Galloway Village

Location

Galloway is located on Lone Pine Avenue on the southeast outskirts of Springfield, Missouri. Lone Pine is accessible from Highway 65 on Battlefield Road. Drive west on Battlefield from the Highway 65 Battlefield exit. When you see Battlefield Road about to climb a steep hill, turn left at the signal before the hill. And, there you are! Be patient, and you’ll eventually see the park on your left, lime company on the right, and on into the village. When you reach the stop sign, continue forward and you’ll eventually reach the cemetery. Most of it is a new cemetery, but look for the old Galloway Family section.

Galloway Roots

Let’s explore the roots of the heart of Galloway Village. This little district actually started out as its own township named after its founding father, Captain Charles (“Jesse”) Galloway born in Knox County, Tennessee on October 8, 1825. He grew up in Barry County, Missouri. When the Mexican-American War broke out, Captain Galloway enlisted as a Private in Company G, Third Regiment, Missouri Mounted Volunteers. He rose to the rank of Major. While fighting the Apaches, he was wounded when a bullet struck him in the heel. Today that bullet is owned by the Pete Vasso family in Springfield. After such event he returned home and married in 1849. During this time he purchased a homestead and settled down to farming. Galloway also fought in the Civil War, in the Union Army, and was involved in many engagements throughout Missouri and Arkansas. In the Civil War he showed his allegiance to Generals Lyon and Fremont. He helped as an informant during the Battle of Wilson Creek. He tried to keep General Lyon abreast of the Confederate Army’s movements. He lent valuable assistance to the Union and was remembered by those whom he protected during times of lawless border warfare. He conducted many scouting missions, was captured and almost killed until a group of friends rescued and helped him return home.

Home was now what was called Galloway Station. He had purchased this land near the end of the war. His life in Galloway was spent as a member of the Baptist Church. He was also active in Democrat Party affairs, but never sought political office. He was a successful businessman and his 220-acre farm was considered quite valuable. Jesse helped get the Galloway Railway Station underway.

In “The Good Old Days” (50 years ago in Springfield . . . . ) column of the February 13, 1905 Springfield newspaper, Lucile Morris Upton wrote:

One of the County’s most widely known citizens, Major Charles Galloway, 80 has died at his home near

the village which was named for him. He had been in bad health for some time but his death was due to

pneumonia… His father, Jesse Galloway, came from Indiana in 1834 to settle in Barry County on Flat

Creek. That was wild country, abounding in deer and other game. Charles Galloway was a typical

frontiersman’s son, bold, daring, and venturesome. He enlisted in Company G, 3^rd regiment, Missouri

Mounted Volunteers. This company was raised in the vicinity of Springfield and commanded by Samuel

A. Boake, then well known in southwest Missouri. The regiment went to Independence, then Fort

Leavenworth, and was ordered to Santa Fe because of troubles there at the beginning of the Mexican

War. The company was stationed 75 miles up the Rio Grande and did a lot of Indian fighting. Major

Galloway was wounded while fighting the Apaches, a wound from which he never recovered.

At the start of the Civil War he raised a company from Stone County and tendered his services to

General Lyon, then in Springfield. Until the Battle of Wilsons Creek he remained in or near Stone

County. A determined effort was made by the Confederates to capture him and there was a skirmish

between men under Major Galloway and a small company. Thinking this might be an advance of the

Confederate Army; Major Galloway reported to General Lyon in Springfield and was put into service as

a scout. Starting South, with Dr. Phillip Slaughter of Stone County, avoiding the highway, Major

Galloway discovered the advance under General Price marching toward Wilsons Creek. He sent Dr.

Slaughter to alert General Lyon and then continued until he acquired valuable information about

disposition of the Confederate troops. Major Galloway hurried to inform General Lyon, but met him

two miles west of Springfield advancing on the Confederate Army. The major was sent in the direction

of where the Dug Spring skirmish had occurred, and was making his way back to General Lyon. Major

Galloway went back to Stone County and organized another company, and gave his services to General

Fremont when that officer arrived in Springfield. He engaged in considerable work as a scout for

Fremont. Major Galloway was taken prisoner with 20 other men and placed in a corn crib at Keatsville

for two days and a night. Some old friends interceded for him and he was permitted to return home.

