MACON COUNTY HISTORY
The territory now embraced in Macon County was-settled about 1830. The first settlement was made about four miles north of the present city of Macon. Among the pioneers were THOMAS WILLIAMS, NATHAN RICHARDSON, JACOB LOE, WILLIAM SEARS, JAMES COWHAN, ERBIN EAST, E. PENTON and the WRIGHT, McCALL, SHACKLEFORD, MOODY, SUMMERS, GIBSON, DYSART, POWELL, McCANN, KING, MORROW and ROWLAND families all of whom settled near together in the southwestern part of the county where a little hamlet was formed and became known as Moccasinville. This place was near the present village of Atlanta.
WILLIAM T. SMITH, one of the BURNS family and JAMES STONE, from Wayne County, Kentucky, settled in what is the southern part of the county. Nearly all the early settlers came from Wayne County, Kentucky, with a few from Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
When the earliest pioneers arrived there were a few wandering tribes of Indians in the county. The red men were friendly, caused no trouble, and within a few years they joined other tribes which by treaty, were given territory further west.
Gradually the territory was settled up with a thrifty class of colonists, the later arrivals being from the middle Eastern and Southern States and Ju)y 1837, when the county was organized, within its limits were more than 5,000 people. Macon County was erected out of Randolph County by legislative act, approved January 6, 1837, and named in honor of Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina. The general assembly named JOSEPH M. BAKER, HENRY LASSITER and JAMES PIPES commissioners to locate a permanent seat of justice, and directed that they meet on the first Monday of May, 1837, at the house of D. C. GARTH. The next meeting was held June 12, of the same year, and they selected a portion of land owned by JAMES COCHRAN and DANIEL C. HUBBARD, who donated fifty acres to the county "without limit or reservation." This land was originally entered by JOSEPH and CANADA OWENBY, MARK DUNN and CLEM HUTCHINSON, and was about eight miles northeast of the present site of the city of Macon. On June 4, 1838, the county court "ordered that the county seat of said county (Macon) be called and known by the name and style of Bloomington" and that JAMES RATLIFF, commissioner of the county lay off the same in town lots and public square, and that the lots be sold at public auction for the benefit of the county.
The town was laid out by JAMES LONDAY, ABNEY L. GILSTRAP and WILLIAM SEARS. November 17, 1839 ROBERT GEORGE was appointed by the county court a commissioner to superintend the building of a courthouse. It was finished in 1841.
The first County Court Of Macon County was held at the house of JOSEPH OWENBY about eight miles northeast Of the city of Macon. on the first Monday in May 1837 The first county justices were JOHN S. MORROW, JOSEPH OWENBY and JAMES COCHRAN, with DANIEL C, HUBBARD., clerk, and JEFFERSON MORROW, Sheriff
The first license granted by the court was to W. H- R0WLAND to run a grocery Store. Other acts o the first court were to appoint GEORGE W. GREEN county treasurer and agent of the county to receive from the State treasury the county's portion of the road and canal fund.
The second meeting of the court July 3,1837 organized the township of Narrows. February 5, 1838, the court met at the house of Dabney C. Garth, which place was the regular meeting place until the courthouse was finished.
The first circuit judge to hold a term of court in Macon County was the Honorable THOMAS REYNOLDS judge of the Second Judicial District and the first meeting was held August 17, 1837 at the house of DABNEY C. GARTH at the town of Bloomington. The first grand jury was composed of JAMES WELLSY foreman; JAMES RILEY, MICAJAH HULL, CANADA OWENBY, JAMES A. TERRILL, NATHANIEL RICHARDSON, NATHAN DABNEY, JESSE GILLSTRAP,ISAAC GROSS., THOMAS J. DABNEY, JOHN F. NORTHRUP, RICHARD CALVERT, WILLIAM SMITH, BIRDRICK POSEY, THOMAS WILLIAMS, LEWIS GREEN, JAMES T, HALEY, JAMES A. GRIFFITH, STEPHEN GIBSON and DAVID YOUNG. JEFFERSON MORROW was the first sheriff, WILLIAM SCHAME deputy sheriff W- H. DAVIS circuit attorney and DANIEL C. HUBBARD circuit clerk.
Among the first resident physicians of Macon County were ABRAHAM STILL brother of the founder of the school known as osteopathy; A. T. STILL of Kirksville, Missouri; JOHN WILKIN,, ARTHUR BARRON and WILLIAM PROCTOR. Among, the first school teachers in the county was OLIVER P. DAVIS, JAMES N. LOVE was publisher of the first newspaper started in 1850 the Bloomington Gazette." The first mill in the county was built by Judge COCHRAN in 3-837.9 near the old town of Bloomington. Later one JONES built a mill on Middle Fork, and one DALY built a mill on the divide".
The population of the county in 1900 was 33,018.
Taken from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HISTORY OF MISSOURI, Vol IV pages 153-155;, Published by the Southern History Company of New York and St. Louis. Edited by Howard L. Conrad.