| Hickory County | |
| Organized February
14, 1845, from Benton and Polk counties and named for Andrew Jackson,
"Old Hickory".
County Seat: Hermitage Address: Hickory
County |
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| Photograph | |
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Old County Jail at Corner of Courthouse Grounds |
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| History | |
| Fire took a tragic toll
in Hickory County during the 19th century, destroying two courthouses
and many records. First courts met in homes. The history of the early
courthouses is not clear. Goodspeed's History of Hickory, Polk,
Cedar, Dade and Barton Counties, 1889, describes the first
courthouse a 1-1/2-story building built during 1847 at the southeast
corner of the square. Fire destroyed the courthouse in 1852.
Goodspeed says the county was without a courthouse until 1860. F. Marion Wilson, writing in 1907 on Hickory County history, described the courthouse as a two-story, frame structure with a school occupying the lower floor. This may have been space rented by the court after the fire. Fire destroyed this building, too. Wilson interviewed elderly citizens regarding the date of the fire. Answers varied by four years, but the fire evidently occurred about 1860. The brick, two-story 1860 courthouse, measuring 40 by 42 feet, occupied a site on the square south of the present courthouse. A north-south hall divided the lower floor. There were four rooms on the first floor; the courtroom was on the second story with two jury rooms. A storm damaged part of the roof and upper story in April 1879; fire destroyed the building January 8, 1881. From 1881 until 1896 Hickory County managed without a courthouse. Continued talk for removal of the county seat to a different location failed to gain sufficient support. The present two-story, brick courthouse with hip roof was completed in 1896; cost came to $5,350 which was paid by subscription. In plan it resembles the 1860 design. Offices are on the first floor, courtroom on the second. An open belfry above the gable marks the front of the building. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| Courthouse
burned in 1852 and 1881. |
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| Records at Courthouse | |
|
Recorder
of Deeds: Index
to deeds, 1848-1893; Deed records, 1846-1865 and 1877-1896; Marriage
records, 1872-1919. Clerk
of the Court of Common Pleas and Chancery Court: Chancery minute
book, 1845-1887. Clerk
of the County Court: Permanent
record of births, 1883-1889; Register of births and stillbirths,
1883-1889; Register of deaths, 1883-1889. Clerk
of the Circuit Court: Index
to circuit court records, 1858-1901; Circuit court records, 1858-1871
and 1875-1886. |
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| More Links | |
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Hickory
County Births
Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability Search
for Hickory County on Archives'
Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm |
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