BlockBefore

Grundy County, Missouri

37 topographic sheets cover 15 settlements here, and 7 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

“And right here we will mention a little incident of how the prospect that tomahawks and scalping-knives might be doing their bloody work, was felt by at least one family. There is no question that the settlers felt a cold chill pass up and down their spinal columns at the first news, and just here is where it caught Mr.”

Saved Theie Scalps - The History of Grundy County, Missouri (1881). Machine-read text.

7 National Register listings published here · the county-history sources tell 4 stories and name 140 people · people the book names include Biographical Sketches Peter Amick (Franklin Township, 1881) · William Ashbrook (Jefferson Township, 1881) (machine-read).

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service

Missouri within the United States
Grundy County within Missouri

What the record shows

  • 147 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 7 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 6 buildings and 1 structure.
  • 1 of the 7 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 15 populated places in this county; 15 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
  • 3 public-domain county histories, 1881 and 1908, supply 70,924 words of narrative reproduced here.

What happened here

4 accounts

Among them: Tragic Events; E. A. Israel; Teagic Events. These passages come from the identified county-history source books. Each inset names its own source and opens the exact section it comes from.

From The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. It Contains a Condensed History of the State of Missouri and Its Chief Cities ... ; Its Pioneer Record, War History, Resources, Biographical Sketches, published 1881 - Wilson Township

Tragic Events

On the 2d day of November, 1860, occurred a death, the sad circumstances of which left their impress on the surrounding community for many years afterward. At the date ^Iven Mrs. Sarah S. Bo vers, a verv estimable lady, committed suicide by drowning. Domestic troubles caused unhappiness in her home, and without saying a word to any one ot^lier terrible purpose she hurried away and threw herself into the murky waters of Medicine River, near the south line of Marion township.

Read the rest of this passage

From The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. It Contains a Condensed History of the State of Missouri and Its Chief Cities ... ; Its Pioneer Record, War History, Resources, Biographical Sketches, published 1881 - Lincoln Township

E. A. Israel

A native of Belmont connt}^, Ohio, was born March 22, 1826, and son of Clary Israel and Mary (Moore) Israel, both of Ohio birth. His father was killed accidentally by the falling of a tree, in 1855, and his mother died in 1869. When he was seven years of age his parents moved to Morgan county, Ohio, and he remained there till 1871, when he came to Grundy county.

Read the rest of this passage

From The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. It Contains a Condensed History of the State of Missouri and Its Chief Cities ... ; Its Pioneer Record, War History, Resources, Biographical Sketches, published 1881 - Wilson Township

Teagic Events

On the 2d day of November, 1860, occurred a death, the sad circumstances of which left their impress on the surrounding community for many years afterward. At the date given Mrs. Sarah S. Boyers, a very estimable lady, committed suicide by drowning. Domestic troubles caused unhappiness in her home, and without saying a word to any one of her terrible purpose she hurried away and threw herself into the murky waters of Medicine River, near the south line of Marion township.

Read the rest of this passage

From The History of Grundy County, Missouri, published 1881 - Madison Township

Saved Theie Scalps

And right here we will mention a little incident of how the prospect that tomahawks and scalping-knives might be doing their bloody work, was felt by at least one family. There is no question that the settlers felt a cold chill pass up and down their spinal columns at the first news, and just here is where it caught Mr.

Read the rest of this passage

Places on the National Register

7

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Crowder State Park Vehicle Bridgestructure198585000505
Jewett Norris Librarybuilding198484002549
Plaza Hotelbuilding200101000010
St. Philip's Episcopal Churchbuilding197979001361
Trenton High Schoolbuilding201010000203
WPA Stock Barn and Pavilionbuilding199494000314
George Wolz Housebuilding2018100002690

Wildfire, 2018 to 2020

15 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 15 of them, burning about 16 acres. None started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.5 acresMissouri Department of Conservation178650-04067-04072019-2005
6 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.7 acresMissouri Department of Conservation190304-04067-03062020-1725
12 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.4 acresMissouri Department of Conservation178826-04067-04122019-1510
4 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.4 acresMissouri Department of Conservation177577-04067-08042018-1451
7 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.4 acresMissouri Department of Conservation178651-04067-04072019-0635
9 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservation178652-04067-04092019-1605
13 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation177151-04067-03132018-1336
5 March 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation190303-04067-03052020-1645

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1956 to 2025

60 of 366 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 366 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 9 injuries and about $1,041,600 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail162
Thunderstorm Wind143
Flash Flood30
Tornado19
Flood9
Heavy Rain3

