Weaubleau: college town grit and the poor man's friend
In the county's southwest corner, almost to St. Clair, Weaubleau grew a Christian Institute into a college, kept a railroad stop when miles of track were scarce, and—when the schoolhouse burned—simply held class in church.
Lorenzo Dow John ran general mercantile stores here and earned the nickname “Poor Man's Friend” for generosity that outlasted any single ledger line. A postcard shows him in later years with his second wife, Malina Locke— brass buttons and cap suggesting Civil War or G.A.R. dress, a merchant still standing in the doorway of his town.
Sources: Photo captions submitted by Thom John; county timeline (Weaubleau Institute 1872, college building 1873, railroad note 1898).