 Albert Crooks Scruggs spent five years in California during the Gold Rush but returned to the community of Scruggs in 1856. For many years, he operated the general store at Scruggs, which was sold by his son, Alex, following his death in 1902. Gone are the railroad station and stores at Scruggs but the name lives on through Scruggs Station Road and Scruggs Lumber Company. Courtesy of Karene Drinkard Cole County has a long history that can be traced to the Scruggs name and is associated with the community along a long-abandoned railroad line and a lumberyard in Jefferson City. One of the early branches of this family can be traced to Virginia, specifically James and Mary (Herndon) Scruggs. They, along with James’s brother, Ivan, traveled west through several states before settling in Cole County in 1828. These families brought with them some children while others were born following their arrival in the county. Purchasing tracts of property located several miles west of Jefferson City, they engaged in farming, milling, stock breeding and, eventually, mercantile interests. John William Scruggs, a son of James, was born in Kentucky and was about eleven years old when his parents arrived in Cole County. His grandfather, Henry Chandler, served during the War of 1812 and John followed in his footsteps by serving with the Union Army during the Civil War. John also followed the agricultural example of his father by becoming a farmer while also recognizing a business opportunity connected to the construction of a railroad spur. “John W. Scruggs, about 7 miles out on the new road, will make application to have a station established at his place,” reported The State Times on July 1, 1881. “In the event the application is granted he will build a commodious warehouse and keep a commodious country store.” The railroad had been established in Jefferson City, but a spur was being constructed intended to connect to Lebanon but only reached the community of Bagnell. This spur was initially known as the Jefferson City, Lebanon and Southwestern Railroad and later became known as the Bagnell Branch. “The first station on the new railroad out from Jefferson City is at Scruggs’,” The State Times printed on August 26, 1881. “The second station is about a half mile between the Moreau bridge, a short distance from Stringtown. It is now known as Lower Stringtown. The site of the depot is on the farm of Andy Blochberger and is not far from the Lutheran church.” The “Lower Stringtown” mentioned in the newspaper shortly thereafter became known as Lohman. The store was established in the community that received the designation “Scruggs” while the railroad stop was called “Scruggs Station,” so named for John W. Scruggs. Newspaper records note that in early spring of 1882, his daughter, Margery, was sworn in as postmistress for the post office located in the store owned by her father. Napoleon Bonaparte Scruggs, a younger brother of John W., was born on a farm near Scruggs Station. In later years, he moved to Jefferson City and because of his appearance, was known as Uncle Sam, often playing the part at patriotic events. Ivan Scruggs, paternal uncle to John W., was only 42 years old when he died on October 15, 1846. According to “Godspeed’s Cole County History” printed in 1889, Ivan Scruggs, after arriving in Missouri in 1828, “purchased 720 acres of land, on which he built a house and began at once to make improvements, and here died in 1846. Previous to his death, he had cleared about 200 acres and become owner of 1,310 acres.” Ivan Scruggs was buried in a small plot off Chaddsford Drive that sets on a parcel surrounded by residential structures and is known as the Emil Seidel Farm Cemetery. Nine years prior his death, in 1835, he and his wife, Mariah Mahan, became parents to one son, Albert Crooks (A.C.) Scruggs. “Mr. (A.C) Scruggs was reared on the farm and at his majority he spent five years in the California gold fields,” noted the Jefferson City Tribune on June 18, 1902. “In 1856 he returned to Missouri and the next year was married to Miss Amanda Gordon.” A.C. Scruggs and his wife raised to adulthood a son, Alex, and a daughter, Lourevia, while three of their other children died quite young. In addition to farming and raising livestock, A.C. became the successor to the store ran by his first cousin, John W. Scruggs, the latter of whom passed away in 1900 and was buried in the Woodland-Old City Cemetery in Jefferson City. The Jefferson City Tribune shared on May 24, 1902, “Mr. Alex Scruggs of Hulen, Oklahoma, arrived Friday and went out to his old home at Scruggs to visit his father, Mr. A.C. Scruggs. Mr. Alex Scruggs recently moved his family to Oklahoma and likes the new country well.” Alex Scruggs would return briefly to Scruggs Station in 1902 following the death of his father. He sold the family’s property to Adam Erhardt. The Erhardt family went on to operate the general store and post office. Long gone are the railroad tracks and the train station while the store has been demolished and replaced by a parking area for a state government building. However, the Scruggs name remains prevalent in the community through the name of Scruggs Station Road and the Scruggs Lumber Company. Karene Drinkard, whose mother’s side of the family was Scruggs, has over the years sought to capture stories of her ancestors and the history of the community that no longer exists. “My mother was a cousin to A.C. Scruggs, and she died when I was seven years old,” said Karene Drinkard. “For us, learning more about our mother, Gertrude Scruggs Coleman, and her Scruggs family has amounted to putting the pieces together of a community that is no longer there.” She added, “We lived in Holts Summit and after mother passed, our life consisted of daddy working, time with our immediate family, school and church. He couldn’t really load up eight kids in a car and take them anywhere. We didn’t know what we were missing but it’s nice to learn a little about our family and the community named for them.” Jeremy P. Ämick authored the historical compilation “Moments on the Moreau.”  The store at Scruggs is pictured before it was demolished several decades ago. It was located near the intersection of Fairgrounds Road and Scruggs Station Road, on property now housing a state warehouse. Courtesy of Karene Drinkard
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No limitations - Adolph Strobel worked as dairy inspector after losing a limb to wounds in WWI1/27/2025  Raised on a farm near Lohman, Adolph Strobel was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War I. He was severely wounded in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, losing one of his legs. Prior to his discharge, he was fitted with a prosthetic leg and went on to attend college, later becoming an inspector for a dairy. Courtesy of Jeremy P. Ämick Growing up on a farm near Lohman, Adolph Strobel and his siblings learned at a young age how to cultivate crops and raise livestock. They came of age attending classes taught by the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lohman and once becoming adults, embarked upon their own lives. But for Adolph, his own career as a farmer was suspended by World War I and left him to find new ways to earn a living after suffering a severe combat injury.