Later he did valuable work as a scout before the Battle of Pea Ridge. He became a captain in the first

Arkansas Cavalry and fought in several engagements.

Sunday Evening, April 18, 1880, a violent and very destructive cyclone (The Cyclone of 1880) visited southwest Missouri, destroying not only thousands of dollars worth of property, but scores of human lives. Major Galloway’s house in Clay Township was prostrated, the farm damaged, and Mrs. Galloway was killed.

The School

Sequiota School, now an elementary school, started out as a log cabin school, Mentor School (as registered in the Greene County Courthouse), known by children in the neighborhood as Point View School. It was located on Gasconade, previously known as Turner Road. Its successor in the early 1900s was located where a cedar tree now stands in the current school’s front yard. It was named Beshears School. They used the springs in the caves as a water source. Mrs. Nina Beshears McAmis remembered as a child walking down to what was then called Fisher’s Cave for water, bringing it back to school in a bucket. The school was later moved to an upstairs room above the old Treadway’s Grocery Store (as the old Sequiota School) on Lone Pine Road (Avenue today). It was later moved back to the present spot and, in August 1963, the old school was expanded as you see it today. The present Sequiota School got its name from the old one. Jennifer Nunn’s mother, Mrs. Nunn, thought the name Sequiota was nice and should be carried on. She wrote a letter to the superintendent of schools at the time, Mr. Graff, to ask him if the old name could continue. She sent a list of names of the people in the neighborhood who agreed with her.

Sequiota Park

In Galloway there is a magnificent 12-acre public park where people participate in a wide variety of leisure-time activities. The park is a former State fish hatchery. R. Wells and Guy Barry were early superintendents. Rainbow Trout, Bass, Crappie, and Perch were once raised in the lake. Annually, approximately 100,000 fish were hatched. When Table Rock Lake was built, the fish were moved to the Shepard of the Hills Hatchery near Branson at the north end of the dam. In 1949, 300 Small-mouth Bass were introduced to the lake in Sequiota Park. Some say these fish are still in the lake and the wet cave, but it may now be too polluted there for these fish to thrive.

The park was once used as the Kickapoo Prairie Indian gathering grounds. The Kickapoo Prairie extends into the Galloway area. When Harry Truman was a United States Senator, he used the park for political events. In 1938, however, political activities were banned from the park. It is still used as a playground for children and the young at heart, and there are three caves. The park is always a busy place, it being a part of the Springfield City Park and Recreation System.

The Caves

Sequiota’s attraction is largely in part due to its caves and springs. The park got its name because of its landscape, which the Indians called the

land of many springs. The caves were formed by the dissolving action of mildly acidic surface water seeping through limestone resulting in a series of underground channels. Geological forces caused an uplift of the rock layers and brought these channels to the ground surface now observed as caves. The middle has been called by some as “Walk-all-the-Way Cave”, and the small one by some as “Crawl-all-the-Way Cave”. It’s possible that these two caves meet somewhere beyond the blockage between.

The larger cave, known by some as Fisher’s Cave or sometimes as Springdale Cave, or Brashear’s Cave was originally used by Kickapoo Indians. It is eight

feet high at its mouth. About 300 feet inside from the entrance, the cave size increases to about sixty feet wide and twenty-five feet high. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was used to raise mushrooms. In 1970, the mushroom beds were still there. This cave was open to visitors given a tour in a boat. Marie and Paul Sisco’s grandfather used to take tour groups back into the cave. There is a waterfall in the cave. It is one-fourth mile back from the opening. There are two branches of the cave, the East and North. The eastern part has water 68 feet deep. You can wade in the northern branch.

This cave was used for food storage by pioneers because of its temperature, and the fact that it did not heavily discharge spring water during heavy rains. Jesse Galloway, when a merchant, actually stored goods here. It is one of the finest spring streams of water in Greene County, and in the southwest corner of the state. On account of this spring, it was the site of one of the earliest settlements in 1840 under the leadership of Jacob Painter.

