THIS STRANGE TOWN–LIBERAL MISSOURI
A HISTORY OF THE EARLY YEARS
1880 – 1910

BY J. P. MOORE

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Table of Contents

Foreword–1

Prologue–3

The Beginning–7

Waggoner’s Addition and the Barbed Wire Fence–15

The Neutral Strip or No Man’s Land–20

Denison, or Pedro–22

Strong Prejudices–27< The Crusaders and the Columnists--30 An Early Pamphlet--32 Clark Braden's Pamphlet--38 Mr. Walser's Residence in Liberal--45 The Incorporation of Liberal--48 The Liberal City Cemetery--50 The Old Gold Well--55 The Saloons Came--61 The Churches Came--66 The Spiritualist Movement--71 Spiritualist Hoax Exposed--75 Catalpa Park--78 City Park and the Old Fire Bell--80 Early Public Buildings--82 The Spiritual Science Association and the Old Spook Hall--84 Like Shifting Sands--91 Early Benevolent Societies--93 Recollections of an Early Resident--94 Mr. Walser's Marital Life--99 A Midnight Burial--101 The Big Fire of 1887--105 Civil Liberal at Turn of Century--107 Industrially -- Early--109 The Cranks Came--113 The Town Pump and the Old Watering Trough--115 >Mrs. Burgess-Oster and the Burgess Tomb–118

Bitter Creek–122

Some Early Day Eccentrics–124

Briefs of Other Persons and Facts–133

Liberal’s Early Schools–139

Liberal’s Newspapers–141

Mr. Walser, the Man–144

Words of a Grandson–156

Freelove and the Common-Law Marriage–158

O. E. Harmon’s Story of Liberal–163

In Conclusion–166