Some Images
The school was built in 1899, at a different site. It
housed grades 1 to 8 at one time. A Reynold's county family
bought the schoolhouse in 1957, soon after the county quit
using it. It was used as a weekend place. In the late 1960's
they had it moved a few miles away to a remote site
(pictured), where it was used several years longer.
Eventually the Forest Service acquired the property and the
house was stripped by vandals. The front porch and the shed
at the far end were added after it was moved. A photo of the
school house at the original location can be found on pg. 7
of the Sept. 2002 issue of "Kinfolks Search" newsletter of
the Reynolds County Genealogy and Historical Society. Two generations of a Reynold's county family were born
and raised in this home at West Fork, that once belonged to
Robert E. Brooks. The home is no longer standing. This was the West Fork store and post office about 1900.
It was owned and operated by longtime Reynold's county
residents of the Estep-Camden and Brooks families for many
years. It is not far from what was the James Sutterfield
farm. The man with the bags in the picture may have been
W.P. (Dinky) Sutterfield, who carried the local mail on
horseback. The James Sutterfield farm is now covered with about 50'
of lead mine tailings and the Doe Run mine buildings sit on
the site of old West Fork P.O. Home of a Reynold's county resident that was built about
130 years ago. A Baptism
in the West Fork River of Reynold's County. At right, Clason
map. Photos above and left printed with article from a Salem
MO. newspaper- "PLOWING
CORN Robert Brooks, who will be 82 his
next birthday, and John, his 28-year-old mule, had a job
awaiting them Wednesday. The corn field at the Brooks farm
on the Iron Mountain Road needed cultivating. Mr. Brooks
hitched old John to the double shovel plow and they were
well into the hot work when the Salem News cameraman
arrived. Pictured with Mr. Brooks above is his grandson,
Stan Atchison of St. Louis. Mr. Brooks recalled that he broke John as a 2-year-old to
work in the timber, and the mule proved to be a hard worker,
keeping in the timber until a few years ago. Old Johns
partner died about a year ago, so Mr. Brooks had to hire his
hay put up this year, but old John was ready to go when
hitched to the plow. Below Mr. Brooks and John were pictured
in the middle of the corn field." from www.Ozarkland.com Entrance to the West Fork Sutterfield Cemetery Weather
in Reynold's County from The National Weather Service Historical Documents for Reynolds County - Western Historical
Manuscript collection at Rolla MO Courthouses
- Reynolds from Univ of MO - MU Extension On the edge of the Mark Twain National Forest, about 4
miles from Centerville. Much of Reynolds County is in the
MTNF. from www.Ozarkland.com Reynolds County Historical Society (Monthly newsletter - Membership fees $10.00 per calendar
year which runs from January through December) I highly recommend subscribing if your genealogy
research takes you to Reynolds County, I look forward to
reading my copy every month. Except where otherwise noted, pictures and background
info on this page are courtesy D. Brooks.
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P. O. Box 281
Ellington Mo 63638
Copyright © Laurel Treat 2003