USA > Missouri > Livingston County > History of Caldwell and Livingston counties, Missouri, written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Caldwell and Livingston counties--their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens; general and local statistics of great value; incidents and reminiscences > Part 26
USA > Missouri > Caldwell County > History of Caldwell and Livingston counties, Missouri, written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Caldwell and Livingston counties--their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens; general and local statistics of great value; incidents and reminiscences > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130
rapidly across the south end of the building, swiftly mounted the stairways and flashed the inside of the upper story suddenly into flame. Very soon the roof caught, and the entire structure was soon a huge bonfire.
Not a single thing of value, not a book, or record, or paper was saved. There were no means at hand for extinguishing such a fire as it was after it had gotten under headway, and it had got well started when the alarm was given. The few citizens that had gathered together stood about with water buckets in their hands, and a few gallons were aimlessly and uselessly thrown into the fire. The lower rooms, where the original records were - priceless in value, because they formed the most interesting part of our county's history and can never be replaced - took fire first, and when the crowd had gathered they could not be entered. Only one record book of the probate court, which happened to be in the residence of the probate judge, Hon. W. F. Boggs, was saved. As the probate court had been estab- lished a little more than three years previously it may be imagined that its records were not very voluminous. But all other books and papers pertaining to the public business of the county were con- sumed - the county and circuit court records, the treasurer's and the sheriff's papers, the records of the deeds and mortgages, everything of the kind.
Everything went to show that the building was set on fire, but the incendiary was never discovered. Some believed he was some party indieted for crime, who hoped to destroy the indictment and evidence against him and escape punishment. Others had various improbable theories. But whatever the motive, the results were very disastrous. Lucky indeed was he who had in possession the deeds to his lands. All those who had not were forced to have their titles quieted by the courts, and even to this day there is occasionally a controversy that might be avoided but for the burning of the court-house and records in April, 1860.
A week after the second court-house was destroyed the county court convened to take action in the premises. Sheriff John C. Myers was appointed commissioner of public buildings, but was sue- ceeded in a few months by Hon. Chas. J. Hughes. The first thing to do was to provide temporary offices for the use of the officials and to provide for new books and records. The upper room in the north end of " the brick store," on the east side of the square, and " the old post-office building," were rented of Tilton Davis for the circuit
253
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
and county clerks, the school commissioner, the treasurer and the probate judge. The latter official occupied the post-office. Circuit court was held in the Southern Methodist Church building, in the eastern part of town. June 19, 1860, the contract for building the present court-house was let to J. A. Crump and Geo. A. Kice, of Lexington, for $20,000, the contractors to furnish all the materials, and the building to be completed by September 1, 1861. The work was completed by Geo. A. Kice, to whom Crump assigned his part of the contract. The work was finished according to the stipulations, and gave general satisfaction.
JAIL.
The present jail building was built in the year 1869. The county court first took action in February. In May it appropriated $8,000 to build the structure and appointed J. D. Cox commissioner. In June the contract was let to Burton Edwards and Morgan Sullivan, and was completed in November. The total cost of the jail was $10,- 148, as follows: Paid Edwards & Sullivan, the contractors, $9,884 ; paid J. D. Cox, for services as commissioner, $216 ; paid for ad- vertising, etc., $48. Although the structure is very substantial, built of heavy stone and iron-lined, the nearly universal opinion is that its cost was excessive, and that more expense was incurred in its con- struction than was necessary.
POOR FARM.
The Caldwell county poor farm is partly in Kingston and partly in Mirabile township. It comprises portions of sections 13 and 24 in Mirabile, and portions of sections 18 and 19 in Kingston, and contains 218.02 acres. It was purchased April 22,1873, at a cost of $18.83 per aere, its area being computed at 220 acres. Since its purchase the county has greatly improved the buildings and farm. The farm was occupied in the month of March, 1874. The superintendents who have remained in charge of this eleemosynary institution have been Valentine Eckelberry, Ephraim Cooper, Eldert Fort and John Klepper.
BRIDGES.
The following are the principal bridges in the county, with their location, length, cost and date of construction, and the material.
254
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
The information has been received from W. J. Boyd, the present county surveyor : -
Streams.
| Sec.
Tp.
Range
Material
Built.
Length.
Cost.
NEW YORK TOWNSHIP.
Bonanza
Shoal Creek
19
56
27 27
Iron Iron Iron
1883 1875
120
4,000
Craig
Cottonwood Cr.
