Pocahontas marks 150th anniversary

Lifelong Pocahontas resident Revis Reisenbichler will always cherish memories of growing up in a small town.

"The great thing about living in Pocahontas was we didn't have crime and heavy traffic that bigger cities have," said Reisenbichler, owner of Reis Meat Processing, which has processed beef, pork and lamb in Pocahontas since 1972. "Since the town population was small, we all knew each other and that created a family-type atmosphere. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing."

Though the exact date of its founding is debatable, Southeast Missourian archives show that 2008 marks the town's 150th anniversary.

There are no plans at the moment to mark the milestone, but the town council is going to discuss possible plans to do so, according to councilman Wib Reisenbichler. Pocahontas observed its 100th anniversary with an event in August 1958 and its 125th in November 1983.

While residents such as Revis Reisenbichler have called Pocahontas home for more than 40 years, others like the Rev. Robert Mann have lived in the town for less than a decade. However, Mann does not consider himself a stranger but rather a member of the community. Mann moved from St. Louis in 2001 to become pastor of Zion Lutheran Church.

"It's been so peaceful here," Mann said. "When I moved here, I didn't know what to expect.

"What I've learned is that this community cares for one another and that the church is the community," he said. "And that's what makes this a special place to live."

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Wib Reisenbichler watered plants in the backyard of his Pocahontas home on Tuesday evening. Reisenbichler has lived in the town for more than 50 years.

Homesteading in the community began in the early 1800s, but it was 1856 before the first settlement and post office were established.

Originally called Green Village, the town later was named Pocahontas by Samuel Green, a landowner who was part American Indian and claimed to be a descendant of the famous Indian woman.

Germans and Austrians started settling in the community by 1858. This was the year Bowman Milling Co. was established, which residents believe is the oldest business in Cape Girardeau County.

In addition to the post office and Bowman Milling Co., other early businesses included a country store, a blacksmith shop and a lumber company. The town also had two Lutheran churches and a Presbyterian church.

As the years passed, other businesses established themselves in the community, including three grocery stores, a restaurant, a resident physician, a harness and shoe repair shop, two creameries, a meat processing plant, a car dealership, a funeral service, a telephone switchboard and a barbershop.

Today, only a small number of businesses remain in the town of 127 people, a decrease of only three residents since 1958. St. John's and Zion Lutheran Church, Bowman Milling Co., Reis Meat Processing and the post office are about the only establishments still in operation in the town on Route C just north of Fruitland.

"While we don't have a lot of businesses remaining here, the ones that are here still remain an important part of life in Pocahontas," Mann said. "It's amazing that any town would survive one-and-a-half centuries. But we have."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

The Schoen Brothers store was one of many businesses that once operated in Pocahontas.