Jacket, Missouri

Jacket (sometimes spelled Jackett) is an unincorporated community in the southeastern corner of McDonald County, Missouri, United States.

In moving to Jacket, he brought his wife, Elizabeth Yocum Schell, and their young children to make a claim on the large tracts of land that were open in the area for homesteading.

[6] In the summer of 1863, the Civil War was in full swing, and southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas was an area torn by loyalties between the North and the South.

His wife, daughters and some neighbor women took his body and prepared it for burial, using a meal box from the mill to serve as a coffin, and buried him in the front yard of his home.

Following his death, his 1,000 acres was divided among his descendants, who built homes, started businesses and set aside land for churches, a cemetery and a school.

Atop the hill directly north of his mill, the younger Henry Schell established the Jacket store prior to 1908,[7] at some point taking on Jasper Armstrong (1888-1967) as a partner in the venture.

[9] Additionally in October 1911, Schell sold out his share in the store to Jasper Armstrong's stepbrother Joseph J.Vaughn (1878-1955), who also moved his blacksmith shop to the location.

[8] Ownership of the business shifted several times in the following years, with Ben Evans running it until October 1933, when a Jack Branam bought it.

[4] In the early years of the last century, the grounds of the old Baptist church served as the location for annual 4th of July celebrations and other community events.

[21] In 1929, the county authorized the building of a bridge across Big Sugar Creek in Jacket,[22] replacing the ford, which was unusable in high water.

The single-lane bridge was built on concrete supports with steel girders and wood decking and railing, crossing the creek an eighth of a mile north of where the Civil War-era Schell mill stood.

Jacket’s commerce activity faded following the construction of the bridge and the increase in automobile ownership, which provided local residents with the option of leaving the community on a more regular business to do their shopping, go to work, or attend church.