County of site: Marion County
Location of site center: courthouse, US 61 Bus. (Main St.), courthouse lawn, Palmyra
County was named for Francis Marion, who is considered one of the fathers of Modern guerrilla warfare. He is also credited in the lineage of the United States Army Rangers. Many people may remember him by his nickname, "The Swamp Fox."
The irony of the county gaining it's name from the father of modern guerrilla warfare, because of the warfare fought in the county during the American Civil War. Guerrilla warfare was responsible for many attacks in the county, including one where Colonel Joseph C. Porter came into Palmyra, capturing civilians, arms and goods. After this engagement, the Union Army's response was what is known as the "Palmyra Massacre."
"Palmyra, founded in 1819, was for many years the northernmost town on the Salt River Trail from St. Charles to the Des Moines River. A Federal Land Office for the Salt River area located here, 1824 – 58, led all others in the state in the sale of public land. In 1827 Palmyra became the seat of a newly organized county named for Revolutionary General Francis Marion.
"On the Mississippi near here is the site of Marion City, laid out, 1835, by promoter William Muldrow. His wide sale of lots in the East resulted in an immigration called the “Eastern Run.” Development of the new town was stopped by Mississippi floods.
"Muldrow also laid out Philadelphia, west of Palmyra, where Presbyterian minister David Nelson had founded Marion College, the first Protestant college chartered in Missouri, 1831. Easter funds and teachers gave the school early fame, but, in time, it closed for lack of money. In 1842 the Masonic Grand Lodge of Missouri bought it, renamed it Masonic College, and moved it to Lexington, MO. in 1847. In Palmyra was St. Paul’s (Episcopal) College, opened, 1848.
"Palmyra, called the “Handsomest City in North Missouri” by 1860, was settled largely by Southerners on land ceded by the U.S. by Iowa, Sauk, and Fox tribes, 1824. First white settler in the county area was Frenchman Maturin Bouvet, 1795. He shipped salt from his salines from a point southeast on the Mississippi until killed by Indians, 1800.
"In a noted trial here in 1841 the Illinois abolitionists George Thompson, James Burr, and Alanson Work were sent to prison for attempting to entice slaves to run away.
"A monument at the courthouse honors victims of the infamous Palmyra Massacre of October 18, 1862. By order of Union Col. John McNeil, 10 Confederate prisoners were shot when Confederate Col. John C. Porter could not return a captured pro-Union civilian.
"Here lived T.B. Anderson, pioneer lawyer; Jacob Sosey, founder of the “Spectator,” 1839, oldest family-owned paper in Missouri; and World War I General W.P. Jackson. In local cemeteries lie W.H. Russell, founder of the Pony Express, and George “Pegleg” Shannon, member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition." ~ State of Missouri Historical Society, 1959
More interesting stuff and photo connections:
1. County Jail central in the "Palmyra Massacre"
2. Palmyra Mural
3. County Courthouse
4. 1st Log Cabin in the area
5. Home of Jane Darwell central character in the movie Grapes of Wraith 1939
6. The Garner House
7. The Speigle House