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1967Tornado (F2)not stated7 hurt, $25,000no account filed
April 1965Tornado (F2)not stated1 hurt, $250,000no account filed
April 1965Tornado (F2)not stated1 hurt, $25,000no account filed
May 2004HailTrenton$300,000There was extensive damage to roofs and cars. Power lines were also reported down.
November 1958Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindTrenton$50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.
May 1977Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
April 1967Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
March 1960Tornado (F1)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLaredo$15,000Power lines and poles were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindDunlap$10,000A few large trees were blown down and a shed was blown in just west of Galt.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindTrenton$10,000Tree landed on house.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindTrenton$5,000A large portion of a shingled roof was blown off along Route W.
May 2010Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$5,000Two foot diamater tree limbs fell on to a house. A three foot diameter tree was snapped off in the downtown area.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindLaredo$3,000Thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 70 mph, destroyed several sheds and snapped several trees off.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindTrenton$3,000Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 80 mph. Power lines were snapped and an outbuilding was destroyed.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindTrenton$3,000Ham radio reported 3/4 inch hail and wind gusts to 80 mph. Trees up to 2 feet in diameter blown down.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindTrenton$2,000A tree and a power pole was snapped. The damage was confined to a 3 block radius.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$2,000A tree was reported to have blown down on a house, and a traffic light was blown down. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$2,000Aquila Energy reports power lines down...152 customers without power.
August 2006Thunderstorm WindTrenton$2,000Shingles off roofs and pine trees uprooted.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$1,000Trees and power lines were reported down on Tindall Avenue. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 60 mph.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindLaredo$1,000An abandoned mobile home had a roof blown off, with debris scattered about 100 yards. Several tree limbs were snapped off.
April 2001Thunderstorm WindTrenton$1,000Broadcast media reported windows blown out of a garage.
September 2001Thunderstorm WindTrenton$1,000Power lines down throughout town.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$500Doors were torn off a horse barn.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt$100A metal flag pole was bent over by thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 mph. A large tree was snapped off on Highway 65.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindTrenton-Downed wires and power outages near and south of Trenton.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindTrenton-Radio station in Trenton reports 70 mph wind gusts.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt-EM reports partial building collapse at East Gate Shopping Center.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindLaredo-Damage to garage.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindTrenton Arpt-MU Barton Farm Campus Mesonet recorded 69 mph gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindGalt-Estimated 60 mph wind gusts just north of Galt.
April 2024HailTrenton-Quarter sized hail was reported just southeast of Trenton.
April 2024HailSpickard-Quarter sized hail was reported on the north side of Spickard.
April 2024Tornado (EF0)Spickard-A weak EF0 tornado began southeast of Spickard east of 7th Avenue, producing sporadic and intermittent tree damage along its path. The tornado tracked north-northeast across Hwy B and County Line Road into Mercer County before dissipating north of Jasper Road.
May 2024HailSpickard-Quarter sized hail reported in Spickard.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindTrenton-Estimated gusts up to 60 mph with power outages reported in Trenton.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindLaredo-Downed wires and power outages in Laredo.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindSpickard-Estimated 60 mph wind gusts in Spickard.
March 2023Thunderstorm WindTrenton-A tree and powerlines were knocked down.
May 2023Tornado (EF0)Trenton-A storm chaser in Trenton caught a brief tornado on video. This tornado did some visible damage to a local church, but that damage was mostly superficial as the brick facade crumbled off the face of the building. No injuries were reported.
June 2023Thunderstorm Wind(P35)Spickard-Max wind gust of 78 mph was recorded on a personal weather station west of Spickard.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindSpickard-Large tree branched were downed across Spickard along with power outages.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindTindall-Measured wind gust of 62 mph in Tindall.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindTrenton-Tree branches downed in Trenton.
August 2023HailTrenton-Quarter sized hail was reported southwest of Trenton.
August 2023Flash FloodModena-Heavy rain led to flash flooding in Mercer and Grundy Counties. A water rescue was performed on US 65 north of Spickard.
August 2023HailTrenton-Quarter sized hail was reported southwest of Trenton.
August 2023HailTindall-Quarter sized hail was reported just south of Tindall.
May 2023HailEdinburg-Softball sized hail was reported southwest of Trenton along Missouri Route 6.
May 2023HailTrenton-Golf ball size hail was reported in Trenton.
May 2023HailTrenton Arpt-Baseball size hail was reported on the east side of Trenton.
May 2023HailHickory Creek-Baseball size hail was reported about 5 miles south of Trenton.
May 2023HailEdinburg-Tennis ball sized hail was reported about 4 miles west of Trenton near Edinburg.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindSpickard-Estimated wind gusts up to 60 mph in Spickard.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindTrenton-Half of a large tree was blown down near Trenton.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindGalt-A light pole was snapped in Galt.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLaredo-Several two to three foot diameter trees were brought down by 60 to 70 mph wind.
June 2021Tornado (EF0)Tindall-An embedded QLCS tornado moved through rural parts of Grundy County. The bulk of the damage as powerlines and trees, with minor structure damage.

