI TIMES
    https://shsmo.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/missouri-times/2009november.pdf
    and scroll down to page 10 where there is a nice picture Sligo furnace. There also gives an article to read.
    Sligo-Furnace-picture.pdf . [may need PDF/Adobe Acrobat]

    SligoPicture1908.jpg without the magazine article.

    Here is another pic I just found;
    SLIGO-FURNACE-RESIDENTS-AT-THE-FURNACE-COME-TO WATCH-SPARKS&FIRE.jpg

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Steve,
    I have more smo-hs files about Sligo
    from the smo-hs library in Rolla..

    If your interested, start a new conversation to me and also address in meteor9102009 Ken and wpmoreland Pat. There I can post those other files found at smo-hs library.

    Charles
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Sep 4, 2020
  7. At the time of the Sligo & Eastern Railroad came to Dillard ~ 1890.

    Dillard Mill History Walking Path: [​IMG]
    Crawford County; Location of marker gravel path at edge of mill pond, off Old Dillard Mill Rd., Dillard Mill State Historic Site

    Picture of school children at the dam at Dillard Mill at the time of the S&E RR ca ~1900 + -
    [​IMG]
    Many of their fathers worked on the Sligo & Eastern Railroad or were lumber-jacks (or tie-jacks) cutting trees to make cord-wood, lumber, hewed logs and railroad ties. That decreed after the furnace blow out 1921, but lasted til 1929.

    Dillard School house; The first public school in Dillard was located in that vicinity.
    Pictured as it appeared in 1898, it had one-room, frame school that washed away during a flood.
    [​IMG]


    The second school was completed in 1908. It was relocated north of the area and was later destroyed by fire.
    That was four years before the railway expanded to go onward to Viburnum.


    A third stone school burned in 1938 and was replaced by another built under the public Works Progress Administration (WPA)
    during the Great Depression. The building was made of stone, the type called Ozark giraffe rock. That served the area of Dillard until consolidation with the Cherryville School, ten mile away. That building still stands today and can be seen from the roadway leading to Dillard Mill State Historic Site.

    Wisdom's Mill: About 170 feet on path toward Dillard Mill, Francis Wisdom built a water-powered gristmill in the 1850s.
    Very little is known about it's appearance or how it operated except it's dam was frequently the backdrop for photographers.

    In 1881, the mill was purchased by Joseph Dillard Cottrell. The hamlet of Dillard was named after "Dill Cottrell,"
    as he was known locally. A village developed around the mill -- and was little other commercial business there.

    In 1895 the mill burned. By the time the businesses in Dillard had already begun shifting a mile north to relocate near the Sligo and Eastern Railroad right away. Somewhat after 1900, Emil Mischke, using timbers salvaged from Wisdom's Mill, built the mill still
    stand as Dillard Millat the State Historic Site (it is often called Mischke's mill by local residents). Lester Klemme was the last
    to operate the mill commercially. When it closed in 1956, the mill was producing cattle feed.
    [​IMG]

    In about 1974 my brother-in-law caught a 4 lb smallmouth bass at the dam overflow's pool.
     

    Attached Files:

    Ozarktraveler likes this.
  8. meteor910

    meteor910 2009 Engineer of the Year Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Looks like the original Dillard mill dam (pic with the school children) was of timber construction. Stone and concrete now for the last many, many years. The dam had a concrete top cap with a wide inch or so deep groove in it that you would slide one foot in as you walked across the dam to stabilize yourself. Was kind of scary! The Huzzah has a pretty good flow rate - usually about two inches of water flowing over the top of the dam, plus a healthy flow in a spillway to the right of the dam, plus a constant flow through the mill wheel raceway. Cool place!

    The 1974 pic of the Dillard Mill shows the Huzzah side of the mill clearly. My friend Lloyd Taylor and I climbed up to the top floor once (~1957/58) while the mill was open and operating. Those two top floor windows provided a spectacular view of the Huzzah above the dam, the dam itself, and the downstream mill pond. We couldn't enjoy the view very long, however, as the top floor of the mill was full of wasp nests, in particular close to the windows. Lloyd and I both got stung several times on the face and neck.