There are unusual stalagmites and stalactites in this cave. A few yards inside, some people have said there is an upside-down well, a chandelier, and Charlie Chaplin’s feet. When people entered the cave by boat, they took a lantern.

During the Civil War, this cave was owned by Benjamin Brashears, a Confederate soldier and ranger. Brashears was said to have taken cold while hiding in the cave from the Federals. This caused his death. Some time after the Civil War, the cave came into the possession of T.B. Fisher. Its next owner, P.F. Vaughan bought it in 1881. It was Mr. Vaughan’s intention to add natural beauty such as evergreens and vines, ponds for fish, and boat riding as well as seating groves to be used by picnic parties.

The wet cave is closed, and accessed only by permit from the Park Board (Melvin Johnson, 837-5907) and the Missouri Department of Conservation (Mike Skinner, 895-6880, X. 278) because it contains federally-endangered gray bats.

This store was located on Lone Pine, right across from the old stockyards and train depot. A Mr. Stanley owned it first, then Mr. Lyndman. He sold it to Mr. Patterson, a local farmer. His son took it over when he was age 25. According to an old account book, store operation went back to at least 1860. Some of the names in the account book included:

The site of Chadwick, Missouri (south of Sparta) was chosen in 1881 with a 200-acre land grant were deeded to the Springfield & Southern Railroad by President Chester Arthur under the Land Grant Act passed by Congress in 1820. The railroad company surveyed and plotted the town of Chadwick as the terminal of its line from Springfield into Christian County.

Through Galloway, it was the Chadwick Branch of the Frisco, better known as the Springfield & Southern Railroad. Trains were flagged down at Galloway, a station established for the convenience of people living in the lower part of Section 9. The train passed beside the Ash Grove Lime Kiln to pick up lime as cargo. Where the tracks cross Lone Pine, there was once a trough for by-passers to get water. The daily train left Chadwick shortly after noon, scheduled to arrive in Springfield, thirty-five miles away at about 4 p.m. It seldom arrived on time. There were often long waits in Ozark for loading stock, and again at Galloway for loading lime shipments. Frequently, dark came before the train reached Springfield. The train was nicknamed the “Chadwick Flyer”.

The heart of Galloway was once the Ash Grove Lime & Portland Cement Company. Lime was an important construction material to early settlers of Missouri and, as the population grew, so did the demand for lime. James H. Barton first constructed a lime plant in Ash Grove in the northwest corner of

Greene County about 25 minutes from Springfield on Highway 160. He relied on the railroad to provide shipping. The company was once named Western Star Lime Company. The first kilns were fired by wood, later by coal, and then natural gas. During the earliest years of operation, the rock was broken by hand, and then hauled to the kilns on small rail cars on a track, pulled by horse. Later, the rock was drilled into with a rotary drill. Drilled holes were filled with explosive powder, and then blasted off in sections. It was then loaded into large dump trucks by crane. The rock was taken to a crusher and then processed in the kilns. In 1881, the company was expanded with financial backing from Charles W. Goetz. Toward the end of the 19^th century, the demand for lime stabilized due to the increased usage of Portland cement in construction. It was named Portland because of the color of the early product. When set up, it resembled stone on the Isle of Portland, England.

In 1907, the company was reorganized under the name Ash Grove Lime & Portland Cement Company. During the Great Depression, the company experienced difficult years due to economic conditions and the slowing of new construction. The plant at Ash Grove was closed, dismantled and sold. In 1952, however, the equipment was modernized with the installation of two Priest vertical gas kilns.

Although Galloway is a wonderful place to visit, the heart of Galloway was to some extent still is, the Ash Grove Lime and Portland Cement Company. Since 1952, the plant has been very similar to what it is now. Shopkeepers, past and present, will tell you the dust that settles over everything never changes! The plant has a habit of depositing a layer of dust on everything that sits still long enough.

