The plat of the original town of Deepwater was filed on March 5, 1885. What started this small Missouri town? Deepwater sat upon a wealth of clay and coal.

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Deepwater formed its name from a creek it was called the Deepwater Creek named from the indians you can find evidence of villages on higher elevations back from the creek that are prehistoric not of cowboy and indians era but much earlier.

the site of the original town of Deepwater was obtained from the United States Government in 1857 by Samuel and Joseph Patterson the land changed ownership several times till 1884 when Keith and Perry Coal Company bought the land because of natural resources "Coal and Clay"

Old coal mine with workers of the company

in order to capitalize on their investment a railroad was needed

 

In November 1884 George H. Nettleton President of the Kansas City, Ft Scott and Memphis Railroad bought some of the land with a plan for extending a Railroad from Kansas City to Springfield.

OLD RAIL HOUSE

In 1885 the plat of the Town was recorded by George and Julia Nettleton later that year the first train steamed into town Mr. Nettleton named his railroad the Kansas City Clinton and Springfield prospectors concluded that sufficiant clay were present to establish development

A clay factory was already established and was leased by W.S.Dickey Clay Manufacturing Co. in 1888 Samuel Currier is credited with operating the first brick factory in the area. In 1888 a brick plant started its operation they produced bricks stamped "Brownington" , and this was known as chuffy.

a few years later the plant was purchased by the Dickey Company whos main office was in Kansas City. As the town began to grow a committee worked together to plan for the future.the planned the location of trees and sidewalks and an agenda for hard surface streets the first such suface was grog from the Dickey factory. cart loads of tile fragments were distributed over town and the residents spent a great deal of time breaking the tile and placing it by hand on the streets.for betterment of the town.

 

here is 1908 labor day parade

The Great Depression of the thirties made its mark on Deepwater.work at the factory was slow and not only were men without jobs but a Leaky Roof was without a profitable amount of business. The line, which was purchased by the Frisco Railroad Company, closed its tracks to the north, and trains entered and left quickly from the south

the 1940's brought about another challenge for the town men left for world war two others left to war plants the Dickey factory shut down for a period of time for the lack of of laborers

After the war, residents looked for other settled ways of life, but after the strike in 1947 and again in 1949 the Dickey Company shut down for good with out a good source of revenue the railroad depot also closed in 1954 the last passenger train to serve the town was met with sad celebration the original source of power for the town was now gone and the local mining company was now coming to an end.

Here is a Photo of the last Train to serve Deepwater in 1954

Coal mining was a vital part of the town's life until the 1960's The early methods of slope or shaft mines gave way when powered machines became available working conditions became hard and men and women worked long hours. there were stores in town many people spent much of there money in the town with no need to travel elsewhere. there were stores that furnished almost every need of the people shops of all kinds for the ladies and men .

Then another natural resource was turned into a business and furnished employment the high amounts of calcium limestone was mined and turned into lime for fields and rock for roads and industry. this was good up till the reservoir took out the low-lying deposits

The school seemed to have an all time high spirts in the 50's and 60's Booster Club and P.T.A. exceeded there membership goals organiaztions were strong cause the leaders were strong the Labor harvest picnic was still there every year the people new of this and try to outdo others with there floats the floats were beautiful and sparkled with foil and papers.

cant fgorget the first telephone call through the new dial system it was made by Deepwater Mayor Douglas Chambers at 2:00 p.m.,on march 22, 1960

The first pump fire truck was purchased and new hard surface streets were laid down all over town. In 1966 the new highway 13 opened. By passing the town to the east. several of the businesses were discontinued because of lack of traffic on the west side of town business buildings still filled the town. on main street between D and B streets.

In the early 1970's the elected city officials, with William L. Burks as mayor, started coping with problems created by land acquisition and loss of revenue due to the trumen lake.

Before a decade the north and eastern edges of town were void of houses and buildings. streets trailed off into weed patches several families relocated in the town others moved away permanently.

The town now sets with a few businesses and is now a small town with strong culture everyone friendly and the council are strong with ideals the Labor Harvest Picnic is going on strong and proud and many people from decades and more can still be found.

If you would like information on the history of the Cemetary and /or the City of Deepwater Geneology you can email loucda@yahoo.com

You can also purchase the history book.

If you would like more information call City Hall on how you can get this history book or more information.

PHONE : 660-696-2310

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