    Fishing was great on the other side from the mill, where the water was 18 feet deep we were told, as the dam overflow washed out a deep hole beneath the dam.

    Wish the Sligo & Eastern would have still been running when we stayed at the Old Mill Lodge there (cabin we always stayed in was a short walk behind the mill in the picture). The first few years we went down there (~1952+), the ROW through Dillard heading to the crossing bridge over the Huzzah was still visible. Alas no longer!

    Great memories. Those of you in the area should take a nice day trip for a visit. It is now a Missouri Historical site. The ride down and back included many views of the Frisco. Usually when we were coming back home to StL, we would get to see The Meteor, #9, heading down to Springfield and Oklahoma, usually around Sullivan. Alas, no more!

    K
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2020
    Ozarktraveler likes this.
  9. https://www.google.com/books/editio...,+page+1242,+1906&pg=PR26&printsec=frontcover

    From Railway Age publication in 1906, pages 942 & 1242:
    Read on http://books.google.com/books?id=0Z9MAA ... navlinks_s

    pages 942, 1906
    Clearly Sligo Furnace owns Sligo & Eastern Railroad Inc. 1902, which is based on hauled wood for charcoal production to the furnace.

    1906 B. D. Reilly of Springfield MO 1906 was awarded the contract to extend the road from Dillard for 18 miles to timber & mineral region. Built for Sligo Furnace Company of St. Louis. [ 18 miles would be to Rulon (Roulon). [ to be renamed to East End later after arriving ].

    page 1242, 1906
    C. L. Rodgers V.P. & General Manager in St. Louis of Sligo Dent County said;

    B. D. Reilly of Springfield MO 1906 was awarded the contract to extend the road from Dillard
    for 10 miles to Bixby in Iron County for the Furnace Company. To be ready Dec. 1, 1906.

    Clearly most other references say that the extension was in 1912. Meaning that the engineering to do the project started in or after 1906. The standing large timber was getting thin soon after 1906 in the hills from East Prong Crooked Creek to Dillard, ~ 11 miles from Sligo to Dillard.

    The trackage was reduced from 18 to 10 miles via this contract above with B. D. Reilly. The Sligo Furnace Company was starting another company of the Iron County Central Railroad involving others in Iron County who own large timber tracts of land and with other investors. They would be the lessor to the Sligo & Eastern RR Inc. the operator who Sligo Furnace Company was the major investor of that also.

    The about 6 miles of tracks Bixby to East End would be paid for by the Iron County Central; in addition 4 more miles for the railyards in Viburnum and
    other spurs elsewhere. 1906, Perhaps raising enough investors delayed the construction until it was completed in ~1912. And/Or, the completion 1912 was because the timber to Dillard and otherwhere in Dent County provided enough timber to later delay spending by the Iron County Railroad.
     
  10. Dedicated to meteor910 Ken Wulfert who often traveled to the area of the Sligo & Eastern and Dillard.

    [​IMG]

    Near Dillard the Sligo and Eastern. Some trains moved logs, most others cut cordwood, some ore, freight using Frisco boxcars, etc. Normally local passengers and Sligo Furnace management & workers traveled within the three S&E cabooses. When the rails were kept in best condition sometimes they use the Sligo passenger car since train speeds were only ~ 12 miles per hour. Sligo passenger car was typically was for St. Louis Sligo and Frisco executives
    to fish in the Huzzah Creek at Dillard. They also fished on the Meramec.

