Memories from the Homestead: Hollister's first post office and the Kirkham family [Part One]

Recently I discussed the Compton Ferry that crossed the White River just above the present day railroad bridge that connects Branson and Hollister.  Prior to the railroad the ferry was the Turkey Creek Ferry.  It was during the railroad construction in 1904 when the ferry operation saw an incredible amount of traffic.

Much of this Turkey Creek bottom where the old part of Hollister is today was the Malinda Fortner Homestead, which was later purchased by Harden Warren. In 1891 he sold to Edwin and Bettie Irwin, and a year later it sold to William and Lydia Jennings, then to Martha Lewallen, a widow, who sold the land to her son William in 1897 for $500.

William Lewallen began to hear of railroad rumors by 1900.  When it was revealed that the railroad right of way would come across his property, the land value tripled.

The wagon route crossing this place was well defined thanks to the ferry.  One route went to Kirbyville. Another went west to Cedar Valley along Long Creek.

Then in 1904, as the railroad construction was underway, Reuben Kirkham and his family arrived in the area. Born on April 16, 1866, near Green Forest, Arkansas, to William and Nancy Kirkham, Reuben married Orleana Alice Cox on March 6, 1889, in Carroll County, Arkansas. Here's a couple who lived a life full of travel, never staying in one place for long.

Reuben Kirkham with his daughter Willard and wife Orleana, who went by her middle name Alice (Photo courtesy of the Edith McCall collection)

Sometime prior to 1889, Reuben was in Oregon, and later California and came back to Carroll County to marry Orleana. Soon they go back to California because their daughter Willard was born on December 18, 1889 in Hollister, California. They returned to the Ozarks when Willard was little, coming back to Green Forest.  

When Willard was thirteen, the family moved to Cedar Valley near Long Creek as Reuben would open a store there.  When he heard the railroad was going to be in the Turkey Creek Valley, they moved to the William Lewallen place.

Jim Holliday suggested that Kirkham should look into the possibilities of opening a store near the railroad right of way. This location was just up the creek as it was near the crossroads of the wagon road to Kirbyville. Holliday did the construction of the new building. Kirkham got his store open right away and soon applied for the designation of a post office. There was a good possibility the railroad would support the idea also.  It would benefit the short-term railroad workers but would be even better for the area homesteaders in between Kirbyville and Cedar Valley. 

Opening the post office in the corner of his store, it was officially commissioned on June 18, 1904. The name? Hollister, Missouri. Willard was now fifteen years of age. Her father had just named the post office after the town in California she was born in.

A year later in 1905 as the tracks were laid near the store and post office, William Lewallen sold the land to Kirkham for $2,500. Quickly this area of land was getting more attention than Kirkham could have dreamed of.  The railroad built a temporary depot out of a box car and put the Hollister name on the side of it.

Much of Hollister's early history was remembered thanks to Miss Willard Kirkham's first-hand experiences. These memories were documented from interviews she gave to the White River Valley Historical Society at Forsyth.  She remembered the camps of railroad workers and even recalled the building of a blacksmith shop just north of her father's store. She remembered how Turkey Creek could go from a gentle stream to a raging torrent when heavy rains would occur.

Stay tuned, I'll share some more details on this and what became of Hollister's founding family next week! Happy trails, everyone!