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Chapel Hill, Missouri: Lost Visions of America’S Vanguard On

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Chapel Hill, Missouri: Lost Visions of America’S Vanguard On CHAPEL HILL, MISSOURI: LOST VISIONS OF AMERICA’S VANGUARD ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER 1820 TO 1865 A THESIS IN History Presented to the faculty of University of Kansas City-Missouri in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS HISTORY by ROBERT ANTHONY O’BRYAN-LAWSON B.A., History University Kansas City-Missouri, 2002 B.A., History Secondary Education University Kansas City-Missouri, 2004 Kansas City, Missouri 2014 2014 ROBERT ANTHONY LAWSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii CHAPEL HILL, MISSOURI: LOST VISIONS OF AMERICA’S VANGUARD ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER 1820 TO 1865 Robert Anthony O’Bryan-Lawson, Candidate for Master of Arts Degree History University of Kansas City-Missouri, 2014 ABSTRACT Despite its present circumstance as an extinct Missouri town in the geographic heart of the Midwest, Chapel Hill College was once the vanguard of the burgeoning American empire. In 1852, Chapel Hill College stood as a monument to the triumph of the small slaveholding society that migrated laterally across the Mississippi and settled in western Missouri. The school’s success and inevitable failure is a microcosm of the history of migration into western Missouri that was aided and abetted by government, churches, and men perched atop the pinnacle of power. The history of the region around Chapel Hill has been eclipsed by the rise of Kansas City, Bleeding Kansas, and the Civil War. From the 1840s until the mid 1850s the towns southwest of present day Kansas City thrived along with the trade and travel connected to the Santa Fe and Texas trails. The communities around Chapel Hill, Pleasant Hill, and Lone Jack were flourishing until they were destroyed by the tumult of iii the Border War that merged into the general violence of the Civil War. Several small Missouri towns went up in smoke and along with them went their histories. Chapel Hill is exactly such a town. This thesis examines the factors that created the town and the college on the geographic edge of the American frontier. It argues that settlers to the area had historic and cultural roots that eased their migration. Technological innovations expedited their move west and shaped the way they thought of the future. The society that built the school was supported economically and militarily by government, underpinned by small- scale slavery, and girded by religion. It further argues that the wealth generated from the Santa Fe trade created a local economy that allowed the school to briefly thrive. The school and town were destroyed during the war and have virtually disappeared in the historic record. According to the scant historic record, the school closed amidst a drought and a downturn in the economy. This thesis examines evidence that suggests the swirling political storm over Bleeding Kansas was an additional cause for the closing of the school. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences have examined a thesis entitled “Chapel Hill, Missouri: Lost Visions of America’s Vanguard on the Western Frontier 1820 to 1865,” presented by Robert Anthony O’Bryan-Lawson, candidate for the Master of Arts Degree, and certify that in their opinion it worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Diane Mutti Burke Ph.D., Committee Chair Department of History Matthew Osborn Ph.D. Department of History Christopher Cantwell Ph.D. Department of History v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ viii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 11 2. CHARTER GENERATION .............................................................................. 26 3. PEARL ON A STRING .................................................................................... 50 4. RECIPE FOR WAR ......................................................................................... 80 5. “THIS UNHAPPY STRUGGLE” ....................................................................119 6. CONCLUSION .................................................................................................137 Appendix .............................................................................................................149 A. Photograph permissions .........................................................................150 LIST OF REFERENCES ..........................................................................................151 VITA .........................................................................................................................160 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Chapel Hill College circa 1852 ........................................................................... 15 2. Leon Bottomueller’s lawn circa 1992 ................................................................. 19 3. Stone tools from the Chapel Hill area .................................................................. 28 4. Showing chiseled stone uneven fracture ............................................................. 59 5. Stone block top and front view ........................................................................... 59 6. Archibald Ridings circa 1875 ............................................................................136 7. Artifacts from the school ...................................................................................148 vii ACKNOWLEGEMENTS It has been a long journey to get to this point of finally having the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the many people who have helped me achieve my goal of earning a Master’s of Arts degree in history and writing a Master’s thesis. The opportunity to write about the history that exists quite literally in my back yard has been a wonderful and challenging experience. When I first moved to an old farm property near Lone Jack in 1989, I discovered an old hand dug well on the property. I took an interest in the people that may have built it and local history, but I never dreamed it would lead to years in classrooms, reading hundreds of books and articles, reviewing primary sources, talking to friends and colleagues, and countless hours spent staring at maps or a paragraph of my writing on the computer screen. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my advisory committee. Matthew Osborn and Christopher Cantwell provided early advice, read drafts, and listened to my papers at conferences. Nancy Hoover at the School of Graduate Studies has been immensely patient with me in the formatting process. I am especially thankful for the help and encouragement of my thesis advisor, Diane Mutti Burke, who gave me slack when needed and urged me forward when necessary. Her professionalism and leadership helped me write the thesis I believed I was capable of producing when I began this process. I would be remiss if I did not thank the archivists who were helpful and always interested in my project. David Jackson of the Jackson County Historical Society and viii David Boutros at the State Historical Society of Missouri are both retiring this year and I cannot imagine researching local history without their advice. The archivists at University of Central Missouri, Missouri Valley College, and the Johnson County, Missouri Historical Society in Warrensburg were also very helpful with my research. Local historians Craig Bryan and Chris Cooper have been an invaluable resource and I am thankful for the time they spent with me in conversation and by e-mail Mostly, I would like to thank my diverse community of family and friends who have always encouraged me to enter a graduate program. My good friend and soon to be, Dr., Gregory Jacobs, used reverse psychology and dared me to complete my dream many years ago. Other friends and classmates have helped along the way, Pa Xu, Mark Reyes, Matt Reeves, Lauren Petrillo, Harriet Banks, and the Lam family, are just a few of many. Our employees and regular customers at the Bean Counter Café’ have been supportive and helped buss tables and make coffee on Saturday mornings when I was not there. John Hatfield was kind enough to proofread a final draft, and the guys in my band have been patient while we postponed rehearsals and composing new music for two years. Most of all I am grateful for the love and support of my wife, Sara. She has been very understanding and by my side me every step of the way as I have rolled with the punches these last three years of graduate school. My life as a scholar would be impossible with out her. With the close of the last chapter of this thesis we begin the next chapter of our lives. I am sure it will be even better than the last. ix This work is dedicated to the Jackson-Campbell family, a Missouri farm family with deep roots in Lone Jack, Missouri. Without their kindness, patience, and generosity my pursuit of happiness through learning, teaching, and public service would not be possible. x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Every year during the dog days of western Missouri’s dry summers, a ghostly shape from the past appears on the lawn of Leon Bottomueller’s farmhouse. This apparition takes the form of a fifty by sixty foot beige rectangle
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