Editing Steelville, Missouri (section)

==History==
Before the 1800s, the first people to live in the Steelville area were groups likely tied to the [[Osage nation]]. These peoples were driven west into what became modern-day [[Oklahoma]]. In the 1830s, the [[Trail of Tears]], a government-sponsored forced march of the largest groups of the southeastern United States, passed through Steelville, with people primarily from the Choctaw and Cherokee tribes. They came mostly from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Alabama]], [[Kentucky]] and [[Tennessee]] and were forced to relocate to Oklahoma and the West. It is believed that they stopped in Steelville around the spring to rest, bury their dead and get supplies.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The first settlers in Steelville were William Britton, who built a small grist mill along the Yadkin Creek, and James Steel, who operated a trading post and was appointed by the government as commissioner to lay out the city in 1835 – the year in which Steelville was founded. Britton remained in the area. Steel, according to census, moved northward to continue his interest in mining.

Steel purchased 40 acres of land from the government, which he later sold to the "County Court" on December 16, 1835, for $50.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RfAuAAAAYAAJ/page/n50 | title=How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri | author=Eaton, David Wolfe | year=1916 | pages=282}}</ref> By this time, a little settlement had sprung up. Crawford County Court named the town Steelville as the county seat. The deed was recorded on December 18, 1835, the town was platted, and the first deeds to lots were sold for $12 each.

The [[Snelson-Brinker House]] was built outside Steelville by Levi Lane Snelson in 1834 and sold to John B. Brinker in 1837. [[Mary (slave)|Mary]], a 14-year-old slave owned by Brinker, was hanged at Steelville in 1838 for the murder of Brinker's infant daughter. She is the youngest person to be legally executed in Missouri.<ref>[http://genealogytrails.com/mo/crawford/History/TheCourts.htm The Courts], Crawford County Missouri History. Retrieved November 25, 2017.<br>- {{cite book |last=Frazier|first=Harriet C.|date=2001|title=Slavery and Crime in Missouri, 1773-1865|url=https://archive.org/details/slaverycrimeinmi00fraz|url-access=registration|publisher=McFarland|page=[https://archive.org/details/slaverycrimeinmi00fraz/page/170 170]|isbn=9780786409778 }}</ref>

The town was incorporated as a city of the fourth class in 1885. At this time, there were 500 inhabitants. The Lebanon Lodge, Masonic, was chartered on October 14, 1846. The first tailor, Mr. Vanburg, came in town in 1844. The first hotel was owned by James Davis. In 1847, A. W. Johnson opened a blacksmith shop. Andrew Jackson opened the first post office. Doctor Dunlap was the first doctor. In 1838, J. H. Johnson opened the first saddle and harness shop.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

The Steelville Normal Business Institute was originally at [[Vichy, Missouri|Vichy]]. It was moved to Steelville with the help of John T. Woodruff of Springfield and Professor Hayes and opened during the latter part of 1890.

The first newspaper in Steelville, ''Steelville Crawford Missouri'', was established on May 4, 1874, by Thomas Roberts. The paper was printed in a log cabin the first time and was a Republican paper.

The Steelville Bank began operations in October 1884 under the direction of its president, G. W. Matlock. This was constructed of brick and was very strong by the standards of that time. Later, the bank was named Crawford County Farmers Bank. In 1925, bank robbers made an attempt to rob it. Most of the robbers were killed. Robbers included Basil Doman, age 21, from [[Mitchell, Illinois]]. McCellan was wounded and died after being examined. Albert Walters, age 20, from [[Granite City, Illinois]], was the driver of the getaway car and was shot. The youngest, Leslie Reiter, age 16, from [[Madison, Illinois]], was sent to jail. One robber was dead, two were wounded, one was taken prisoner and a fifth escaped. He was never caught or identified. The sheriff at the time was Mr. Enke. There was only one citizen wounded – A. D. Schwieder – who was walking out of the adjoining store and was shot in the leg after a shoot out with one of the robbers, whom he killed.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

While this was not how the town got its name, Steelville was located in an active iron mining area.<ref name=Cherry>{{cite web|url= 
https://www.mindat.org/loc-10039.html |title=Cherry Valley Mines|publisher=Mindat.org|accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref>  The Cherry Valley Iron Mines just east of Steelville opened in 1878, and had produced 736,800 tons of ore between 1878 and 1910.<ref name=Cherry/><ref>{{cite web|url= https://share.mo.gov/nr/mgs/MGSData/Books/Volumes/The%20Iron%20Ores%20of%20Missouri/V-010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117195657/https://share.mo.gov/nr/mgs/MGSData/Books/Volumes/The%20Iron%20Ores%20of%20Missouri/V-010.pdf |archive-date=2021-11-17 |url-status=live | title=The Iron Ores of Missouri|publisher=Missouri Bureau of Geology and Mines, 1912, p 10|accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref>   The mines even created their own railway, the [[Crawford County Midland Railroad]], to link with the [[St. Louis and San Francisco Railway]] to provide needed haulage services.<ref name=FriscoMuseum>{{cite web|url=https://www.condrenrails.com/Frisco/Frisco-Museum-All-Aboards/AA1988.5.v2.12.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013120048/http://www.condrenrails.com/Frisco/Frisco-Museum-All-Aboards/AA1988.5.v2.12.pdf |archive-date=2020-10-13 |url-status=live | title= The Frisco Family, The Crawford County Midland Railroad Company| publisher=All Aboard, The Frisco Railroad Museum, May 1988 (accessed on CondrenRails.com) | accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref>  However, iron production was more or less exhausted by 1924.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1226&context=professional_theses |title= An investigation of the possibility of a Missouri furnace obtaining an iron ore supply from the state|publisher= Donald Foster Updike, School of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Missouri, 1924 (accessed on Scholar’s Mine)|accessdate=November 17, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Big Bend Rural School]] and [[Snelson-Brinker House]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>