| Howard County | |
| Organized January
23, 1816, (effective March 1, 1816) from St. Charles and St. Louis
counties and named for Benjamin Howard, governor of the Missouri
Territory.
County Seat: Fayette Address: Howard
County |
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| Photograph | |
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| History | |
| After the county seat of Howard
County moved to Fayette from Franklin, court officials planned to build
the shell of a courthouse. Advertisements in July 1823 asked for bids on
a brick, 35-by-45-foot, two-story building with stone foundation. The
first stage of construction was reported near completion in June 1826.
J. W. Garner and Stephen Trigg were contractors. Bids for finishing and
interior work were solicited in August 1827.
A year later plastering was completed and 30 pairs of window shutters were hung. Joseph Megraw, an Irishman, built Howard County's second courthouse in 1857. Megraw had come to Howard County in 1852; previously he studied carpentry in Pittsburgh. The court appropriated $25,000 for the two-story, brick porticoed building. A balustrade concealed the tin-covered roof. A cupola with a clock, weathervane and decorative eagle sat toward the front. The courtroom and jury room were on the second floor; eight offices were on the first floor. Wings were added sometime before 1883. Fire destroyed the building December 1, 1886. After the fire the neighboring town of Glasgow publicly expressed hope of having the county seat moved there, but Fayette residents were confident that Glasgow could not muster the necessary two-thirds vote required to relocate the county seat. Representatives from the townships met in Fayette during February 1887 to consider the indebtedness they would incur for reconstruction. In a petition, they requested that the voters consider the sum of $25,000. Proceeds from an insurance policy on the destroyed building assured $10,000. In an election held the following month, voters approved the proposition, and planning proceeded rapidly. By May the court had engaged the architectural firm of Schrage and Nichols of Kansas City for plans, drawings and specifications for Howard County's third courthouse. The cornerstone ceremony took place September 15, 1887. The cost of the building was $32,942. In 1968 a bond issue for $350,000 permitted remodeling and exterior renovation for the deteriorating building: Carroll Hutchens served as architect. Final costs came to about $375,000. December 31, 1975, fire gutted the building. In extensive repair and rebuilding, the exterior walls were retained, but the original interior design has been lost. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| Courthouse burned in 1887. | |
| Records at Courthouse | |
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Recorder
of Deeds:
Index to deeds, 1816-1889; Deed records, 1816-1924; Index to
marriage records, 1816-1972; Marriage records, 1816-1919; Negro/colored
marriage records, 1865-1879. Clerk
of the
County Court: Register of births and stillbirths, 1883-1893;
Permanent record of deaths, 1883-1888; State census, 1876. Clerk
of the
Circuit Court: Index to circuit court records, 1831-1896; Circuit
court records, 1816-1889. Clerk of the Probate Court: Probate records, 1821-1887; Administrator’s/executor’s letters, bonds and records, 1880-1900; Inventories, appraisements and sale bills, 1868-1892; Settlement records, 1836-1891; Index to will records, 1818-1896; Will records, 1818-1918. |
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| More Links | |
| Birth
& Death Records Database Search
for Howard County on Archives' Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm Howard County Black Marriages 1865-1879 Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability |
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