County of house: Harrison County
Location of house: Main St. & S. 13th St., Bethany
Built: 1882
Architect: Edmund Eckel
Architectural Style: Italianate
Built: 1882
The Person:
J.P. Hamilton's life (1840-1911) is an interesting case study of a successful southerner on the Missouri frontier engaged in the mercantile business. J.P. Hamilton was born in Green County, Kentucky, in 1840, and came with his parents to Randolph County, Missouri, later to Daviess County, and in 1859 to Bethany.
J.P. Hamilton was a pioneer hardware merchant who started his
business in 1859 in Bethany when it was still considered a small
country town. Mr. Hamilton continued in the hardware business until
1899, when ill health forced him to sell the Hamilton Hardware
Company to Phillips and Storm, who reorganized it into the Bethany
Hardware Company. During his forty years as a merchant in Bethany,
Mr. Hamilton was a prominent man in city and county affairs. He
served as alderman for the City of Bethany. He helped organize the
Bethany Savings Bank, of which he was a director and vice president.
He was a member of the Independent order of Odd Fellows and the
Knights of Pythias Lodge. In the 1921 History of Harrison County, Mr. Hamilton is remembered as one of the sturdy pioneers and
enterprising characters who helped Bethany and Harrison County grow." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
About his mother, but gives some insight into him:
Subject: CAROLINE S. HAMILTON
Submitter: Phil Stewart (jjhist@grm.net)
Source: Bethany Republic-Clipper, Mar 25, 1902, reprinted from the Gallatin Democrat
"MRS HAMILTON DEAD
"Caroline S. Hamilton, relict of Dr. J. B. Hamilton, who died in 1851, passed away last Tuesday night of old age a complication of diseases. Mrs Hamilton came here with her husband in 1851, and since that time made this her home. She was born in Georgetown, Ky., June 15th, 1816. Her father, Dr. Sanders, was a wealthy and prominent Baptist and built a church which he presented to the congregation at Georgetown. She was a good woman and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those in need or afflicted. She died at the old home place south of town. Her three living children are William and May or Wood Hamilton of this place, and J. P. Hamilton of Bethany. Funeral services take place at 2:30 today at the home, conducted by Rev J. M. McManaway. Burial at the Brown cemetery. Many friends mourn with the family on the death of Mrs. Hamilton.
"[Note: References to "here" and "this place" refer to Gallatin and Daviess County, MO.... not Bethany and Harrison County.]" ~ MO RootsWeb
The Place:
"he Hamilton/Edna Cuddy Memorial House and Gardens is an
asymmetrical shaped house of brick construction facing North from its
corner lot one block off the square in the City of Bethany, Missouri.
This tall and stately Italianate-style home was designed in 1882 by
Edmund Eckel of St. Joseph, Missouri, for a prominent hardware
merchant by the name of James P. Hamilton (but usually called J.P.).
Mr. Hamilton's initials, J.P.H., and the date, 1882, were carved into
the projecting double window header off the second floor of the north
façade. The initials and dates are further accentuated by a gable
pediment in the roof just above this area. There is a one-story,
slanted bay below this area. At the top of the windows on both the
first and second floor levels, there is a double row of soldier
course brick (a design often used by Edmund Eckel) that wraps itself
around the north and part of the east façade. This decoration is
very prominent from the street. A smooth stone belt accentuates the
separation of the first and second floor levels. At the roof line, a
projecting cornice is supported by concave, curved brackets with
dentils between the brackets. The roof is a low, truncated-hip style
covered with asbestos shingles. There are three plain brick
chimneys, one on the west and two on the east walls.
"While this home is not the most lavish of Italiante/Victorian
styles in America or Missouri, it is elaborate for Harrison County
and the City of Bethany. It is a handsome, well-constructed and
fashionably-adorned house built for a late-19th-Century, middle-class
hardware merchant. This house typifies the life and times of the
merchant class in "small town" Northwest Missouri.
"While it is not a factor in National Register
consideration, it is nonetheless of considerable importance that,
although the house has deteriorated in recent years and needs
attention, it is now in the hands of the Harrison County Historical
Society, which is vitally concerned with its restoration and
preservation." ~ NRHP Nomination Form