M M Marmaduke

Governor Meredith Miles Marmaduke was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the ante-bellum Arrow Rock community. In May 1824, he was a member of an expedition of 25 wagons and 81 men that carried merchandise worth about $30,000 to Santa Fe. In September, they returned with almost $200,000 in gold, silver, and furs. In 1827, he, Darwin Sappington, and Thomas McMahan formed a partnership "to engage in the trade with Mexico." In 1829, Marmaduke surveyed and platted 50 acres for the town of Arrow Rock. A notice in the "Missouri Intelligencer", dated July 3, 1829, states: "LOTS will be offered for sale ...to the highest bidder...For...those who wish to vest their funds in town property, the proceeds...are to be applied to the improvement of the Town." The land had been donated by Burton Lawless and John Bingham, uncle of George Caleb Bingham. The town commissioners were Peyton W. Nowlin, J. Patterson, Judge Joseph Huston, Rudolph Hawpe, and Benjamin Huston. In 1860, the Marmaduke estate included about 38 slaves.