9
56
27
1878
140
3,600
Henkens
Cottonwood Cr.
14
56
27
Wood
1870
140
5,000
MIRABILE TOWNSHIP.
Gardner Ford
Shoal Creek
5
56
29
Iron Iron
1884 1876
130
4,000
Goose Creek .
Goose Creek
23
56
29
Wood
1870
100
600
.BRECKINRIDGE TOWN- SHIP.
No name
Panther Creek Turkey Creek
35
57 57
26 26
Iron Wood
1884 1884
60
500
KIDDER TOWNSHIP.
Brush Creek
9
57
29
Iron
1876
120
4,000
Steer Creek
Brushy Creek Steer Creek
36
57
29
Wood
1885
88
440
KINGSTON TOWNSIIIP.
Kingston
Shoal Creek Long Creek
34
56
28
Wood Wood
1859 1884
76
600
Log Creek .
Log Creek
27
56
28
Wood
1878
112
656
GRANT TOWNSHIP.
Crooked River
Cr. River Branch Brush Creek
1
55
28 28
Wood Wood
1884 1884
72
576
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP.
Tom Creek
Tom Creek
1878
88
500
Mill Creek .
Mill Creek
35 17
57 57
28 28
Wood Wood
1885
60
300
DAVIS TOWNSHIP.
Mud Creek No. 1
Mud Creek
70
420
Mud Creek No. 2
.
N. Mud Creek N. Mud Creek
16
55 55
26
Wood Wood Wood
1884 1884
60
500
Mud Creek No. 3
1884
40
320
.
$6,000
Otter Creek
Otter Creek
11
56
Stoner Ford .
Shoal Creek
3
56
29
28
150
6,000
Long Creek
22
56
33
55
150
600
Brush Creek .
.
26 22
55
26 26
5,000
Turkey Creek
33
150
190 feet
110
2,500
CHAPTER X. KINGSTON TOWNSHIP.
Position and Description - Streams - Stone - Coal- Early History - First Land Entries - Organization - General History of the Town of Kingston - Incorpora- tion - Present Situation - Churches -Secret Orders - Biographical.
Kingston township comprises township 56, range 28, and occupies a central position in the county. The general surface of the township is hilly and broken, owing to the numerous streams which flow through all parts, and there is perhaps more timber than in any other town- ship in the county.
Shoal creek traverses the township from northwest to southeast, and there flow into it in this township from the north Jim creek and Tom creek, and from the south Log creek and Long creek. The two latter unite in the southern part, a mile southeast of Kingston town, and thence two miles to the mouth the stream is called Log creek.
There is an abundance of fine building stone in this township. Along Shoal creek, on both sides, and in the hills overlooking Long and Log creeks there are exposures of a very superior quality of limestone of the variety known to geologists as encrinital limestone. No extensive quarries have been opened, the stone being so abun- dant that it may be obtained on nearly every section. In the bluffs, near the junction of Log and Shoal creeks, is an inexhaustible sup- ply of sandstone, admirably suited for building purposes.
COAL.
Coal is reasonably abundant in Kingston township. In the sum- mer of 1885 a company composed of some gentlemen of Kingston town sunk an exploring shaft a little south of the town (northeast corner se. 1/4 of ne. 1/4, sec. 28) on Log creek, and at a depth of 194 feet struck a 28-inch vein of coal, similar in character and quality and of the same formation as that of the Hamilton Coal Company, men- tioned in the history of Hamilton township. Nothing was done after the coal was discovered, and the company is awaiting developments before proceeding further. A previous experiment in the neighbor-
(255)
256
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
hood had proved a failure, owing to the fact that somebody dropped a section drill into the shaft, and this constantly interfered with the movements of the auger.
The following is a section of the boring at Kingston, which is of interest, as showing the earth formation at this point, and which has been kindly furnished by J. F. Heiser, Esq., of Kingston : -
1. 12 ft. 10 in. dark soil, yellow clay and gravel.
2. 2 ft. yellow shell rock [shales].
3. 2 ft. 5 in. gray " sponge rock."
4. £ 4 ft. 4 in. white sandstone.
5. 8 ft. 3 in. in light blue limestone.
6. 1 ft. blue soapstone.
7. 3 ft. black slate.
8. 4 ft. 2 in. gray limestone [glass flint].
9. 3 ft. brown flint.
10. 4 ft. blue limestone, with " cloth " mixed.
11. 8 ft. blue clay.
12. 5 ft. blue clay, mixed with gravel.
13. 36 ft. blue soapstone.
