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The recent story on Shawnee Ozark adventurer and "Daily Journal" editor L.O. Trigg has provoked some new conversations, most recently being the history of his Resthaven retreat in Leamington and a mysterious stone wall named for him near Max Creek in Johnson County.
Trigg left behind a large archive of information in the form of photographs and reports on sites visited on his annual Ozark Tours, but organizing those archives and preserving them in digital format is a formidable task.
The story inspired Glenda Casey Hauth to write to Trigg's granddaughter, Janet Davis, to tell her some of the history of Trigg's retreat in the Leamington area he called Resthaven prior to Trigg's purchase of it. Hauth sent the following letter to me to pass along to Davis which I will do when I can reach her. Until then I don't think either would mind me sharing the information for the sake of local history:
My name is Glenda Casey Hauth and I recently read your article in the "Gallatin Democrat" and thought you would like to hear a little more about the house your grandfather, L.O. Trigg called Resthaven. The house and acreage was originally owned by my great grandparents, William and Margaret Jane Vinyard Williams. They in turn sold to my parents, James and Emma Casey. Mom and Dad were best friends with L.O. and Inez Trigg when they owned the "Eldorado Journal." Mom and Dad lived in the house your grandfather called Resthaven where the first five of their 13 children were born. In Jan. 1937 a daughter was born to them and they named her Inez after your grandmother. That same year Mom and Dad sold the house and acreage to your grandparents and moved to the Ringgold Community where they purchased a farm with more flat acreage.
Your grandfather was not the only one who loved that house, because Mom would later tell us that after they moved away she would cry awhile and her youngest son Earl Casey of Shawneetown would cry to go back to the house they always referred to as "Grandpa's old place." Mom never adapted to the house in the Ringgold Community and always wanted to go back home. Mom and Dad always returned to the Leamington Community visiting with friends and the old Leamington Store before it was torn down. As children we loved to visit High Knob Tower, Garden of the Gods, and the surrounding area with Mom because she could always point out to us the area where a house had stood and tell a story about the people who had once lived there. The spring that ran through the property in back of the house Mom always referred to as "Colder Springs." Mom and Dad were eventually able to return to the Leamington Community. When they passed away they were buried in the Leamington Cemetery. My sister Inez, never forgot that she had been named after a good friend of my mother's. In her adult years Inez became very successful before her death in 2001.
Also, Carrier Mills High School history teacher and student of the many ancient stone walls in our area Mark Motsinger is on the trail of one elusive fort named for Trigg. It is referred to as Trigg's Fort or Trigg's Wall -- I can't quite remember from our phone conversation when I didn't have pen or paper handy -- in the Max Creek area in Johnson County. Motsinger has been in contact with the U.S. Forest Service about the site, but their archeologiststs are apparently also mystified by it. The site is in the agency's records, but the description is broad. Motsinger has tracked down a bluff he understands was a landmark near the wall, but has found no evidence of any stone structure. Anyone familiar with it can contact me at bdeneal@yourclearwave.com or call (618) 253-7146.
The above photo comes from Eric Johnson's compiled collection of images from Trigg's archive available for viewing at Johnson's Webshots Web site.
Brian DeNeal grew up in the hills of southeastern Illinois and spends as much time as he can exploring the hollows, bluffs and creeks that draw tourists from throughout the Midwest. He is a staff writer for The Harrisburg Daily Register/The Eldorado Daily Journal and sits on the River to River Society board of directors. You may contact him via e-mail at the address bdeneal@ yourclearwave.com
