Richards Student Showcase: Community History and Fine Arts Unit

In 1839 the Howell family bought the Adams' homestead located on the ground where the Howell County courthouse now stands. Pictured in the foreground is the town spring located in the basement of the old West Plains Library building (currently owned by the First Baptist Church). Near the spring, some of the Howell children are playing. Josiah Howell, in the wagon with his wife, is handing the money for the purchase of the land to Mr. Adams who is standing on the ground. Floating above their heads on a cloudy foundation of smoke rests the future outcome of this simple land transaction.

The mural was a visionary interpretation, connecting the earliest events in Howell County to the eventual development and growth of its county seat - West Plains. The idea for the mural came from a passage of Scripture in the Revelation where John sees the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven. Although the analogy might be a little “lofty” for the community of West Plains, still the smoke of Mr. Adam’s rustic cabin provides the foundation for the eventual city. In this mural, the far-distant past and recognizable past are combined.

Moving to the Western Plains
Ryan

I am a pioneer who moved to Bakersfield on the western plains. My name is Wash Hawkins. I settled here when I was only 10 years old. I did not move any more but grew up here. I like living in this place. There was only one other family living on the western plains near me. It was the Howell family. There was lots of grass but no trees. There were buffalo, elk, and deer living on the western plains.

The city of West Plains was founded in 1848. It was called West Plains because it was located on the plains west of Thomasville. Twelve years later the Civil War began. The North fought against the South. The Bushwhackers were fighting for the South, and the Jayhawkers were fighting for the North.

One night the Bushwhackers came to my house, and I knew they were going to kill me. I jumped out the window in my PJs and got away safely.



Moving to the Western Plains
Skye

I am a pioneer who moved to the western plains. My name is Mrs. Howell. We moved to the plains west of Thomasville in 1839. We bought a cabin from Mr. Adams. We settled there because we needed a place near water.

The grass looked beautiful, and the spring water sparkled in the sunlight. There were buffalo, foxes, and snakes. No one else was living there except for my family.

Later in 1860 I saw some Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers. I took the children downstairs to a closet until the battle was over. When the fighting ended, the North had won the Civil War.





Moving to the Western Plains
Billy


I am a pioneer who moved to the western plains. My name is Aaron Hutton. I left Hutton Valley in 1825. That valley was named after my family. I have two brothers and two sisters. My dad is a blacksmith, and my mom sews.

The western plains have lots of grass. I see elk, deer, buffalo, and groundhogs. I shot two does, four groundhogs, and one buffalo.

I left Hutton Valley because that town was getting too crowded. But there was no one else living on the western plains when I moved there. Our new town is called West Plains.

That is what it was like to live on the western plains.



Moving to the Western Plains
Johnny

My name is Wash Hawkins. I am a pioneer who moved to the western plains in 1827.

The plains look like a big field with tall grass, but there are no trees in sight. Some of the animals living on the plains are buffalo, deer, and snakes.

Later, there was only one other log cabin close to where I lived. A spring was on the hill. A year after the cabin was built, the Howell family bought it from a man named Adams.

Several years after that, the Bushwhackers chased me out of my house during the Civil War.