Humboldt Lives

 

Humboldt Lives

Over the Back Fence

Vol 13

by

 Vicki L Bishop

 

It is hard to imagine Pulaski County before the railroad traversed its northern highlands.  Way back in the dawn of our county, there existed a place called Humboldt. 

Humboldt was a small trading post located approximately one mile north of present-day Crocker that was named after a local storekeeper.   The community was erected in 1854 and included a post office, inn, general store and several log cabins.  Also, nearby there was a saloon called “White Dump”.

The mail was carried by way of horseback from Waynesville to Humboldt.  There were few roads, and they were very rough and washed out.  Most of the farmers utilized ox carts for traveling.

In 1868, the railroad decided to connect the tracks from Jerome to Springfield.  Originally, the survey was conducted to take the railroad through Humboldt, however due to the asking price of the land, it was decided to move the depot a mile south to the area we now know as Crocker—named after a stockholder in the railway system.

Soon after the tracks were completed and the depot was open, Humboldt began its somewhat rapid descent into history.  By 1871, all business appears to have moved south to Crocker.  Eventually, Humboldt became a ghost town. 

Humboldt was in the general vicinity of the electrical substation located just off Route 17 north of Crocker.  It was reported in one interview that it is believed some old foundations remain in or around Humboldt Springs Farm. 

Today what remains of Humboldt is a cemetery with tombstones dating back into the 1800s and an old concrete cistern near a spring.  Humbolt Cemetery includes only seven marked graves.  The family names include  Decker, Eligel, Lawson, Loague, and McDaniel.  The stones date to the 1870s with the latest one being 1886. 

Is that really all that is left of Humboldt?  In recent years we have seen several local businesses or groups reviving the Humboldt name, including the newly refurbished event center.   What a tribute to local history! 

Residents have found a way to breathe life into a ghost town—well sort of anyway.  The railroad may have killed Humboldt, but the locals refuse to let it be forgotten.   One hundred and fifty-seven years after the Crocker Depot first opened, Humboldt lives in our hearts thanks to those who refused to forget that tiny trading post located just up the road.