14. 8 ft. gray " cloth."
15. 13 ft. fire clay.
16. 9 ft. blue clay.
17. 8 ft. blue conglomerate limestone.
18. 9 ft. blue soapstone.
19. 5 ft. blue soapstone, mixed with gravel.
20. 19 ft. blue soapstone.
21. 4 ft. brown flint.
22. 8 ft. blue limestone.
23. 3 ft. gray sandstone.
24. 2 ft. white " cloth."
25. 8 ft. white sandstone.
26. 1 ft. 6 in. white " cloth."
27. 5 ft. black slate.
28. 2 ft. 4 in. coal.
29. Fire clay.
Total depth of boring, 194 ft. 3 in.
The coal company of Kingston, which has leased about 10,000 acres of supposed coal land in this county, is satisfied that coal can be reached at a reasonable distance elsewhere in this township.
EARLY HISTORY.
The first settlements in Caldwell county were made within what are now the boundaries of Kingston township by Jesse Mann, John Raglan, Ben Lovell, and Jesse Mann, Jr., in the spring and summer of 1831.
257
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
But these are so fully mentioned in Chapter II. of this volume that a further mention of them here would be entirely superfluous. Follow- ing are the land entries made in the township prior to 1840 : -
Name.
Description.
Date.
Ransom Beecher
w. ¿ ne. sec. 2
Aug. 16, 1838
John Anderson
s. - nw. sec. 7
Jan. 12, 1837
F. G. Williams
nw. sw. sec. 7 Dec. 26, 1837
John M. Burk
sw. sw. sec. 7
Oct. 27, 1837
David Whitmer
se. sw. sec. 7
Nov. 9, 1837
Calvin Beebee
Jacob A. S. Yantis
Abijah Bradley
Daniel Kenyon
nw. sw.sec. 13
Nov. 3, 1835
Henry Hill
sw. se. sec. 15
Nov. 19, 1839 July 13, 1837
James Daley
nw. se. and nw. sec. 17
June 3, 1837
Milo. Andrews John Whitmer
. se. nw. sec. 17 . sw. nw. sec. 17
Sept. 17, 1837 Nov. 14, 1836
Hiram Page .
sw. ne. ne. nw. sec. 18
Jan. 13, 1837
Newel Knight
sw. se. sec. 18
Dec. 12, 1836
Frazier Eaton
se. sw. sec. 19
Nov. 24, 1837 July 3, 1837
Charles Wightman Charles Hunt
ne. nw. sec. 21
Oct. 27, 1837
Adam C. Hubbard
sw. ne. sec. 21
May 12, 1837
Noah Hubbard .
e. ¿ ne. sec. 21 and w. ¿ nw. sec. 22 .
Nov. 1, 1836 June 8, 1837 Jan. 23, 1837
Amos Sumner .
nw. se. sec. 21
Sept. 24, 1835 June 17, 1835
Jesse M. Mann .
w. ¿ se. sec. 22
June 17, 1837
Henry McHenry
ne. se. sec. 22
May 23, 1837
Benjamine Stone Erastus Dodge
se. nw. sec. 22
Sept. 29, 1837 July 12, 1837 Aug. 23, 1837 Oct. 18, 1837 Nov. 2, 1835
Rensselaer Miller Samuel Hill .
sw. ne. sec. 22
July 12, 1837
Gilbert V. Miller Eleazer Miller
sw. sw. sec. 23 . w. ¿ ne. sec. 23 .
Feb. 10, 1836
Aaron C. Lyon .
sw. sw. sec. 24 .
Aug. 17, 1836 Jan. 13, 1837
Carlos W. Lyon Wm. Turnidge . Wm. Murray
nw. se. sec. 24
June 25, 1837
Wm. Turnidge .
w. ¿ ne. sec. 25
July 4, 1835 July 16, 1835
John Raglan
w. ¿ nw. sec. 25
July 24, 1833
John Raglan
e. ¿ nw.
June 8, 1835 April 6, 1839 Sept. 23, 1836
John P. Barnard
SW. SW.
Oct. 1, 1835
Stephen Tarwater
nw. se.
Mar. 30, 1838 Sept. 23, 1836
Chas. W. Porter
n. 2 SW.
Aug. 21, 1837
Windsor P. Lyon .
SW. SW.
Nov. 25, 1836
Samuel Massengale
ne. nw.
Oct. 12, 1839
Abraham Miller
se. nw.
