George Cooley: Changing with the times from mines to flour mills and autos

Time to take a trip into the past and learn about one of our forefathers, George Cooley. You have heard about men who seem to turn everything they touch into gold … well, George Cooley had that talent.

George T. Cooley was born in 1848 on his grandfather’s land in Casey County, Ky. The land had been awarded to George’s grandfather, John Cooley, for his loyal service during the Revolutionary War. The 3,000 acres of land included the land on which Daniel Boone had built his log cabin. It did not bother Boone because he felt Kentucky was becoming over populated anyway. He loaded up and moved to Missouri, which had plenty of woods to hunt and plenty of solitude.

George’s parents, Thomas and Letitia Cooley, moved from Kentucky to Springfield, Ill. but George did not mind, as he was adventurous and most of all he loved change in his life. After graduating from the State Normal School, George enrolled at the Wesleyan University. After completing three years, George felt the need for change and he dropped out to start a new profession. He served as an apprentice and then a journeyman in the joiner trade.

George saw a need for a mechanical stair buildings and along with his friend, Dan Harkness, started this new business with no competition. They were very successful, but after five years Dan passed away. George once again felt the need for change so he sold his business and became a millwright at the Union Iron Works in Decatur, Ill. Having owned his own company, George realized he needed to be his own boss again. He built flour mills.

At the age of 30, in 1878, George once again felt the need for change so he moved his wife of two years to Twin Grove Township in Jasper County. He obtained some land but leased it out as farming was not his style.

In 1883, a terrible cyclone hit the town of Oronogo, which brought change to George’s life as he took charge of the men who had been hired to rebuild the town. When that project was completed, George needed another change, so he erected a zinc site mill of the concentration type for Stolz & Illsing. Trying something different, George used 2×4 studs instead of the usual boards. The experiment proved a success, and George patented the idea. As he became a specialist in building concentrators, once again he was sought after all over the United States. In Jasper County alone, he built over 300 concentrating mills.

In 1900, George invented a coal washing jig. He invented a sludge table, which played a major role in the mining industry. George incorporated the American Concentrator Co., which held 15 of his patented mining inventions.

The need for change encouraged George to sell that company in 1908. In 1909, at the age of 61, George started the Cooley Mfg. Co.,  which manufactured concentrator tables and did general machine work for mines.

The year 1912 brought a new change to George’s life as he saw a future in automobiles. George built a building at 410-412 S. Pennsylvania Avenue in Joplin. This building held one of the finest garages in the area. Many years later it became the R&S Motor Sales Co.

George had many sons to assist him in his business, and a successful business it was. They built another garage in Webb City operated by his son, Julian Cooley. Back in Joplin, George added onto his Pennsylvania building facing East Fourth Street. At the top of the building, at 214 E. Fourth St., you can read “Cooley…R&S… Wilson.”

The large Cooley family consisted of sons and one daughter, Archie Frances Cooley, Jessie L. Cooley, George Elmore Cooley, Julian Arthur Cooley, Charles Thomas Cooley, Sidney Earl Cooley, Dixon “Dick” Cooley, John Norman Cooley and Broadwich Cooley Fly.

The biggest change in George’s life occurred in 1920 when he retired at the age of 72. He lived until the age of 83. What a great inventor, builder and businessman was George T. Cooley. What an impact he made in Jasper County with the mining business. Cars brought to the area by George were all over the Jasper County area. The family lived in Joplin, Webb City and Oronogo.  He was known all over the United States.

Even though the mills built by George have long since disappeared, the inventions have become obsolete, and the automobiles have been replaced with modern forms of transportation, it is nice to know that the name Cooley still shows at the top of a building in Joplin. Not much to show for his brilliant talents but a piece of history all the same.