Caldwell County, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Missouri
. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat
is Kingston
. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons
, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri
in November of 1833 and had been refugees in adjacent Clay County ever since. The county was one of the principal settings of the 1838 Missouri Mormon War, which led to the expulsion of all Latter Day Saints from Missouri following the issuance of a so-called "extermination order
" by then Governor Lilburn Boggs
.
Caldwell is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
.
Indian Campaign of 1786 and was the second lieutenant governor of Kentucky
. He was also the namesake of Caldwell County, Kentucky
.
uprising.
In 1832 a few Mormon settlers, who had been evicted from Jackson County, Missouri
, moved into the county. These included Jacob Haun, whose mill on Shoal Creek would become the scene of the bloodiest battle in the Mormon War, known as the Haun's Mill Massacre
.
The settlers established the first town in the county—Salem—two miles southeast of Kingston. In the fall of 1836 a larger number of Mormons moved to the county. In December 1836 the Missouri General Assembly created Caldwell County, with the understanding it would be dedicated to Mormon settlers. Its county seat was Far West, Missouri
. By 1838 Far West reported a population of 4,000.
Included in the migration were the major figures of early Mormon history, including Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith
, Brigham Young
, John Taylor (Mormon), Edward Partridge
, Sidney Rigdon
, Parley P. Pratt
and John D. Lee
.
after Smith proclaimed that it as the Bibilical place where Adam and Eve
were banished after leaving the Garden of Eden
. He said it would be a gathering place on the Judgement Day
. Following a skirmish between original Missouri settlers and Mormon settlers in the Gallatin Election Day Battle, the Mormon War erupted.
After the Missouri militia was routed in the Battle of Crooked Creek, the Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs
issued Missouri Executive Order 44 to evict the Mormons from the state. Three days later a group from Livingston County, Missouri killed 18 Mormons in the Haun's Mill massacre
. Troops laid siege to Far West, where Smith surrendered in October 1838. The settlers agreed to leave; they abandoned Far West and regrouped in Nauvoo, Illinois
.
Following the dissolution of Far West, the county seat was moved to Kingston.
:
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. , the population was 8,969. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
is Kingston
Kingston, Missouri
Kingston is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 287 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caldwell County.-Geography:Kingston is located at...
. The county was organized in 1836 as a haven for the Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
, who had been previously driven from Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
in November of 1833 and had been refugees in adjacent Clay County ever since. The county was one of the principal settings of the 1838 Missouri Mormon War, which led to the expulsion of all Latter Day Saints from Missouri following the issuance of a so-called "extermination order
Extermination order
An Extermination order is an order given by a government sanctioning mass removal or death. The term is often associated with genocide.Extermination orders were issued in conjunction with the following events:* Armenian genocide...
" by then Governor Lilburn Boggs
Lilburn Boggs
Lilburn Williams Boggs was the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840. He is now most widely remembered for his interactions with Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell, and Missouri Executive Order 44, known by Mormons as the "Extermination Order", issued in response to the ongoing conflict...
.
Caldwell is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
.
Origin of name
According to the Missouri Secretary of State, the County was named by Alexander Doniphan to honor John Caldwell, who participated in the George Rogers ClarkGeorge Rogers Clark
George Rogers Clark was a soldier from Virginia and the highest ranking American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the Kentucky militia throughout much of the war...
Indian Campaign of 1786 and was the second lieutenant governor of Kentucky
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
The office of lieutenant governor of Kentucky has existed under the last three of Kentucky's four constitutions, beginning in 1797. The lieutenant governor serves as governor of Kentucky under circumstances similar to the Vice President of the United States assuming the powers of the presidency...
. He was also the namesake of Caldwell County, Kentucky
Caldwell County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2010, there were 12,984 people, with 6,292 households in the county.-Communities:*Bakers*Baldwin Ford*Black Hawk*The Bluff*Cedar Bluff*Claxton*Cobb*Cresswell*Crider*Crowtown*Enon*Farmersville*Flat Rock*Friendship*Fryer...
.
Mormon settlement
Caldwell County was originally part of Ray County, Missouri. The first white settler was Jesse Mann, Sr. who settled one half mile northeast of the public square of Kingston on Shoal Creek in 1831. The early settlers moved back south in 1832 for better protection during the Black Hawk WarBlack Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....
uprising.
In 1832 a few Mormon settlers, who had been evicted from Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County. Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan...
, moved into the county. These included Jacob Haun, whose mill on Shoal Creek would become the scene of the bloodiest battle in the Mormon War, known as the Haun's Mill Massacre
Haun's Mill massacre
The Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of Crooked River...
.
The settlers established the first town in the county—Salem—two miles southeast of Kingston. In the fall of 1836 a larger number of Mormons moved to the county. In December 1836 the Missouri General Assembly created Caldwell County, with the understanding it would be dedicated to Mormon settlers. Its county seat was Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri
Far West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
. By 1838 Far West reported a population of 4,000.
Included in the migration were the major figures of early Mormon history, including Joseph Smith, Jr., Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
, Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, John Taylor (Mormon), Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge was the grandson of Massachusetts Congressman Oliver Partridge, Esq., and a member of a family noted for commercial, social, political, and military leadership in Western Massachusetts. One of the first converts to the Latter Day Saint movement, he was baptized in or near Seneca...
, Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
, Parley P. Pratt
Parley P. Pratt
Parley Parker Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1835 until his murder in 1857. He served in the Quorum with his younger brother, Orson Pratt...
and John D. Lee
John D. Lee
John Doyle Lee was a prominent early Latter-day Saint who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.-Early Mormon leader:...
.
Mormon War
Mormon settlers moved further north into Daviess County, Missouri, particularly at Adam-ondi-AhmanAdam-ondi-Ahman
Adam-ondi-Ahman is an historic site along the east bluffs above the Grand River in Daviess County, Missouri. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden...
after Smith proclaimed that it as the Bibilical place where Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
were banished after leaving the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
. He said it would be a gathering place on the Judgement Day
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
. Following a skirmish between original Missouri settlers and Mormon settlers in the Gallatin Election Day Battle, the Mormon War erupted.
After the Missouri militia was routed in the Battle of Crooked Creek, the Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs
Lilburn Boggs
Lilburn Williams Boggs was the sixth Governor of Missouri from 1836 to 1840. He is now most widely remembered for his interactions with Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell, and Missouri Executive Order 44, known by Mormons as the "Extermination Order", issued in response to the ongoing conflict...
issued Missouri Executive Order 44 to evict the Mormons from the state. Three days later a group from Livingston County, Missouri killed 18 Mormons in the Haun's Mill massacre
Haun's Mill massacre
The Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States, after the Battle of Crooked River...
. Troops laid siege to Far West, where Smith surrendered in October 1838. The settlers agreed to leave; they abandoned Far West and regrouped in Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
.
Following the dissolution of Far West, the county seat was moved to Kingston.
Notable natives
- James Cash Penney, founder of J. C. PenneyJ. C. Penney-External links:*...
- Charles J. Hughes, Jr.Charles J. Hughes, Jr.Charles James Hughes, Jr. was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Colorado.Born in Kingston, Missouri, Hughes attended the common schools and graduated from Richmond College in 1871. He then graduated from the law department of the University of Missouri in Columbia in 1873, was admitted to the bar in...
, U.S. Senator - Frank B. KlepperFrank B. KlepperFrank B. Klepper was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Born in St. John, Putnam County, Missouri, Klepper moved with his parents to Mirabile, Missouri, where he remained for ten years, and attended the common schools....
, Congressman - Zack WheatZack WheatWheat played his first full season in . He played every game for the Superbas that season as the regular left fielder, leading the league in games played. He batted .284 that season, the second-lowest average of his career, which led the team, and was among the league leaders in hits, doubles, and...
, professional baseball player
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 430 square miles (1,113.7 km²), of which 0.09% is water.Adjacent counties
- Daviess County (north)
- Livingston County (east)
- Carroll County (southeast)
- Ray County (south)
- Clinton CountyClinton County, MissouriAs of the census of 2000, there were 18,979 people, 7,152 households, and 5,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 7,877 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile...
(west) - DeKalb CountyDeKalb County, MissouriDeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population is 12,892. The county was organized in 1845 and is named after the American Revolutionary War general Johann de Kalb. The county along with Buchanan and Andrew counties in Missouri and Doniphan County,...
(northwest)
Major highways
U.S. Route 36
Route 13
Route 116
Cities and towns
|
Kidder, Missouri Kidder is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 271 at the 2000 census.The city was laid out in 1860 by H.B. Kidder of the Kidder Land Company in Boston, which was seeking to encourage non-slave owning European immigrants to settle along the Hannibal and St... Kingston, Missouri Kingston is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 287 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caldwell County.-Geography:Kingston is located at... Polo, Missouri Polo is a city in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 582 at the 2000 census. Polo was founded by Abraham Stith in 1832.-Geography:Polo is located at .... |
- Far WestFar West, MissouriFar West, Missouri, was a Latter Day Saint settlement in Caldwell County, Missouri.-Foundation and early history:The town was founded by Missouri Mormon leaders, W. W. Phelps and John Whitmer in August 1836 shortly before the county's creation. The town was platted originally as a square area,...
(ghost town / historic site)
Townships
Caldwell County is divided into twelve townshipsTownship (United States)
A township in the United States is a small geographic area. Townships range in size from 6 to 54 square miles , with being the norm.The term is used in three ways....
:
|
Grant Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Grant Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,224.-Geography:Grant Township covers an area of and contains one incorporated settlement, Polo. It contains five cemeteries: Dixon, Dunkard, Estes, Wiley and... Hamilton Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Hamilton Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,362.-Geography:Hamilton Township covers an area of and contains one incorporated settlement, Hamilton. It contains two cemeteries: Bowman and Highland.-References:*... Kidder Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Kidder Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 891.-Geography:Kidder Township covers an area of and contains one incorporated settlement, Kidder... Kingston Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Kingston Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 543.-Geography:Kingston Township covers an area of and contains one incorporated settlement, Kingston... |
Lincoln Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Lincoln Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 471.-Geography:Lincoln Township covers an area of and contains one incorporated settlement, Cowgill.-References:* -External links:... Mirabile Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Mirabile Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 362. Mirabile is also the name of the school district.-Geography:... New York Township, Caldwell County, Missouri New York Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 256.-Geography:New York Township covers an area of and contains no incorporated settlements.... Rockford Township, Caldwell County, Missouri Rockford Township is one of twelve townships in Caldwell County, Missouri, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 478.-Geography:Rockford Township covers an area of and contains no incorporated settlements... |
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Caldwell County, Missouri
External links
- Caldwell County Website
- Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Caldwell County from University of MissouriUniversity of MissouriThe University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books