    Sligo and Eastern RR was less than 2 miles near Dillard Mill, MO. When it arrived the community at Dillard Mill moved to areas of the Sligo & Eastern. After about 1868 Dillard Mill sold their external sales via the S&E RR via the side door cargo caboose.
    [​IMG]

    meteor910 Where Ken Wulfert looked out the windows when the mill was still operating.
    A video when the mill was operating:
    [​IMG]
    State of Missouri government: https://boa247.com/dillard-mill-state-historic-site
    Tours: 573-244-3120 $5.oo
    In the same area was Howes Mills. They transported their external sales via the Salem Branch railway. Howes Mill, Howe's Hill "was named for Thomas Howe, native Pennsylvanian, who moved to Jes Hill and 0perated a grist mill on the Little Huzza Creek.

    [​IMG]
    Sligo village citizens would often go down to the furnace to see sparks and fire when the company was pouring molten iron. Later in the Sligo's history, they could had radios, but the reception was often poor. Sligo was place for card games.

    When the Shay locomotives where not running during evenings some the Sligo village kids would play in the locomotives' cabs.

    At it's peak, Sligo had about 70 charcoal kilns. Charcoal fed the furnace and local heating within town's structures. After the ~ 1921 furnace blow-out, charcoal became a product to sell externally, distributed by the Frisco. Sligo Company also had other products besides iron ore. The Sligo Company had other large plots of land all over Dent and Crawford Counties (for mining and forest products). They made all the products they could think of.
    [​IMG]
    When the cutting area were farther from the Sligo & Eastern and the Salem Branch, sometimes they used wagons to move logs and ore to the various sawmills set up along along the tracts. The largest saw was at Sligo as lumber became one of their products.

    On the cutting areas they used mule teams to move and load the logs and ore.
    Also along the Salem Branch in the early days of Sligo Railroad Department they had over 700 mules. As steam equipment became more so, the numbers of mules were reduced to under 200.

    Sligo had a lot of barns, live stock, chickens and farms in the Crooked Creek valley to feed the town. Excesses we sold externally. Everyone in Sligo worked including the women & teenagers.

    [​IMG]

    Here is a logging camp near at the Dillard area. Railyards were also at Viburnum after 1912. Also there was an extremely large cordwood storage area to minimize the number of trains when needed and the number of lumberjacks and tie-jackets varied over various periods. A number of sources say that there was at one time a spur from Bixby to Buick [shown on one map and on records of Sligo 's owned and contracted stores] Buick was named for the first automobile that arrived there.

    [​IMG]
    book at shsmo at Rolla Historial Library.
    The closing of the Sligo, the last large furnace in the interior.
    missouri historical review https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/api/collection/mhr/id/17907/download

    Other Dillard mill & Sligo & Eastern pictures:
    - https://millpictures.com/mills.php?millid=1205
    - Other mills in the area of the Salem Branch of the Frisco https://millpictures.com/mills
    - https://photos.visualjourney.com/dillardmill/h46F63B8#h23a5550
    - Maps of the area; https://www.mapquest.com/us/missouri/dillard-mill-state-historic-site-304474653

    Dillard Mills looks like it had a vertical turbine similar to Wilson's Mill at Wesco & near Howes both on the Salem Branch of the Frisco. In pictures there was not ever seen a water wheel. Vertical turbines were for low volume water flow. The mill there before the Dillard Mill, little is known about it except for it's dates and owner.
    [​IMG]

    Search on frisco.org for other pictures of the Sligo & Eastern, the Salem Branch,
    the area's locomotives, trains, bridges, Salem Branch towns & depots and of
    the Sligo Furnace.

    ==
     
    Ozarktraveler likes this.
  11. Other Sligo & S&E Histories:

    Remembering the S&E and Sligo Furnace when the final demolishes were near complete in 1930-31. [The S&E operated til 1929 even after the furnace blow-out ~1921. It helped to pay for Sligo business& legal costs and for ACF debts]. [All Sligo companies finance books & their Inc s of MO were closed in 1934].
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Refer to thread; Sligo & Eastern
     
  12. More old pics;

    First post office nearby Dillard Mill.
    [​IMG]

    Owners of Dillard Mill. Cletis and Marie Cottrell
    [​IMG]
     

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