392 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ing a drug store and undertaking establish- ment. There are Baptist, Christian, iletho- dist and General Baptist churches. The pop- ulation of the town is 742. Puxico The iirst settlement at Puxico in Stoddard county was made September 29, 1883, and the town was incorporated June 2, 1884. The first mayor was E. L. Hawks. Among the early settlers were J. A. Hickman, E. L. Hawks, W. C. Clark, George Eaton. Henry Jeffords, Prior Daniels, John W. Reed, "Wil- liam Gray and H. B. Purcell. The business interests of the town were, for the first period, in the hands of J. A. Hickman, John Reed. H. B. Purcell and T. J. Moss. There are now four general stores, handle factory, flour mill, electric light plant, canning factory, saw mill. and planing mill. Among the important buildings are the opera house, three churches. brick school building and a lodge hall. The town is situated on the Hoxie branch of the Frisco Railroad and has a population of 814. The Bank of Puxico was organized in 1898 and has a capital stock of $25,000. One news- paper, the Puxico Index, is published in the town. Irondale Irondale, in Washington county, was laid out in 1857 by Hon. John G. Scott, who erected a large iron furnace there. It is on the Iron Mountain Railway, ten miles south- east of Potosi, the county seat. There are three churches, Catholic. Cum- berland Presbyterian, and Methodist, a pub- lic school, hotel, five stores, and a mill. The Bank of Irondale was organized in 1901 with a capital stock of $10,000. The population is now 338. Mineral Point ^lineral Point is a village in Washington county, four miles east of Potosi and is the tenninus of the Potosi branch of the Iron Mountain Railway. It was laid out in 1857 by the Hon. John Evans. It has a school, a ^letliodist Episcopal church, a hotel, four stores, and its population is 290. RiCHWOODS Richwoods is a village in Washington <ounty near the Jefferson county line. It has recentlj' taken on new life and is becoming more important. A bank called the Bank of Richwoods, was organized in 1910 with a cap- ital stock of $10,000. There are ten business establishments, a church, and a mill. The population is about 300. Other villages and towns are Baryties, Tiff, Hopewell, Shirley, Summit, and Undine. Chaonia Chaonia, in Wayne county on the Hoxie branch of the Frisco, is a town which sprung up around a saw-mill about 1899. After the timber was cleared away the farming inter- ests began to support the town and it is now growing. The population is 363. There are stores, a church, mills, and the Bank of Cha- onia with a capital stock of $10,000. It was chartered in 1907. Leeper Leeper in Wayne county, is the junction point of the ^Missouri Southern with the Iron Mountain. It was named in honor of Col. W. T. Leeper. a northern soldier in the Civil war. At one time it was the seat of extensive saw mills, but these have disappeared. It is now supported by fanning and railroad in- terests. There are four stores, a hotel,