The Galloway Cemetery is located in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Highways 60 and 65. It is filled with Galloway family members dating back to Charles (“Jesse”), born in 1825. A special section is marked off today just for the Galloway family. Dates and names on monuments in the survey here include:

.75 miles south of Galloway, Missouri at the Northeast Corner of the intersection of US Highways #60 & 65

Arnett, Albert, 27 Jan 1879-6 May 1912; Arnett, Jacob 1844-1925; Sarah, 1852-1921, wife of Jacob

Becker, Horace C., 20 May 1901-25 Mar 1964; Edith O., 5 May 1903- ; Timothy, son of Werth E., 7 Sept 1945-12 May 1946

Berry, John Luther, 10 June 1874-2 Nov 1947; Quinn Etta, 22 Jan 1878-16 July 1942

Bradley, Thomas, 1 Oct 1884-16 Nov 1963; Gertrude 9 Sept 1880-6 June 1964; Twins, 21 Oct 1920-24 Aug 1921

Clevenger, Claude W., 1911-1962; Clevenger, Dora, 1914-; Guy E., 1890-1963; Mette A., 1891-1963

Clott, J. William, 23 June 1878-7 Apr 1930; Mary L., 1 Nov 1878-; Clott, Wm. Stanley, died in 1912

Dees, Albert, 8 Feb 1875-15 Apr 1948; Pvt. 116 Depot Brig MO WW1; W. H, 1869-; Dees, Alice, 1875-1936

Denney, Forrest K., 16 Dec 1928-23 Feb 1929; Wm. H., 11 Jan 1882- 18 June 1950; Viola Mae, 24 Nov 1887-13 June 1932

Dent, Irel (No other info); Dent, Bert C., 26 Aug 1898-31 Mar 1952; Roy, 5 Oct 1888-26 Apr 1908; Dent, Lee, 1900-1930; William C., 3 Oct 1861-26 Nov

Ellingswirth, Nellie, 21 Sept 1888-; Ed, 21 Sept 1885-15 June 1961; Raymond, 20 Jan 1911-14 Sep 1944

Galloway, E., (No other info); Ellis, 11 Mar 1898- , md. Dovie, 11 May 1918; Dovie 24 Apr 1898-7 July 1964, wife of Ellis Gerald D., 5 June 1930- 20 Aug

1961, md 1 June 1940 to Arvetta, 27 Oct 1922- ; Jess, 16 May 1887-29 Apr 1948; Jesse, 9 Mar 1854-20 Sept 1916; Lula, Wife of Jesse, 5 Feb 1870-

19 July 1956; Manima, wife of Charles, 12 Sept 1836-3 May 1902; Maj. Charles 15 Oct 1825-3 Feb 1905; Sarah E., Wife of J. E., died 14 July 1889,

Hollingsworth, Carl D., 1912-1935; James L., 29 Jan 1841-29 Aug 1892; Robert W., son of J. W. & M.S., 23 Oct 1888-22 July 1901

Hooper, Albert E. (“Ab”), 3 July 1875-31 Dec 1964; Mabel E. Bradley, 6 Sep 1879-; James Rollie, 26 June 1887-4 Jan 1953; Goldie Marie, 9 Oct 1901;

Hopkins, Abraham L., 9 Sep 1894-29 Mar 1955; Pfc Cas Det 166 De Mob Gp 10 WWL

Jones, Alec, 9 Dec 1896-10 Feb 1950; Jones, Pearl, 4 Aug 1901-8 Dec 1961; Clifford N., 23 July 1922-16 May 1945; Dan, 25 Aug 1902-22 Dec 1961;

Lester Burt, son of Alex & Pearl, 30 Nov 1935-28 Aug 1936; Lewis G., 20 May 1863-26 Sep 1934; Mary A., 2 Feb 1869-1 Feb1941; Noah, 1900-

1964: Jones, W. Albert, 10 Mar 1870-17 Apr 194_; Oma 30 Mar 1879-20 Feb 1958; Agnes E., Dau of W.A. & Oma, 21 Nov 1909-29 Dec 1918;

Keller, Clell H., 1909-1951; Keller, Cleo F., 19 Mar 1911-; Otto Lee, 23 June 1915-16 Mar 1964; Kenneth, 6 Oct 1913-8 Dec 1941

Lee, son of Roscoe R., died 22 June 1929; Jack L. F., 8 Jan 1879-13 Nov 1959; Roscoe “Bob”, died 23 Apr 1966, ae. 60 yr.

