Winter Meeting. 179 



and up to the breaking out of the Civil War a hundred floating 

 palaces plowed the waters of the river, absolutely crowded with 

 passengers of every kind and circumstance in life. 



As early as 1838 William H. Trigg established a bank here, 

 which for a long time was the only bank between Jefferson City 

 and Lexington. Here Mr. Vest began his law practice, and the 

 law firm of Stephens & Vest was the leading one till 1861. Cooper 

 county has furnished her district with three representatives to 

 Congress, Miller, Rice and Cosgrove; one member of the Supreme 

 Court of Missouri, Washington Adams, and two Governors of the 

 State, John Miller and Lon V. Stephens. The descendants of the 

 Coopers, the Coles, Bartletts and Bartons; of Williams, the Rices, 

 Cosgroves, Stephens and Triggs, and possibly some of "the seven 

 Adams," from one whom, according to the Jewish account, the 

 human family sprang, still remain, perfectly contented to live and 

 die in Boonville and Cooper county, knowing, as they certainly think 

 they do, "a good thing when they see it." 



Coming down to a later day, some of you may be interested in 

 calling to mind that the Civil War in Missouri actually began in 

 Cooper county. Only about six miles below Boonville the first gun 

 was fired. The skirmish was short, two killed on one side and three 

 on the other, and a number wounded, when both sides started for 

 Boonville in such haste that each named the performance "The 

 Boonville Races." 



As a fruit producing section. Cooper county has long been 

 known to be among the best. Soon after 1765, the date of the set- 

 tlement of St. Louis, the French came up the south bank of the Mis- 

 souri river, pressed on to this very spot, and were among the first 

 settlers of Boonville. "These hills early became noted for their 

 vineyards and their vintage cellars for their wine." Our friend, 

 Mr. Walter Williams, speaking of Cooper county in his book, "The 

 State of Missouri," says, "Both vast and varied are its resources. 

 It is long settled." And again he says, "Cooper and St. Louis 

 counties stand alone in combining in considerable quantity the two 

 kinds of soil which has made Missouri renowned as a fruit state" — 

 the red limestone clay and the brown loess formations. As early 

 as 1887 a session of this Society was held here, with Col, Evans, Mr. 

 Murray, Mr. Goodman and Mr. Holman, President, Vice-President 

 Secretary and Treasurer, respectively. 



Of her 1906 crop I need not speak. Her own growers, both 

 men and women, are here to speak for themselves. Our Secretary 

 has sounded the key-note of this convention on the second page of 