Adolph Henry Strobel was born May 25, 1892, the son of John E. Strobel and Anna Woehrer. The daily grind of assorted responsibilities made the years pass by quickly and soon young Strobel made the decision to pursue his own future in agriculture by working his own farm. “Registration for service in the United States Army was made the occasion of a big demonstration here today,” reported the Kansas City Times on June 6, 1917, of events that took place in Jefferson City. “A parade this afternoon was followed by patriotic speeches during which business was suspended.” This registration was the first of three that took place during World War I as part of the new military draft mechanism. The first registration was held on June 5, 1917, for men between the ages of 21 and 31. Adolph Strobel, who was 25 years old at the time, registered at his local precinct in Lohman. In early August 1917, Strobel passed his physical examination and was inducted into the U.S. Army in Jefferson City a few weeks later, on October 4, 1917. Like many of his fellow draftees, Strobel was not keen on serving in the military and failed to board the special train departing Jefferson City and bound for Camp Funston, Kansas, on October 5. Weeks earlier, it was reported that of the 60 men who had been examined for service along with Strobel, 45 requested exemptions and did not want to serve. “One of the boys from Centertown said that Strobel had declared that he did not want to go to war and would not go,” the Daily Post explained on October 5, 1917. “Sheriff Richter stated this afternoon that if the boys came here and gave a good excuse for not appearing when the board summoned them, they might be excused.” Several days later, Strobel was apprehended by authorities in Lohman and taken to Jefferson Barracks for processing. From there, he was transferred to Camp Funston and began training as a soldier assigned to Company D, 356th Infantry—a regiment comprised of men from Missouri. The training cycle presented many difficulties for the soldiers, including shortages in supplies and epidemics such as meningitis. Strobel and many of his fellow soldiers were removed from the regiment and sent as replacements for other units preparing for deployment overseas. Military records reveal that Strobel was transferred to Company L, 4th Infantry Regiment on February 26, 1918. Chris Kolakowski wrote in an article for the American Battlefield Trust that “the 4th Infantry deployed on April 6, 1918 as part of the 3rd Infantry Division. Thrust into line in July 1918 as the Germans made a last bid to capture Paris, the regiment was one of the units that blunted the German drive after an epic four-day stand along the Marne River.” He added, “Ever after, the 3rd Division has been known as the Rock of the Marne.” Strobel served in the division while they participated in other major engagements of the war such as the St. Mihiel Offensive. But it was during the battles occurring in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that forever left Strobel with unexpected physical limitations. Richard Faulkner described in “The U.S. Army Campaigns of World War I” that “the Meuse-Argonne Campaign would gain the distinction of being the largest and most costly military operation in American history. Over a million American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, as well as 135,000 French soldiers, participated in the offensive.” During fighting on October 24, 1918, Private Strobel was seriously wounded with shell shrapnel. By the time the Meuse-Argonne Offensive ended on November 11, 1918, the 3rd Division sustained more than 16,000 battle casualties. Evacuated from the line, Strobel remained in an overseas military hospital for the next 2-1/2 months, losing a leg because of his injuries. He was then sent to an Army hospital at Camp Dodge, Iowa and Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and was eventually fitted with an artificial limb. “Mr. Strobel intends to take advantage of the professional training that is offered the wounded men by the government and will likely begin that work in the near future,” shared the Central Missourian on September 26, 1919. Receiving his discharge in November 1919, Strobel returned to Lohman and the following year invested in the new farm cooperative in Russellville that became the MFA Exchange. Unable to accomplish the farm tasks he could do before the war, he enrolled at the University of Missouri in 1921 and finished a short course in agriculture. For more than a decade, Strobel worked as a milk inspector for a St. Louis dairy and on October 2, 1934, married Flora Siebert from Moniteau County. The couple never had any children and eventually settled in Centertown, where Strobel’s life was abruptly ended by an unexpected circumstance. “Mr. Strobel was driving his automobile when his wife noticed he was becoming ill,” the California Democrat reported on October 19, 1950. “She steered the car to the side of the road near a service station in Centertown and called for an ambulance.” A doctor arriving at the scene a little while later said that Strobel had died almost instantly from a heart attack. The remains of the 58-year-old were laid to rest in McGirk Cemetery in eastern Moniteau County. Any hesitancy Strobel demonstrated regarding serving in World War I was later eclipsed by his making one of the greatest sacrifices in service to his country—the loss of a limb. Not indulging in regret for his circumstances or physical limitations, he availed himself of the opportunity for an education and was invested in making a better life for his family. Jeremy P. Ämick is the author of the historical compilation “Moments on the Moreau.” |
AuthorJeremy P. Ämick is an award-winning author and historian dedicated to preserving music, military and local histories. Archives
July 2026
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