County of Marker: Caldwell County
Location of Marker: E. Main St. & S. Washington St. (MO 13), courthouse lawn, Kingston
Marker Erected by: State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission
Date Marker Erected: 1957
"Named for Judge, later Governor, Austin A. King, the town lies on land donated by James Ramsey and William Hill. The first house was moved here from Far West, left desolate after the "Mormon War." In June 1864, some 300 Confederates under Captains Thrailkill and Taylor raided the town."
The Person:
Austin Augustus King
"21 Sept. 18021–22 Apr. 1870. Attorney, judge, politician, farmer. Born at Sullivan Co., Tennessee. Son of Walter King and Nancy Sevier. Married first Nancy Harris Roberts, 13 May 1828, at Jackson, Madison Co., Tennessee. In 1830, moved to Missouri, where he practiced law at Columbia, Boone Co. Served as colonel in Black Hawk War, 1832. Elected to state legislature as Jacksonian Democrat from Boone Co., 1834, 1836. In 1837, removed to Richmond, Ray Co., Missouri, where he received appointment as circuit judge in northwestern Missouri by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. Between 1837 and 1848, served as judge of Missouri’s Fifth Judicial Circuit, consisting of counties of Clinton, Ray, Caldwell, Clay, Daviess, Carroll, and Livingston. In Nov. 1838, presided at preliminary hearing of JS and other Mormons at Richmond; committed them to jail pending trials to be held Mar. 1839. Governor of Missouri, 1848–1852. Married second Martha Anthony Woodson, 10 Aug. 1858, in Kingston, Caldwell Co. Represented Missouri in U.S. Congress, 1863–1865. Died at St. Louis." ~ The Joseph Smith Papers
Mr. King's Gravesite as listed on Find-A-Grave
The Place:
KINGSTON
"The fertile Shoal Creek Valley, Kingston was laid out in 1843 to replace Far West as seat of Caldwell County. Organized in 1836, the county was to be for Latter Day Saints (Mormons), ejected from Jackson County in 1833 and asked to leave Clay County, 1836. Far West, near here, was their county seat and church headquarters. When the "Mormon War" began, Far West had 3,000 settlers.
Hostilities between Latter Day Saints and their neighbors arose over political, social and economic differences. First hostile acts were at the Latter Day Saints' settlements Adam-ondi-Ahman and De Witt in Daviess and Carroll counties. Involved were Missouri Militiamen and Caldwell County Militia of Mormons. After massacre of 17 Latter Day Saints at Haun's Mill, the Caldwell Militia surrendered at Far West, November 1, 1838.
Church leaders, Joseph Smith among them, were accused of treason and ordered shot. They were jailed when Brig. Gen. Alexander W. Doniphan refused to enforce the order. Some were freed, others escaped, as charges were unsustained. About 12,000 Latter Day Saints removed to Illinois by June of 1839.
Kingston serves as seat of a livestock and grain farming county in the Glacial Plains of Missouri. Named for John Caldwell, Indian scout, the county lies in an area utilized by Missouri and Osage Indians and claimed by the Iowa, Sauk, and Fox until their 1824 land cession. First settler was Jesse Mann, 1831." ~ State Historical Society of Missouri