Superman in Metropolis, Illinois
Higdon Christian Church, Missouri
Higdon Church Cemetery, Missouri
Saturday morning the rain had passed and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. I bundled up and rode on. As I was leaving a rest area on Interstate 24 near Paducah, I saw a sign directing me to the giant Superman Statue and realized I was about reach Metropolis, Illinois. On a previous motorcycle trip I had my picture taken at the Popeye Statue in Chester, Illinois. Metropolis wasn't a planned stop, but I couldn't let this opportunity pass. I followed the signs to the statue and found someone to take my picture with Superman.
I planned to go directly to the St. Louis area to stay overnight (I used to live in nearby Belleville, Ilinois), but it was still early so I decided I had time to first go a little out of my way and try to locate Higdon, Missouri. I crossed the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau, and using my road atlas and MapQuest maps I found the Higdon Christian Church about twenty miles southeast of Farmington.
There was nobody around when I arrived, so I stopped and took a picture of the church and visited the cemetery. There were several Higdon markers there, including one for a Capt William. H. Higdon who was apparently survived the Civil War and lived to an old age.
I flagged down a passing car and asked if anyone named Higdon lived nearby. I was directed to a house just down the road. No one was home. I talked to a neighbor about my quest to find places named Higdon and talk to people named Higdon. I was about to leave for St. Louis when a car turned in at the Higdon driveway. It was beginning to get late, so I stayed just long enough to meet Larry Higdon and explain about my trip and promise to come back the next afternoon.
Sunday afternoon I returned and talked to Larry and Mary Etta Higdon. Larry's great grandfather (I think; I should have taken better notes) was the original Higdon settler here, and his large property was subdivided and parceled off over the years. Larry told me there was once a post office and general store near the church. The Higdon Post Office was closed in 1942 when it was consolidated with another community, and that's when the town of Higdon disappeared from atlases and state maps. The post office and general store were later torn down. There remains a neglected building that was once the one-room school Larry attended. It's boarded up now, and there are no signs or anything that identify it.
I left Higdon, Missouri in time to find a place to camp for the night. My first impulse was to go to Lake Wappapello State Park, but I decided I had time to ride a little farther to Big Oak Tree State Park. It wasn't until I stopped for supper in East Prairie that I realized I had goofed! My map didn't show a little green campground symbol for Big Oak Tree. The only other state park within a reasonable distance was Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tennessee, but I couldn't be sure the campground was open after all the heavy rain and high water. I turned back to the interstate and found a motel in New Madrid. (There was a KOA campground nearby, but it was very close to Interstate 55. From past experience I know that motel walls block traffic noise a lot better than tent walls.)