Information Sheet

 

 

R         Lake Spring Mercantile.

171                  Records, 1866-1941 (bulk 1866-1905).

                                    Seven volumes.

 

MICROFILM

 

 

 

These are account ledgers and daybooks of a general store at Lake Spring in the northwest­ern corner of Dent County, Missouri.  The business was operated, first, by John Hyer and John R. Flora, and, then, by Alexander C. Donnan.

 

The store at Lake Spring was established in 1856 by Dr. John Hyer, a physician and one of the earliest settlers in the area.  Located at a junction of roads leading to Rolla, Salem, Licking, and the Maramec Iron Works, the site was well-suited for business, and a small village grew up which included not only Hyer's store and cabin, but also Dent County’s first post of­fice.  The Civil War ended business temporarily, but Dr. Hyer and John R. Flora re-opened the store in 1866.  They had previously collaborated as directors of the short-lived Union In­dependent Acad­emy at Lake Spring.  The extent or duration of Flora’s involvement in the firm, styled as “Hyer & Flora,” is un­known, but Hyer remained connected with the store until his death in 1890.  Hyer’s son-in-law, Alexander C. Donnan, a prominent banker and politician in Rolla and Salem, then took over the business and styled it as “A. C. Donnan & Co.”

 

The records of the store at Lake Spring consist of standard daybooks and account ledgers, most of which pertain to business from 1866 through 1905.  There are a few miscella­neous en­tries in Volume 2 which deal with farm and business matters in 1941.  Volume 1 in­cludes rec­ords of both the store and Dr. Hyer’s medical practice.  Most of the transactions in the daybooks are item­ized, and most of the account ledgers have name indexes.

 

 

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