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The new town enjoyed an
era of prosperity with a general store, lumber yard and
other businesses. Eventually Mark Bird became owner of the
store and operated it until he suddenly met his death at the
age of 38, by car accident in December of 1916... then the
business was carried on by his widow, Luella Bird and her
brother, A.B. Cumback. This business lasted until 1932, when
it accidently caught fire and burned down.
Collingwood Post Office
established April 30, 1908, with Elmer E. Vanderburn,
postmaster. This is probably why the town was referred to as
Collingwood for awhile, but that post office was abandoned
on January 9, 1909. Missler Post office established May 13,
1912, and was in operation until July 31, 1933. The name
became "Missler" because a group of people coming to Meade
County were headed by a man by the name of Missler and the
promoters thought it would help to name the town after him.
The following article
was published in the Meade County Globe on April 16,
1908:
REJUVENATED
JASPER
Twenty years ago, the town of Rainbelt,
about five or six miles northwest of Meade, was
flourishing little village with our late R. R. Wells,
postmaster and general store keeper. This village lived
several years and finally succumbed to the inevitable.
Mr. Wells met with serious loss by fire and was so
severely burned that his life was despaired of. He
finally recovered and moved to Meade and again engaged
in business and amassed a comfortable fortune, dying in
Kansas City several years ago.
The above is only a little history
connected with the new town of Jasper that now occupies
practically the site of former Rainbelt. When the Rock
Island road was built through Meade County the company
established a station there with a fine depot but on
account of the aforesaid "inevitable" the station was
torn down and moved away seventeen or eighteen years
ago. Now come forth from this former town a new Jasper
that has evidently come to stay.
Some months ago the enterprising real
estate firms, The Artesian Valley Investment Co., and
Marrs & Miller saw an excellent body of land
sufficiently remote from Meade and Plains to merit
starting a town, which was accordingly surveyed into
lots and plotted and now the sound of the hammer and saw
is heard from morning until night and a nice little city
is being built. Court Brown is building a store room
24x40 two stories for a general stock of merchandise and
is putting in a lumber yard. Mr. Vanderberg will have
charge of the business and will also be postmaster, as a
post office will be established about July 1. Mr. Brown
is also putting down a 3-inch tubular well which he will
turn over to the townsite. The Meade Lumber & Supply Co.
are also putting in a lumber yard which will be managed
by Max Dick. A hotel will also be built to accommodate a
large number of land seekers and buyers who are daily
found in that place and already 8000 acres of land
surrounding the town has been sold to well-to-do Swedes
and Germans who are locating on their lands and making
substantial improvements. The Rock Island Co. have the
matter in hand of re-building the depot and work will
soon begin.
The new town of Jasper is surrounded by
as fine land as can be found anywhere in the west and
there is no better wheat and com section in Meade
county, and with the thrifty Swedes and Germans settling
the land the town will necessarily build up and grow
into a flourishing city and a splendid business point as
it has an immense territory to the north and northwest
to draw from.
The Globe is glad to see Messrs.
Fullington & Co. and Marrs & Miller putting forth such a
strong and successful effort to re-establish old Jasper
and fill that section of the county with substantial
farmers who have the means to develop the country and
are coming to make their home in Meade county.
In the late 1940's a man
by the name of Alfred D. France started purchasing the
Jasper lots from the former owners and in 1950, he asked the
county commissioners that the town be vacated. As far as the
records show, Jasper is the only one of many Meade County
ghost towns to be legally vacated.
From The Meade Globe
News, December 8, 2023
FIRE DESTROYS
STORE AND POST OFFICE AT MISSLER
Fire of unknown
origin destroyed the store at Missler early Wednesday
morning The store was owned by Mrs. Luella Bird and
managed by her brother, Lon Cumback. The Missler post
office was located in the store.
The fire was
discovered about 4 o'clock in the morning by one of the
Mexicans who works n the section. The building burned
rapidly. Within a few minutes after the fire's discovery
the entire building was in flames. As no fire fighting
apparatus was available nothing could be done to save
the building or the stock in the store
Mr. Cumback says
that he knows of nothing that could have caused the fire
as the fire in the store was nearly out when he left the
store. The loss was only partially covered by insurance.
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