The coffin caper saves local property records

The Poplar Bluff Museum has tales about us, our family and our history. I want to tell you some of those tales found within the museum walls.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Poplar Bluff was small with only 12 families, according to historical accounts from the time. Everyone was afraid. There were union and confederate sympathizers in town. Property rights were already in dispute and sometimes ignored. Roving bands of guerrillas and militia were passing through. Eventually eight of the families left town.

The new Butler County Courthouse was almost complete. According to “Deems History of Butler County,” there was a fear that the town and the courthouse would be burned down.

Two judges, J.N Yarber and P.L. Varner, secured all the Butler County records. They took them in the middle of the night and placed them in a coffin. The coffin was buried in a secret place to hide them. The judges only other concern was to ensure one of them survived the war in order to recover the records. Without them, property rights would be lost forever.

In 1865, the records were returned to the courthouse. A photograph of Butler County’s first courthouse is on the first floor of the Poplar Bluff Museum. The museum is handicap accessible and open every Sunday free of charge from 1-4 p.m. at 1010 Main St. in Poplar Bluff (formerly the Old Mark Twain School). Tell them Mike sent you!

Mike Shane is a veteran, Poplar Bluff resident and board member for the Poplar Bluff Museum.