ington Railroad were held. There was a crowd of notables present, a multitude of people and immense rejoicing. The city now had two new

railroads in process of construction.

In March the St. Louis Conference of the M. E. Church was held in the city. This was the first religious meeting of such magnitude and character held here.

On June 3, 1369, Smith's Opera House was opened. This was the second opera house opened in the city.

On Saturday, July 25, 1869, the work of changing the guage of the Missouri Pacific Railroad began, and was completed in sixteen hours. The people and the papers during the summer of 1869 began to agitate the proposition to built a Market House and City Hall.

The Congregational Association of Missouri met in the city this year, and already the city was recognized as a location so accessible and so near the center of the State that important bodies chose it for their place of meeting.

During the year there was a large amount of building done. A number of brick store-rooms were completed on Main street; there were a large number of old business houses then on Main street, and Ohio street had begun to rival it. Business houses on Ohio street were located south of Pearl River.

The year was especially remarkable for the large amounts of real estate which was disposed of in the city and surrounding country. Two large monthly real estate papers were published. The Western Real Estate Register, by Jas. M. Byler and Wm. H. H. Hill, afterwards Criminal Judge. These papers were scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land, making known the chief great fact that in 1870 it would be one of the great railroad centers. In addition to the individual real estate firms, the Missouri Land Company was chartered and organized with a capital of $100,000. Albert Parker, recently Postmaster of this city, was General Superintendent, and vast tracts of land on the M., K. & T. R. R. both north and south of Sedalia, were disposed of.

.

In the early part of March, 1869, was planted the germ from which the beautiful portion of the city designated as East Sedalia, has grown. Rev. E. T. Brown laid off his first addition to the city and began the active work of building it up.

A more extended notice of East Sedalia and of Lincolnville will be found in the chapter on "City Government" and "Municipal Matters."

THE LAST DECADE.

The history of the city has now been traced from its foundation to the year 1870. Many minute details have been given in regard to the events of the first ten years, because there were not so many, and because they

are really of the most importance and interest to those who will devote most time in perusing this history. The remaining twelve years of the city's history must be treated in a more general manner, as it is beyond the scope of this work to give any more than a general mention of the leading events and the most important epochs. It would require a volume of large size to contain even a condensed account of all the matters which were of interest in their day, but no longer of interest to the reader of the present.

The various chapters in this book on business enterprises, the city government, the social development, public enterprises, benevolent and miscellaneous societies, the railroads, churches and schools, contain most of the important details of the city's history for the past twelve years—that is from 1870 to 1882.

The histories of the Lexington & St. Louis, the Tebo & Neosho, and M., K. & T. Railroads, their building and completion, fill up the years of 1870-1-2-3.

On March 3, 1871, the matter of building water works in the city came up before the Library Association, which was then the substitute for a Board of Trade. On Oct. 2, 1871, the city ordinance was passed authorizing the issue of $100,000 in city bonds for their construction, and on Oct. 11, 1871, the contract for digging ditches for the mains was given to Russell & Chaney.

The machinery was received in August, 1872, and in September, 1872, the first test of the machinery was made. On Jan. 1, 1873, the works were in full operation, and three miles of main pipe and five miles of street pipe were furnishing the water supply to the city. In 1870, in the spring, two great fires occurred, one on the east side of Ohio and the other on the south side of Main, east of Ohio.

The first Presbyterian Church was built the same year; also the palatial residences of Gen. Geo. R. Smith, Col. A. D. Jaynes, Cyrus Newkirk and Albert Parker, on Broadway. The Southern M. E. Church on Third and Massachusetts, and fifteen brick store rooms on Main and Ohio were erected.

The people were agitated over the question of locating the State Normal School in the city.

July 23, 1871, the first excursion train ran to Clinton, over the M., K. & T. Railroad.

The Fair Association purchased the ground now known as Sicher's Park, gave a fair and distributed $7,000 in premiums.

The Missouri Pacific freight depot was moved to its present location, and the Transfer Co. organized.

In 1871 the Daily Democrat was first issued as a daily, January 17;

five buildings were consumed by fire on Main, between Osage and Kentucky; the Library Association was organized, and the Franklin School built. The Ilgen House and first M., K. & T. shops were erected.

In 1872 the erection of the Missouri Pacific Round House and shops began, and the Lex. &. St. L. R. R. was about completed, and the Union Depot built.

In 1873 small pox raged in the city, and there were sixty cases, but only eight deaths; the first excursion train was run on the northeast extension of the M., K. & T.; the first building association was organized, and the city had a population of over seven thousand.

In 1874 the Court House was moved to White's Hall; the Farmer's Mill was started; the city limits were extended so as to include East Sedalia; Rev. E. T. Brown built the East Sedalia Baptist Church; the Catholic Church was erected; October 23, the corner stone of the City Hall was laid, and the building completed before the end of the year.

In 1874-5 there was a large amount of building done, and in 1875 the Street R. R. Co. was organized, but no work done.

The darkest days in the history of Sedalia were during the year 1877. In constructing the water works and making other improvements it had incurred a bonded indebtedness of $265,000 at ten per cent interest, making a total annual interest of $26,500. To enable the city to meet this heavy demand, property had been assessed very high, and in many instances more than its actual value. The charter limited the levy of taxes to $2.00 on every $100. The new State Constitution which took effect in 1875, prohibited cities assessing property at a higher valuation than it was assessed for State and County purposes. By this provision the total valuation of all the property in the city was reduced to a little less than $1,400,000, on which a levy of two per cent would not, (even if all were collected), produce more money than was neeessary to pay the interest on this large debt, and leave nothing for ordinary expenses. Of course default was made in the payment of interest. Dr. Clark was mayor, and Dr. T. T. Major, chairman of the committee on ways and means, and they were doing everything possible to protect the credit of the city. There was no disposition to repudiate, but it was simply a matter of inability to pay, and all leakages were stopped and expenses reduced, but to no purpose. Interest was accumulating every day, and the bondholders becoming clamorous. The citizens were equally as much distressed over the condition of the finances as the officers. Many consultations were had over it. In this crisis Mr. O. A. Crandall came forward and volunteered his services to go east where the principal part of the bonds were held, and meet the creditors and make some arrangement for saving the credit of the city. His offer was gladly accepted, and he started on his mission. He met the creditors at Boston, explained the situation, and soon arranged with them