July 13, 1839 Jan. 25, 1837
Timothy N. Benjamin
ne. se. sec. 27
Wm. Givens
nw. se. and nw.sw.sec. 27
Sept. 9, 1839
Chas. H. French
e. ¿ nw. and sw. nw. sec. 27
May 9, 1836
John Rowland .
w. ¿ ne. sec. 27 .
Aug. 11, 1836
Burr Riggs
ne. ne. sec. 22
Nov. 8, 1836
Asa Rockhold
nw. sw. sec. 24 .
sw. se. and se. sw. sec. 24
July 4, 1835
Jesse Fletcher .
e. ¿ sw., w. ¿ se. and nw. sw. sec. 25
Solomon Cox
e. ¿ ne.
Wallace McAfee (or McFee) John Wheeler
se. ne. sec. 26
w. ¿ ne.
July 13, 1837
Nahum Benjamin .
se. se.
se. se. sec. 7 and e. ¿ ne. sec. 18 Feb. 6, 1837 nw. ne. nw.se.se. sec.11 July 10, 1839 ne. se. sec. 11 July 10, 1839 w. ¿ se. sec. 13 June 19, 1837 Nov. 20, 1839
Elkanah Timmons
Henry Lee
sw. se. sec. 15
Joel Shearer
nw. ne. sec. 22 and e. ¿ sw. sec. 15
William Wightman
se. ne. sec. 30 and sw. se. sec. 19.
se. se. sec. 19
Oct. 21, 1837
Roswell Stevens
se. ne. sec. 27 and e. ¿ se. sec. 21
Abraham Couts Henry Hill
w. ¿ sw.sec. 22
e. ¿ sw. sec. 22
ne. ne. sec. 27 and se. se. sec. 22
ne. nw. sec. 22
nw. sw. sec. 23
258
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
John M. Davis .
sw.sw. sec. 27 . se. se. & se. sw. sec. 28 & nw. ne. sec. 33
May 21, 1839
Andrew Rose
Sept. 6, 1836 James M. Ramsay . 11. ¿ ne. sec. 28 . July 13, 1839 Melcher Duncan
se. ne.
sw. ne.
ne. sw. nw. 4 sec. 31 and w. ¿ se. sec. 30
May 23, 1837 July 18, 1837 July 27, 1838 June 22, 1836 July 5, 1837 Dec. 6, 1836 Sept. 1,1837 Sept. 1, 1837 Dec. 15, 1836
Guernsey Brown Ebenezer Brown
w .¿ ne. ne. ne.
e. ¿ ne. sec. 31 and ne. se. sec. 30
Mar. 11, 1837
Edward Weaver James Johnson John Miller
SW. SW.
se. sw. sec. 31
Elisha Hill
ne. sw. 6
Avery Smith
nw. sw.
Jesse Mackarl
SW. SW. 66
George P. Dykes
nw. ne.
John Bozartlı
sw. ne. 66
Daniel Shearer
Patrick Lynch .
se. se.
Jotham Maynard
IlW. nw. sec. 32
Elijalı Reed
sw. nw.
nw.sw. and se. sw.sec. 32
Albern Allen
e. ¿ nw. sec. 32
Caleb Odell
ue. se.
Francis Odell
se. ne.
Dolphus Babcock .
nw. se.
Wilson Vanderlip .
ne. se.
Joseph Miller
se. sw. sec. 33
Wm. B. Bryan
sw. ne.
John M. Davis
e. ¿ ne. 66
May 21, 1839
Jaines Burnham
ne. se.
June 29, 1837
Francis McGuire
e. ¿ ne. sec. 35
May 30, 1835
Sherman Brown
ne. nw. sec. 36
Aug. 19, 1836
John Rowland " squatted " on a piece of land in section 16 in 1838, and lived there for some time. Odell lived in a cabin on the north bank of Shoal creek, about a mile northeast of Kingston, in an early day.
ORGANIZATION.