Mines and quarries

43 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 43 workings inside this county. 4 still produce and 39 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Stone, Crushed/Broken34
Sand and Gravel, Construction9
Zinc, Silver, Copper1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Jefferson Twp QuarryStone, Crushed/Broken, Zinc, Silver, CopperPast Producer
Thompson - Weldon Sand Pit / PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cole QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Harrison Twp QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Hertzog QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Jefferson Twp QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Taylor Twp QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Trenton QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Trenton QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Trenton Quarry & PlantStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
UnkStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Weldon QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

The townships, in 1908

70,924 words

A History of Grundy County. Treating of Its Transformation from the Heart of the Wilderness of Yesterday to the Heart of the Mighty Nation of Today .. devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 7 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.

Shape and position in the county TownshipSettlements in it LengthSections
Franklin TownshipSpickard11,645 words23
Jefferson TownshipHickory Creek5,415 words27
Liberty TownshipGalt1,762 words6
Lincoln TownshipTindall, Wyandotte19,131 words41
Madison TownshipEdinburg20,975 words52
Washington TownshipButtsville4,443 words9
Wilson TownshipAlpha, Laredo7,553 words19

The county's history books

406,769 words

2 books written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 53 chapters in all. Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's towns is not repeated in this list.

The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an Encyclopedia of Useful Information, and a Compendium of Actual Facts. It Contains a Condensed History of the State of Missouri and Its Chief Cities ... ; Its Pioneer Record, War History, Resources, Biographical Sketches (1881)

ChapterLength
Louisiana Purchase3,563 words
Geology of Missouri2,515 words
Chapter 4: Title and Early Settlements1,882 words
Chapter 62,032 words
Chapter 8: Civil War in Missouri2,480 words
Chapter 9: Early Military Record1,956 words
Chapter 10: Agriculture and Material Wealth1,749 words
Chapter 11: Education1,824 words
Chapter with an unread heading (no. 9 of those read)27,624 words in 2 parts
Chapter 1: Introductory1,019 words
Chapter 2: Pioxeees10,748 words
Chapter 3: Grundy County Oeganized, Isil to Is4915,041 words
Chapter 4: The Gold Fever10,027 words
Chapter 5: Coming Dawn8,061 words
Chapter 6: Resources6,256 words
Chapter 7: Agricultural and Mecnanical Association3,047 words
Chapter 8: Patrons of Husbandry6,627 words
Miscellany3,374 words
County Officials3,744 words
Trentois' Township3,217 words
Biographical sketches (1 of 8 so headed)8,006 words
Chapter 13: City of Trenton8,768 words
Chapter 14: Something of a Boom5,994 words
Chapter 15: The Early Bar, Etc4,055 words
Chapter 16: The Press of Trekton4,156 words
Chapter 17: Churches, Lodges, Etc4,908 words
Chapter 18: Medical Society, Crimes, Etc1,161 words
Biographical sketches (2 of 8 so headed)47,176 words in 3 parts
Maeion Township5,931 words
Biographical sketches (3 of 8 so headed)9,515 words
Biographical sketches (4 of 8 so headed)12,646 words
Tayloe Township3,010 words
Biographical sketches (5 of 8 so headed)3,423 words
Jackson Township1,279 words
Biographical sketches (6 of 8 so headed)3,007 words
Myers Township1,359 words
Biographical sketches (7 of 8 so headed)5,726 words
Hakkison Township1,598 words
Biographical sketches (8 of 8 so headed)6,566 words

A History of Grundy County. Treating of Its Transformation from the Heart of the Wilderness of Yesterday to the Heart of the Mighty Nation of Today .. (1908)

ChapterLength
Chapter 13,849 words
Chapter 25,886 words
Chapter 33,069 words
Chapter 43,642 words
Chapter with an unread heading (no. 5 of those read)3,663 words
Chapter 71,545 words
Chapter 81,647 words
Chapter 92,722 words
Chapter 102,711 words
Chapter 115,161 words
Chapter 121,254 words
Chapter 132,377 words
By H. J. Bai>5,789 words
Chapter 15108,384 words in 7 parts

The people it describes

140 named

Everyone A History of Grundy County. Treating of Its Transformation from the Heart of the Wilderness of Yesterday to the Heart of the Mighty Nation of Today .. stops to write about, with the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in the words of 1908.

Every populated place in the county

15

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.