The farm home was on the main road and many troops passed by the home crossing the river (Osage) at Callies Ford, south of the house. The troops used the farm yard as a stopping place and used the well to drink from and to water their horses .Mrs Barrows would also help a wounded soldier. Mr. Barrows had passed away before the Civil War and Mrs. Barrows and children lived in the house when “Order 11” was issued.
This is the story that Mrs. Bradley told my mom. “Grandmother moved by wagon somewhere near Balltown (west of Arthur), which was called Ball Mill at the time she left her farm with the children and a load of things when the “Order 11” was issued.
Sometime during the time she was away from the farm she decided she would go back to the farm and check on things. Mrs. Bradley at this time was about six years old, and her uncle Willie was about sixteen. Willie went with her and her mother and they traveled across the prairie to the Barrows homestead. They were crossing the pasture east of Papinville when two soldiers stopped them and asked grandmother to come with them and identify two outlaws they had killed. They thought they had killed Pony Hill. Grandmother and Uncle Wille went with one soldier and the other stayed with my mother, team and wagon. Grandmother had fixed a lunch for they would be staying overnight. While grandmother was gone the soldier got into the lunch box and ate all of the cinnamon small pies. These were mother’s favorites and we always remembered this story. The next day grandmother had Uncle Willie to bury the two men. Pony Hill was not one of the men killed.”
It has been told that the house had bullet holes in the weatherboards and the floor was burnt a little, but the fire had not caught hold to burn the house down. They figured that it was not burnt because Mrs. Barrows took care of the soldiers as they came through.
This is the last Civil War story. Let’s try and keep the history of Papinville alive. We have a nice museum, shelter house, school and bridge for people to see. If you are interested in helping in any way call these numbers 417 395 4288 or 417 395 2594. We are thinking about having an event between Thanksgiving and Christmas that will be an event that you won’t want to miss. More details later. Thanks to Mid America Live and the Radio Station for putting the stories and news on the internet, shopper and radio station. Until next time.
-Submitted by Phyllis Stewart (Activity Director)
