W. B. Moore
To Mr. Moore we are indebted for the history of Republic which appears in this issue. He is, himself, one of the oldest residents. As he says, he “was here before the town was.” and what he has written was taken from, his personal observation of the town.
The above picture along with the following article was printed in The Republic Monitor May 13 1920.
HISTORY
Republic is a thriving town on the Frisco Railroad, fourteen miles southwest of Springfield, in Greene County, Missouri
In the year 1870, where the town of Republic now stands, was a great farming country and large fields of wheat, oats, and corn, together with orchards and gardens, made a delightful place for a home, and dotted here and there were homes, were fathers and mothers were rearing up families of children.
With the coming of the railroad came the need of a station. The location was selected, the station built and it was called Republic, and it began to grow. Through the energetic efforts of the people of the country, and others who moved into our midst, it has pushed steadily forward until today its population is about 1400; and Republic township, which is four miles east and west, and seven miles north and south,except the extreme northeast section which includes the town, adds about six hundred more, making about 2000 inhaitants.
Republic now has three general dry goods stores, five grocery stores, two general hardware stores, three seed and feed stores, three blacksmith’s shops, three resturants, one bakery, one furniture store, with various notions stores to meet the wants of the people. It has two flouring mills, one of which has a capacity of 800 barrels per day, employing from 15 to 30 hands. They also have connected with them a corn mill, which turns out a great deal of meal and feed for both man and beast.
There are three churches, the Methodist, Baptist, and Christian, with a membership which runs into the hundreds. Each has an evergreen Sunday School, with a total enrollment of almost a thousand.
Republic has been noted for the interest she has taken in public school work. She now has a pubic school building where they employ eight teachers, including four years of High School work. The enrollment is between 400 and 500 pupils. It stands approved by the State Superintendent and is classed as a Number 1 school; but we have outgrown the present building, and expect during the coming year to erect a $25,000.00 High School building. Almost the entire community stands behind this enterprise as was shown by the vote to issue $17,000 in bonds with but few dissenting votes. We expect to make up the remainder by donations of which perhaps more than one-half has already been subscribed. The school board has purchased five acres of land just east of Anderson Park, upon which to build.
We grow some of the best fruit and berries here that can be grown anywhere. Our tomatoes are hard to beat and factories here are able to take care of them, and the value of the output each year is a snug little sum. Our stawberries are simply fine. We have an association here and through the management of Dr. E. L. Beal and the Ozark Fruit Association they return to the growers a sum reaching away up into the thousands.
Our apple crop last year was immense and brought the growers an amount reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. One item of interest we will mention. Dr Beal sold the fruit of 16 acres of apple orchard last year for thirty-two thousands dollars, perhaps the largest sum ever received for one corp of apples on that amount of land. The variety was the York Imperial. We also have peaches, plums, cherries, besides a number of kinds of berries.
Republic has been called “The Daddy of Good Roads.” Early in the history of good roads building, when a general meeting of good roads enthusiasts was called in Springfield, the Republic delegation appeared in overalls, carring picks and shovels, and headed by a brass band. We have a rock road running south to the county line of Christian County, one west to the county line of Lawrence County, two or three running north and east to Bois D’Arc and Springfield.
We have good train service, having a passenger train each way both morning and evening, and freight trains often enough both to send out our surplus and import such things as we need. Our fruits, berries, poultry, hogs, sheep, cattle, flour, feed, etc., that are shipped out would amount to many trainlaods each year.
There are two central offices to send out and receive our messages by telephone, which brings us in close touch with a part of the world. We have also good telegraph service.
H. B. Ingler is our worthy post master, who hands out to us that which comes to us by mail and through the papers we receive the news form hundreds of miles from us in a few hours after it happens.
Republic has four doctors and two dentists to assist us in our aches and ills to which the human frame is subject.
We have also the printing office which not only gives us the Monitor, a weekly paper that gives us the news up-to-date, but is ready for any work in the way of advertisement that we so much need.
