286 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI Cotton Exchange Bank, organized in 1900, which has a capital stock of $30,000. The town is the county seat of Dunklin county and one of the principal buildings is the court house, which occupies a commanding site in the center of the square. The business con- nected with the courts is one of the features of life in the town. The Dunklin Democrat, a Democratic newspaper edited by E. P. Caruthers, is one of the best county papers in the section. It has a large circulation and in New Madrid county to Dunklin countj% its terminus being Clarkton. The first settler in the town was Dr. Skaggs. Other early settlers were John Timberman and his partner, Wil- liam Muse; they operated the first store in the town. Dr. Van H. Harrison was one of the first physicians and R. W. and T. C. Stokes were merchants. The town grew rap- idly for a time as it was surrounded by a fine farming coimtry and its population soon grew tc three hundred. It built the first good school Court House, Kennett considerable influence. The town has a good system of public schools, there being at pres- ent two buildings — the Central school and the Shelton school. There is a fully accredited high school and this institiition is one of the most popular in the town. Clarkton Clarkton, in Dunklin county, was founded in 1860 and was named in honor of Henry E. Clark, who was one of the contractors of the building of the Plank road from Weaverville building in the county. Its prosperity was very greatly checked, however, by the build- ing of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas rail- road from New Madrid to JIalden. Most of the business of Clarkton was moved either to Maiden or Kennett, and for many years the town was at a standstill. Only one or two stores were conducted during this period, the principal one being that owned by Michael Hubbard. About 1895 a railroad was built from Gibson to Cape Girardeau; this was a branch of the Frisco system and it passed
