THE PUBLIC PROPERTY—COURTHOUSES

(History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties, Missouri (1886) pages 251-253)

The first courthouse in Kingston was put up in 1843, upon the establishment of the county seat. It was a log building, two stories, or one story and a half, high, and stood on the south side of Main Street, opposite the center of the square. In point of architectural beauty it was not very attractive.

The second courthouse was built in 1854-55. It was a two story brick, and stood on the south side of the square (on the north side of Main Street), about midway from east to west, and the greater portion being south of the present structure. The upper story of this building was never entirely finished and occupied. The building fronted to the south, and the clerks occupied the two front rooms on the first floor. The courtroom was on the first floor, in the rear of the clerk’s offices.

On the night of April 19, 1860, this courthouse was burned. The fire broke out in the county clerk’s office, which was on the first floor, in the southwest corner of the building, about 11 p.m. When discovered the entire interior of the office was in flames, and it was not possible to rescue any of the books and records. The fire swept 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 fro 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 established a little more than three years previously it may be imaged that its records were not very voluminous. But all other books and papers pertaining to the public business of the county were consumed—the county and circuit court records, the treasurer’s and 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 part indicted 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 courthouse and records in April 1860.

A week after the second courthouse was destroyed the county court convened to take action in the premises. Sheriff John C. Myers was appointed commissioner of public buildings, but was succeeded 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 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 courthouse 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.

The next courthouse was built in 1862 and burned in 1864. The following describes an episode that took place in this courthouse in 1864, and is quoted from Kingston’s Messenger, pages 26-27, published in 1950 and reprinted in 1980. “During the Civil War on the 19th of July 1864, a mail coach was robbed, just south of Knoxville that was operated between Lexington and Hamilton. Mail was destroyed and the horses taken. This caused Major S. P. Cox of Davies County to dispatch a message that he was moving south with the militia of four hundred soldiers, requesting all available men to meet him near Bonzaza, as that was then the main road between Hamilton and Lexington. Lieutenant J. H. Snyder immediately started with all the men he could arm, leaving Kingston entirely defenseless. About 4 o’clock the next afternoon July the 20th, these raiders rode leisurely into Kingston. John Thrailkill and Cas. F. Taylor were Confederate men or had been in that service, but now had organized a company of three hundred men in Clay County and were determined to raid through northern Missouri. While they claimed to be Confederate troops they were in reality guerillas, going from place to place plundering and killing men belonging to the Militia. They halted in front of this courthouse. Pickets were put out on all roads. Two men mounted the cupola of the courthouse to take down the flag of stars and stripes, when a young lady, Miss Olivia George ordered them not to touch the flag but they paid no attention to her except to compliment her on her spunk and tore it down and bore it away. All union flags were torn from business places. Military papers were burned, vaults in the offices of circuits and county clerk as well as the sheriff were broken open. About $8,000 in school money was taken in addition to the general raiding of all food and liquor stores. Most of the few people left in Kingston had fled to a thicket of hazel brush just north of the courthouse. Before night they [the guerillas] moved westward but were overtaken about eight miles west (after they had plundered Mirable) by the militia, and there a battle ensued.”

The following is adapted from Kingston’s Messenger, published in 1950 and reprinted in 1980. The courthouse was rebuilt in 1898, two years after the last fire, at a cost of about $30,000. It is a large and commodious brick building, trimmed with Bedford stone with three stories and a basement. It is steam heated and a water system piped from a deep well. The dimensions are 70 by 100 feet. This is the fourth courthouse to be built in Caldwell County.

Caldwell County, Missouri History