McDaniel, Anna F., 28 Nov 1928-22 Aug 1930; Clifford Wayne, 26 Aug 1941- , son of J.C. & Mary; Oscar, 25 Feb 1876-1 Feb 1938; McDaniel, Alice, 6

Moriset, Carloann, 3 Apr 1934-6 June 1934; W. Fred, 5 Nov 1878-12 Feb 1948; Amanda, 25 Oct 1878-1 Apr 1952

Pippin, Henery T., 21 Mar 1878-16 Jan 1959; Pippin, Emley, 3 June 1882; Lloyd, 24 Apr 1908-10 June 1937

Poole, A.H. “Buck”, 12 Apr 1913-22 May 1956; Miskel D., 29 Apr 1909-30 July 1950; Edith M., wife of Miskel D., 21 Oct 1913-21 Apr 1964

Porter, Robert, 13 Aug 1840-19 Dec 1899; Sarah E., Wife of R. B., 24 Mar 1832-7 Aug 1898

Shockley, son of Earl & Helen, 1945; John E., 16 Apr 1896-7 May 1966; Laura, Wife of John E., 14 July 1904

Smith, Edward F., 11 Sept 1897-13-Mar 1941; Helen V., 27 July 1914-20 Nov 1931; Henry S., 12 Dec 1858-13 Sept 1939; Annie B., 5 Oct 1860-7 Sept

Snow, Edward, 1866-1884; Snow, George A., 1876-1958; L. Maude, 1885-1884; Snow, John 1841-1902; Nancy, wife of John, 1841-1923; Snow, Kenneth

Sowards, Frank E., 23 Aug 1916-11 Apr 1947; John W., 24 Dec 1900-25 Sept 1957; Co. G 151 Depot Brigade WWI; Sowards, Marley, son of J. N. & E., 2

Treadway, Douglas T., 7 Feb 1942-29 Sept 1964; Everett P., 7 Mar 1913- ; Jewell M., 25 Apr 1916-1 June 1956; Jamea E., 6 Dec 1944-11 Jan 1959

Williams, Betty J., 15 Sept 1938-5 Sept 1944; Ella Stubbs, 1917-1935; Henry, 1 Sept 1873-3 Sept 1961; Annie, 5 Aug 1886-23 Jan 1966; Williams, R.M.,

1888- ; Nell, 1892-1946 Williams, Marie b. & d. 1926; Sam, 1850-1935; Williams, Amanda, 1842-1926

When Reverend Hiram Gass arrived in Galloway in the early 1920s, the Methodist Church was the only one that existed at that time. The old church building then belonged to the Church of Christ congregation, and had not been used for some time. Reverend Gass saw the opportunity to found a Baptist Church. He got permission to hold services in the old Sequiota School across from the park. Permission was then granted to use the Church of Christ. Eventually, the church was purchased. Since there was no electricity in Galloway at the time, they used kerosene lamps hung on wall brackets on each side of the sanctuary. Eventually, they used gasoline lanterns. In August 1926, most homes and the church were wired for electricity. They used to pass a coffee cup of grape juice when taking the “Lord’s Supper”, and each person took a sip from it.

Many store buildings in the Village have had several businesses take up residence within their walls over the years.

Turnover is not unusual. General stores may now be flea markets and antique stores. A liquor store may now be a beauty salon, and old filling stations are perhaps craft boutiques. Galloway has a great way of renewing itself time and time again. There is a lot of history behind this tiny village as it had its own newspaper, a canning factory, general stores, churches, and a blacksmith. Today there is a school, a special segment of Ozark Greenways, a park blessed with caves, a limestone plant, a now-defunct railroad, churches, cemetery, and numerous shops; old and new.