Formerly Kingston township formed a portion of Blythe township, which was organized long before the Civil War, and at one time took in what are now Grant, Kingston and Hamilton townships, and some other territory. This township was named for Riley Blythe, an old pioneer who hunted and trapped along Shoal creek and its tributaries more than fifty years ago, and who is now living, at an advanced age, near Camden, Ray county. November 4, 1867, Blythe was broken up and Kingston and Hamilton townships organized out of its territory - a line running east and west between sections 12 and 13 to Shoal creek, in township 56, range 28, then up Shoal creek to range 29, be- ing the dividing line between Kingston and Hamilton. In 1870 the boundaries were reduced to their present lines. Since the recent township organization the officers have been as follows : -
Jonathan Oyler John N. Buxton Oliver Cowdry . George Johnson Jefferson Hunt
w. 2 nw. sec. 30 sw. sw. sec. 32
Moses Clawson
se. se. sec. 30
May 30, 1837 April 1, 1839 June 8, 1837 Aug. 29, 1836 Sept. 23, 1837 June 17, 1837 Jan. 28, 1837 Feb. 13,.1837 April 16, 1839 Jan. 21, 1837 Mar. 11, 1837 May 25, 1837 Dec. 27, 1836 Sept. 3, 1835 Sept. 10, 1836 Feb. 9, 1837 June 2, 1837
Timothy B. Foot
ne. sę. 66
July 12, 1837 July 13, 1839
250
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
1881. - Trustee, Elmore H. Johnson; collector, Eli Gapen ; clerk, John Colvin ; justices of the peace, Augustus Mack, Thomas J. Reid ; constable, L. B. Clevenger.
1883. - Trustee, E. M. Prickitt ; collector, Eli Gapen ; clerk, John Colvin ; justices of the peace, John Wright, John Theilman ; consta- ble, C. J. Johnson.
1885. - Trustee, E. M. Prickitt ; collector, Horace Johnston ; clerk, M. C. Canon ; justices of the peace, James McMillan, John Theilman ; constable, John T. Brown.
THE TOWN OF KINGSTON.
What is now the east half of the town of Kingston, including the public square, was entered by Abraham Couts, September 4, 1835. The west half was entered by Roswell Stevens, June 8, 1837. Mr. Couts had a cabin on the east side of his land, nearly half a mile east of the present court-house, and this building was torn down about 1840. In 1841 Isaac Creason, a son of Willis Creason, who lived down on Crooked river, built a cabin on where is now the northeast corner of the square, cleared a " patch " of ground, and resided here a year or two, when he moved back to Ray county.
After the Mormons left the county Far West continued to be the county seat until the spring of 1843. Meantime the center of popula- tion of the county had been removed to somewhat near the center of the county itself. It became very inconvenient for the large number of people then living on lower Shoal creek to go to the county seat and many complaints arose. At the August election, 1842, John Skidmore was chosen the Representative from this county, and it was demanded of him that he procure a removal of the county seat. So December 16, 1842, soon after the assembling of the Legislature, a bill was passed appointing commissioners to relocate the capital of the county of Caldwell. The commissioners appointed under the bill were George W. Dunn, of Ray ; Littleberry Sublette, of Clay ; Robert D. Ray, of Carroll ; John Austin, of Livingston, and Milford Donaho, of Daviess.
It is said that only Dunn, Ray and Donaho acted as commissioners, and that after looking the county over they at first selected the site on a tract of land south of Log creek, two miles southwest of where Kingston now is, but the owner of the land, W. B. Bryan, refused to donate over forty acres to the county, and so the commissioners went elsewhere, and at last selected the site where it now is. The owners
260
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
of the land, James Ramsey and William Hill, cheerfully donated between them 160 acres of land to the county for county seat purposes.
In the spring of 1843 the town was regularly surveyed and laid off into lots and blocks, and Charles J. Hughes, then a young lawyer of Far West, was appointed county seat commissioner to conduct the sale of lots, etc. The site of the town was chiefly a brush patch, although Creason's improvement still remained.
The commissioners, upon request of a large number of citizens, named the town Kingston, in honor of Judge Austin A. King, of Richmond. Judge King had been circuit judge of this circuit, and was well and most favorably known. In 1848 he was elected Governor of the State on the Democratic ticket over Hon. James S. Rollins, the Whig candidate, and served four years. When the war came on he was a decided Union man, and was taken prisoner by Gen. Price's forces and held for some days. In 1862 he was elected to Congress from this district, and served one term. Gov. King was a native of Tennessee.
The first house in Kingston is still standing on the northeast corner of the square, a two-story building, part log and part frame, but has been enlarged since first erected. It was hauled from Far West, and was originally built by a Mormon. It was placed in its present posi. tion July 5, 1843, by Walter A. Doak, now residing in the northern part of Mirabile township. Mr. Doak was born in East Tennessee, near the famous " Kit Bullard's mill, on the Big Pigeon." He and his wife Elizabeth kept open house for some months after they settled in Kingston, entertaining travelers and others as best they could in their little domicile, which at first was but a small frame building. Mr. Doak was a shoemaker, and followed his vocation here for some time.
