|
The Belton Historical
Society has History Books for sale - $15.00.
Available at the Belton Chamber of
Commerce, Dryden Drugs and
The Star-Herald.
The First Hundred Years, Second Edition - 2005
Containing recaps of the 70's, 80's, 90's and the first half of 2005.
THE HISTORY OF BELTON, MISSOURI
Indians
Shawnee Indians lived and owned land four miles west of Belton, just across the
Missouri - Kansas border, on what was know as the Black Bob Reservation. Located
in the southern part of Johnson County, Kansas, it was deeded to the Shawnees in
the Treaty of May 10, 1844. Because of harassment from both sides at the
beginning of the Civil War, the Shawnees abandoned their lands and settled in
Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. At the end of the war they found their lands in
Kansas had been occupied by whites and most Indians had to return to Indian
Territory empty-handed.
First Trading Center
High Blue, two miles west of Belton on 58 Highway, was the community's first
trading center. It is the highest point between Springfield and the Liberty
Memorial hill in Kansas City, MO., about 1,200 feet above sea level. Belton is
located on a ridge reaching to Lee's Summit. All water north of Main Street
flows into the Little Blue River east of Kansas City. All water flowing south of
Main Street goes to the Grand River and then the Osage River, finally emptying
into the Missouri River, 10 miles east of Jefferson City.
Order No. 11
Following the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas in 1863 by Quantrill's Raiders during
the Civil War, the Union Commander in Kansas City, Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing,
issued the infamous Order No. 11. It decreed the depopulation within 15 days of
an area 30 miles wide and 100 miles long south of the Missouri River on the
western border of Missouri. The order affected 20,000 persons who had to salvage
what they could of clothing, personal belongings and livestock, to make a hasty
move. Plundering and devastation followed. Union soldiers confiscated horses and
wagons. Looting was rampant and torches were set to fields and homes. The area
came to be known as the "Burnt District" and for 18 months was largely
uninhabited.
Carry A. Nation
When Carry started swinging her hatchet across Kansas, the anti-saloon movement
was a mere weakling. She transformed it into a militant giant that eventually
put the 18th Amendment into the Constitution. Born in Kentucky in November 1846,
she and her family moved to a farm east of Peculiar, MO. in 1855. The family
moved to Texas during the Civil War. On their way back after the war they
crossed the Pea Ridge battlefield in Arkansas shortly after that battle. All the
bedding and pillows they could spare were given to the wounded.
In 1867 Carry married Dr. Charles Gloyd, who became an incurable drunkard and died within a couple of years. She married David Nation in 1877. He was a lawyer, editor and self-styled minister of the Christian Church. That marriage ended in divorce in 1901.
The "cyclone in petticoats" launched her campaign against tobacco and liquor from Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Kansas voters in 1880 outlawed saloons. Since they were illegal, Carry thought she could destroy the property and not be sued for damages. Her 10 year crusade was filled with fury and personal sacrifice. She was jailed at least 33 times, egged, stoned, beaten and on at least one occasion hit over the head with a chair. Carry A. Nation died on June 9, 1911 in Leavenworth, Kansas. She was brought to Belton for burial in the family plot next to her parents. In 1991 the Belton Historical Society purchased an antique hearse reported to be the one which brought Carry to Belton. It is on display in a carriage house located next to the Old City Hall, 512 Main St. Belton, Missouri.
The Dalton Gang
The Dalton farm southwest of Belton was purchased by the father in 1866, after
coming here from Kentucky. Of 15 children born to the couple, 13 survived. It
was the younger sons who became outlaws. The parents were devout people and the
mother often gathered her brood about the piano to sing religious hymns.
After several financial setbacks, the Daltons moved to Coffeyville, Kansas in 1882. It is claimed that because of the hard times, some of the boys first became lawmen, then turned to crime. Jesse James had been killed in 1882 and Cole Younger was in prison before the Daltons took up their lives as outlaws. It lasted just 18 months. After serving 14 years in prison, Emmett Dalton was paroled in 1907. He wrote a book and publicized it by traveling about the country. One of his stops was Belton in 1931.
Dale Carnegie
For some 45 years, Dale Carnegie was a frequent visitor to Belton and called it
his hometown. Born in Maryville, MO., in November, 1888, he got his start as a
business manager for Lowell Thomas in 1919. He spent several years traveling in
Europe, Africa and the Arctic.
Carnegie then started teaching public speaking, writing his own texts. He had a radio program and a syndicated column which appeared in 71 newspapers. His formulas for success wee broadened to include all phases of human relations. His most famous book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People," was published in 1936. Carnegie changed the spelling of his name because friends in the east constantly misspelled it and Carnegie said he wanted to spare them the embarrassment of repeated corrections.
His parents, Elizabeth and J.W. Carnagey, bought a farm on the outskirts of Belton in 1910. The house still stands today on Carnegie Street just west of the railroad tracks. Mrs. Carnagey was a member of the Methodist Church and active in its Missionary Society. She organized Belton's first Sunday School class. Dale Carnegie married in 1940 and died in 1955. He and his parents are buried in the Belton Cemetery.
Harry S. Truman
The former President lived for a short time as a child on a farm four and
one-half miles southeast of Belton. His brother, Vivian, was born there in
1886. The morticed and pegged beams which frame the museum foyer were a
part of the barn on the property.
It is however, Truman's Masonic association with Belton that is more well known. He petitioned for membership in Belton Lodge #450 in 1908 and was raised to Sublime Degree of Master Mason in 1909. The small altar on display in the Truman exhibit is believed to be the one used at his initiation. He took part in the present Belton Masonic Lodge building groundbreaking and dedication in 1963 and 1964 respectively. Included in the museum display is a presidential plaque donated by a member of the Truman family.
Visit the Belton
Missouri Museum of History
512 Main Street, Belton, Missouri
Open Tues., & Thurs., 1-4 p.m., Sat., 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Closed January & February
816.331.8044 or 331.2255
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
