Charles Milton Santee was a surveyor and land agent based in Rolla, Missouri for South Pacific Railroad Lands. 150 years ago, in 1869 he surveyed the villages of Dixon, Hancock, Crocker, and Richland as the railroad reached those points in its westward journey across Pulaski County, Missouri.
This map of Dixon, Missouri, a fire insurance map, was produced in September 1915 by Sanborn Map Company. It shows building footprints, building material, height or number of stories, building use, lot lines, road widths and water facilities. An interactive version of this map can be viewed at http://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/sanbornmaps/id/1069/rv/singleitem/rec/1
1. Santee surveyed the village of Prairieville, Illinois April 10th, 1855.
2. Although born in Pennsylvania, as a young child he moved to Dixon, Illinois with his parents. Santee is most likely the railroad worker who named Dixon, Missouri after his hometown of Dixon, Illinois.
3. While in Rolla Santee was also a “newspaper man.” By 1886, after Santee left for California, the editor of the Rolla Herald had lost track of Santee’s whereabouts.
4. After moving to California Santee was a busy, and influential man. In 1889 he was operating a “first-class” hotel in San Diego along with his mother and sister and he was also the Vice-President of the International Company which was developing the mining interests of “Lower California”
5. In 1890 he married George A. Cowles’ widow, Jennie. George had founded Cowleston, California in San Diego county. In 1893 Jennie led a successful bid to rename Cowleston to Santee to honor her new husband.
Sources:
Texas County Pioneer (Houston, Missouri), 11 December 1869
Sterling Standard (Sterling, Illinois), 6 December 1877
Rolla Herald (Rolla, Missouri), 24 December 1885
The Dixon Sun (Dixon, Illinois), 13 March 1889
Los Angeles Herald (Los Angeles, California), 4 December 1889
https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_pulaski.html
http://cityofsanteeca.gov/how-do-i/santee-s-history
History & Heroes: Five Fast Facts is an occasional series of interesting facts regarding namesakes and historical figures in Pulaski County, Missouri.
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