Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 2: Buchanan County Formed and Named. - First County Court, Sheriff and Surveyor. -, 1900

BUCHANAN COUNTY FORMED AND NAMED. - FIRST COUNTY COURT, SHERIFF AND SURVEYOR. - FORMATION OF TOWNSHIPS. - FIRST ELECTION. - FIRST COUNTY SEAT AND COURT HOUSE. - REMOVAL OF COUNTY SEAT FROM SPARTA TO ST. JOSEPH.

In December, 1838, the General Assembly of Missouri passed an act providing for the organization of Platte and Buchanan Counties. James Buchanan, afterwards President, at that time represented the United States at the court of St. Petersburg. He was a popular idol at home, and this county was named in his honor.

The creative act authorized the governor to appoint three judges of the county court and a sheriff, to serve until the general election in 1840; also a surveyor. The act provided for a commission to locate a permanent seat of government, naming Peter B. Fulkerson and Armstrong McClintock of Clinton and Leonard Brassfield of Clay County as commissioners. It provided also that until this commission had acted the seat of government should be at the house of Richard Hill. The regular terms of the county court were fixed for the first Mondays in February, May, August and November, but the court was permitted to hold special sessions.

Buchanan County was made part of the Twelfth senatorial district, part of the First judicial district and part of the Twelfth judicial circuit, and the regular terms of the circuit court were fixed for the second Mondays of April, August and December. County and district courts were authorized to appoint clerks.

Governor Lilburn W. Boggs appointed Samuel Johnson, William Harrington and William Curi as the first judges of the Buchanan County court and Samuel Gilmore as the first sheriff. This court met at the house of Richard Hill, near the site of old Sparta, on the first Monday in April, 1839, and organized by electing Mr. Johnson as presiding judge and appointing William Fowler clerk.

The first business of the court was the subdivision of the county into municipal townships. This was no small task and underwent remodeling several times before it was found satisfactory. Platte.

Tremont, Marion, Lewis, Noble, Jefferson, Nodaway, Atchison, Bloomington, Washington, Crawford, Wayne and Center are mentioned in the early records. However, the court, at its first session, ordered an election of two justices of the peace and one constable for each township, and specifically mentions the following: Platte, Tremont, Marion, Bloomington, Crawford, Noble, Lewis, Nodaway and Jefferson. In 1842 we find ten townships: Bloomington, Crawford. Platte, Tremont, Marion, Jackson, Washington, Rush, Wayne and Center. As the population increased it became necessary from time to time to change the boundaries, until the present subdivision into twelve townships was reached. We have now Washington, Marion. Lake, Wayne, Center, Agency, Tremont, Rush, Bloomington, Crawford, Jackson and Platte. The county court met alternately at Mr. Hill's house and at the house of Joseph Robidoux.

Matthew M. Hughes, who had been appointed by Governor Boggs to survey Buchanan County, made his report to the county court on January 8, 1840. "I commenced on the northwest corner of Platte County," he says, "in the center of the main channel of the Missouri River, and ran up the same, with its various meanders, forty-two miles and fifty-two chains, which constitutes the western boundary of your county ; thence I ran a due east course, marking each fore and aft tree with a blaze and two chops, and trees on each side in the way pointing to the line, of fourteen miles and twenty-seven chains to a stake in the old state line, or the line of Clinton County, which constitutes your northern boundary ; then south twenty miles and fifty-two chains along said line to the northeast corner of Platte County, which constitutes your eastern boundary ; thence west along the line of Platte County twenty-seven miles and forty-seven chains, which constitutes your southern boundary, containing four hundred scpiare miles." For all of this work the court paid Mr. Hughes ninety-four dollars.

The commissioners appointed by Governor Boggs to select a seat of justice did not act until May 26, 1840. On that day they met the county court at Mr. Hill's house, and, after going carefully over the ground, selected for the seat of justice the southeast quarter of section 21, township 56, range 35. This land is now owned and cultivated by Wm. McCauley.

Anticipating the decision of the commissioners, a small settlement had been made. The commissioners named the new county seat Benton, in honor of Senator Thomas H. Benton, but this did not meet with popular approval, and at the August term the county court changed the name to Sparta.

Having a seat of justice, Buchanan County must, of course, have a court house. A log structure was erected, which is mentioned more extensively in another chapter. In 1842 $6,000 wras appropriated for a substantial court house, but this was never built at Sparta.

While Sparta was near the center of the county, the principal trading point was at Blacksnake Hills. A petition, signed by 956 (being three-fifths) of the taxable citizens, asking for the removal of the county seat, was presented to the county court at the February term in 1843, an(l the court appointed Winslow Turner, James Hull and James Kuykendall to select a site. These gentlemen reported on July 4, 1843, stating that they had selected the southwest quarter of section 8, township 57, range 35, "the same being on the Missouri River at the Blacksnake Hills."

This quarter section had been pre-empted by Joseph Robidoux and he lost no time in platting the town of St. Joseph after this report. At the election that followed a majority voted for the removal of the county seat to the Blacksnake Hills, but the measure failed because the claim of the county to the quarter section above mentioned was not sustained by the circuit court. Robidoux had a prior right.

In the fall of 1844 a majority of all the voters in the county petitioned the legislature, and an act was passed in March, 1845, under which succeeding elections were held for the removal of the county seat.

The commissioners provided by the legislature met in St. Joseph on May 24. 1845. Joseph Robidoux, who objected to giving his entire townsite to the county, was inclined to be liberal, however, and donated all of block 48, the site of the present court house. This was accepted by the commissioners.

The legislature had also provided for the reimbursement of the holders of lots in Sparta. To assist in doing this Frederick W. Smith donated one block of ground in St. Joseph and Elias F. Wells donated two lots. John Patee donated three acres of land and Samuel C. Hall twenty acres. To further aid this movement the citizens of St. Joseph subscribed about $1,000 in money.

The lands donated were sold for $1,370.50. They are to-day among the best property in St. Joseph and are easily worth $300,000. The amount thus secured covered the liability to the Spartans by a narrow margin, for of the $2,370.50, it required $2,185.

On December 24,1845, an election was held to ratify the action of the commissioners. St. Joseph received 1,037 votes and Sparta 541. The county court held that this vote did not decide the ques- tion in favor of St. Joseph, contending- that a majority of all free white male inhabitants taxable, over the age of twenty-one years, was required, and holding that there was no such majority for St. Joseph.

The court at once ordered another election for February 28, 1846. The Spartans had been inspired with new hope and worked vigorously to defeat the aspirations of St. Joseph. There were speeches, the press was brought into active use and people made a personal matter of the contest. Fortune favored St. Joseph this time with 1,164 votes against 455 for Sparta. The county seat was at once removed to St. Joseph. The lot owners in Sparta, having been reimbursed, moved off and the land reverted to the legal holder.