William Wilson Fulbright (January 8, 1785 - September 22, 1843[1]) was one of the early pioneers and settlers of Springfield, Missouri.[2] Although the founding of Springfield, Missouri, is often dated to 1829 when John Polk Campbell and his brother carved their initials in an ash tree with the intention of returning to the area, William Wilson Fulbright and his family moved and settled in the area in 1830 before the Campbell family returned.[3]

Biography

Born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, William Fulbright and his family moved to Haywood County, North Carolina in 1797.[1] He could speak the German language.[4] Fulbright served in the War of 1812 as a private in a regiment of North Carolina State Troops between February 1814 and July 1814, stationed at Fort Benjamin Hawkins in Georgia. After the War of 1812, he moved his family to the Territory of Missouri and to Henry County and Madison County in Tennessee before finally settling in southwestern Missouri.[1] In 1830, he and his brother John acquired 160 acres of land near Jones Springs, and William Fulbright erected the first cabin in what would become Springfield near the 1200 block of West College Street.[5] This first church service and the first church, a Methodist church, was organized in the cabin of William Fulbright.[6] Only nine families lived in Springfield at the time. In 1833, William Fulbright built the first church structure in Springfield as a one-room log cabin. This church was named the Kickapoo Meeting House as the land had been deeded to the Kickapoo Indians with Methodist and Presbyterians using this building until the Methodist congregation moved closer to town.[7] Removal of the Kickapoo Indian began on October 24, 1832.[8] In 1929, a marker was set in the retaining wall on the College Street commemorating Fulbright's role in settling of Springfield.[5] William Fulbright also built the first gristmill in Greene County, Missouri, in 1832.[9] It was operated first as a still house and later as a mill. In 1860, his son John Fulbright rebuilt this old grist mill and operated it in connection with his farming. When it was rebuilt in 1860, a cotton gin and carding machine were added. The Fulbright spring furnished water power sufficient to operate this mill, and it continued to operate for about 25 years.[4] The Fulbright Spring was named after William Wilson Fulbright.[9] The Fulbright Spring is one of the original sources of municipal water for the city of Springfield, Missouri.[10] The first waterworks at Fulbright Spring were constructed in 1883.[9]

Legacy

By 1835, the settlement of Fulbright and Campbell Springs had been given the name of Springfield.[8] In or around 1835, his son Henry Fulbright opened one of the first general stores in Springfield, trading in goods from St. Louis.[2] In 1840, he entered into a partnership with his sons Henry and Ephraim.[2] William Wilson Fulbright died in 1843.[11] When he died, he owned 19 slaves, down from the 30 slaves he had when he left Tennessee in 1829.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "William Wilson Fulbright". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fulbright, Henry, 1814-1907" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  3. ↑ "Springfield History: Then, Now And In Between". Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  4. 1 2 "Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri: ca. 1914". Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  5. 1 2 "City of Springfield: History of the Area". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  6. ↑ "First Cabin in Springfield". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  7. ↑ "The History of Grace Church". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  8. 1 2 "Greene County Historical Society: Historic Timeline". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  9. 1 2 3 Anita L. Roberts (2011). Springfield 1830-1930. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 15.
  10. ↑ "Answer Man". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  11. ↑ "Marker Number Fifteen: First Cabin in Springfield". Retrieved 2023-12-08.
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