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James Shepherd and his
young bride disembarked from
a steamboat at Fort Osage,
now Sibley, in 1825. They
had several wagons and teams
and a number of negro
slaves. The Shepherds
proceeded into the
wilderness along the Osage
Trace or trail to the
Southwest. Mr. Shepherd had
heard of the Blue Country in
the Osage reservation. He
had been informed that the
Indian title to the Blue
Country had been
extinguished by treaty and
that the country would be
thrown open to settlement in
a short time. His purpose
was to be on the ground in
advance of the rush, in
order to secure a choice
location for his frontier
home. The Osage Indian
Trace from Sibley across the
country to the land of their
kinsmen, the Kaws, passed
through the present site of
Independence. Levi Potts of
Blue Springs (deceased since
this was written), one of
the oldest settlers in the
country, recalls the Osage
trace and says it crossed
the public square where the
county court house stands.
He says it was a bridle path
worn down a few inches and
covered with dust. Little
Indian boys, and white boys
also, used to play in the
dust of the old trace on the
Court House square.
Mr. Shepherd's train of
wagons arrived one evening
at the public spring on the
east side of Independence,
near the municipal Electric
Light plant of the present
day. The spring was a
famous camping place for
Indians and for all
travelers who ventured into
the wilderness. Mr.
Shepherd was now in the Blue
Country, the rich Osage
Country -- practically the
very center of it; known
also as the "Garden of
Missouri." He liked the
place and decided to stay
there. The land west of the
spring was elevated and
covered with heavy forest
trees, regarded as an
indication of a rich and
productive soil. He
directed his negroes to fell
trees and build a log house
near the spring. He
understood very well that he
was an intruder, but time
would give him the right to
settle here and he would
enter the land from the
government as soon as a land
office for the purpose
should be opened. Other
settlers came into the
neighborhood on the same
business that brought Mr.
Shepherd. One of these was
John Young who selected a
beautiful site immediately
southeast of Independence, a
mile from Mr. Shepherd's
location. Neighbors were
not expected or desired to
get any nearer each other
than the distance separating
Shepherd and Young.
When the judges of the new
County Court met at the home
of John Young, commissioners
had been appointed to locate
the seat of justice for the
new county. The
commissioners rode about
over the county for several
days hunting a suitable
site; they finally drew
rein in the woods west of
Shepherd's house and seating
themselves on the fallen
trunk of a tree decided that
here was the best location
they had seen. Jacob Gregg,
the surveyor of the party,
called attention to the fact
that the location was not at
all near the center of the
county, as required by law.
The commissioners, however,
argued that the site
selected was in the center
of the wooded part of the
county and therefore met
every legal requirement.
The prairie part of the
county was regarded as
worthless and would never be
settled. These
commissioners were wise and
patriotic men and no
aspersion should be cast
upon their work, for they
were right, viewing the
situation from their
standpoint. They were
selecting a county seat for
their day and generation.
They have never been charged
with making a mistake, nor
has anyone ever seriously
proposed to undo their work.
Mr. Shepherd, being apprised
of the selection of his
proposed homestead for the
seat of justice moved away
three or four miles and
entered land southeast of
the town in what was known
afterwards as the Stayton
neighborhood. He reared a
large family and his old
father and other relatives
came out from Virginia and
settled near Independence.
He prospered for a while but
his negroes increased in
number and he became poor,
for his slaves almost ate
him out of house and home.
He was not strict with them,
and he never sold a slave.
The Shepherds and the
Nolands were very numerous
in Jackson County. It used
to be said that these two
families could defeat any
candidate for a county
office. The Shepherd boys
were all soldiers and all
fighters in the war of the
Rebellion, on the side of
the South. About 30 of the
Shepherds of this family
were slain in the war. Some
of them were in Quantrell's
guerilla band, notably
George Shepherd. They were
all fearless men.
The Nolands also were
soldiers and fought for the
South. |
