Anniversary of Hamilton Missouri History , St. Joseph News-Press, March 18, 1945
Entry/Object ID
AM1994.4.33
Scope and Content
Anniversary of Hamilton Missouri History , St. Joseph News-Press, March 18, 1945
This month marks the 90th birthday of Hamilton. In March, 1855 it was duly laid off into lots and blocks and began its existence on paper. The town owes its location to a slip on the part of some surveyor who was working for the new Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad, and who entered for the railroad tracts on both sides of the 40 acres which comprised the original land on which Hamilton was located. When the news came that the railroad would run through this section a group of Caldwell Country settlers decided to found a new town in its path. The leader of this group, Albert G. Davis, was a surveyor-farmer in Caldwell County, living near Mirable. He somehow surmised that a mistake had been made in the survey for the railroad, leaving a tract unentered. That would be an ideal townsite since it could be bought more cheaply from the government than from private individuals. Accordingly, he stayed up all night run his surveying instrument in line with the polestar. He found that his supposition was correct, the trace was unentered. That explains why Hamilton is on its present site.
The fall of 1854 and the early spring of 1855 were spent by the town company in detailed preparation for the town projects.
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Hamilton Missouri, Hamilton, Missouri 90th birthday celebration March 1855