A man named Marsh, a Yankee, built the second house, a small shanty, on the southwest corner of the square, where Heiser's furni- ture store now is. This was about the last of July, 1843.
The first merchant in the place was a Mr. Baxter, who purchased Doak's house in August or September, 1843, and opened a store therein. Baxter enlarged the building and kept a hotel in it for a time. Not long after Baxter opened his store Free and Ned Sisson, merchants at Camden, sent up a stock of goods in charge of Joseph Hord (or Hoard), who bought Marsh's building and opened the second store. Perhaps Ardinger and Woodson were the next mer- chants.
261
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
In the fall of 18431 the first court-house, the log building mentioned elsewhere, was built. The second was built in 1847 by Hawkins Green, and was the two-story brick burned in April, 1860.
The first attorney in Kingston was Charles J. Hughes, who came in 1843, and the second was Volney E. Bragg. The first practicing physician that located here was Dr. Evans, who came from Ohio in 1844, and now lives in Plattsburg.
July 4, 1843, a large crowd assembled on the town site of Kingston to celebrate the Fourth of July. There were no houses in the place except Creason's cabin, and so a large brush arbor was erected on the south side of the public square, and under this the exercises were held. There was a bountiful dinner, plenty of whisky, everybody was happy, but nobody very drunk, and the crowd enjoyed itself hugely.
Charles J. Hughes, then a young. attorney of 22 or 23, was the orator of the day. Just forty-two years afterward, on July 4, 1855, on a similar occasion at Kingston, he again delivered the oration in commemoration of the anniversary ; but on the last occasion not more than a dozen of the hundreds who heard him speak in 1843 were present, although the crowd was ten times as large.
Maj. T. W. Higgins had prepared a fine flag for the first celebration and this was raised by the mayor amid the shouts and cheers of the multitude.
At night there was a great dance under the arbor. The ground had been cleared off and covered with sawdust, making a very respectable " floor," and the lads and lassies, as well as some of the older folks, enjoyed themselves immensely - as well doubtless as their descendants and successors now do, on the same site, in Davis & Spivey's hall.
No post-office was established in Kingston until in 1845. John H. Ardinger was the first postmaster. Mails came in twice a week from Richmond and Plattsburg. Mr. Ardinger was a merchant in the place at the time.
Other pioneer merchants and business men in Kingston were Martin D. Hines, who built a two-story business house in 1844 ; Frank Haines and - Marshall. After a time George Johnson kept the hotel which had formerly been managed by Baxter.
The first church building was the Christian, built in 1859. Pre- vious to this religious meetings were held in the court house. The
1 Mr. Doak is positive that the first court-house was not built until 1844.
262
HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.
first school house was built by the township of Blythe in 1846. It was a brick and stood south of the public square.
Massingale & Wilhoit's mill, on Shoal creek, a few hundred yards up the stream from the bridge, on the Hamilton road, was the first mill in the neighborhood of Kingston. It is fully mentioned else- where.
INCORPORATION.
Kingston was incorporated by act of the Legislature, November 21, 1857, as a town. The following is an extract from section 1 of the act of incorporation : -
The inhabitants of the tract or district of country known by the name of Kingston, in the county of Caldwell, situate and lying in the following boundary, to wit: The east half of the southwest quarter of section 22, in township 56, of range 28, shall be, and they are hereby created a body politie and corporate, by the name and style of the " Town of Kingston," etc.
In April, 1872, the foregoing section was amended and the boundary extended by the Legislature, so that the limits of the town should com- prise " the east half of the southeast quarter of section 21, and the west half of the southwest quarter, and also a strip 59 rods wide off of the south side of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 22; also, that part of the west half of the northwest quarter of section 27 which lies north of Log creek, all in township 56, range 28.
The present population of Kingston is about 600, although 750 is claimed. It has three general stores, one exclusive grocery and pro- vision store, one hardware store, three drug stores, two livery stables, one furniture store, two hotels, two newspapers - the Caldwell County Sentinel and Kingston Times; one banking house, the Caldwell County Bank, capital $50,000, John D. Cox, proprietor ; two or three millinery establishments, mechanics' shops, a steam flour and grist mill, ten or a dozen attorneys, half a dozen physicians, etc. There is a fine two-story brick public school building, and a comfortable frame school-house for the colored children of the district. There are three church buildings-Christian, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist. The town is connected with Hamilton by telephone.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.