County of city: Ripley County
Location of post office: Grand Ave. & Pine St., Doniphan
Location of city: Center in county; crossroads of: US-160 & MO-142
Founded: 1947
Named for: Colonel Alexander William Doniphan
Elevation: 400 ft (122 m)
Population: 1,933 (2017)
The Person:
"In 1830, Alexander Doniphan migrated from Kentucky to Lafayette County, Missouri. He did so to open a law practice. He held his highest interest in a career as a lawyer, but won his greatest fame as a military leader. Doniphan first gained his reputation for military leadership during Missouri's 1838 Mormon War. As commander of the First Brigade of the Missouri militia, Doniphan was sent to apprehend Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders. After capturing Smith, Doniphan received an order calling for Smith's immediate execution. He refused the order, telling his commanding officer, "I will not obey your order. It is cold-blooded murder." Doniphan's bravery not only saved Smith's life but also ended the Mormon War with a minimum of bloodshed.
"Doniphan again led Missouri troops in 1846, this time during the Mexican War. His volunteers, rough-hewn Missouri frontiersmen, were unaccustomed to military discipline, but Doniphan won their loyalty and turned them into an effective fighting force. In 1847 he led his outnumbered troops into battle against better-equipped Mexican forces at the Battle of Brazito and Sacramento. Doniphan's strategic skill and the fighting spirit of Missouri's volunteers led to decisive American victories in both engagements. Doniphan also played a key role in restoring law and order to the Mexican region. As military governor of Santa Fe, he revised the region's civil and criminal codes and established a bill of rights for New Mexico citizens.
"Colonel Doniphan spent the remainder of his life as a lawyer and a statesman. He served several terms in the Missouri General Assembly, and he was selected as Missouri's representative to the 1861 national peace conference, where delegates worked for a solution to avert civil war. At the 1861 state convention held to decide whether Missouri would secede, Doniphan arrived with his allegiance to keep Missouri in the Union. When the Civil War broke out, Governor Claiborne Jackson offered him command of Missouri's State Guard (Confederate), but Doniphan refused the commission, citing the recent death of his sons and his wife's ill heath. From 1863 to 1868, He lived in St. Louis and served as the U.S. Commissioner of Claims for Missouri.
"In 1868, Doniphan returned to western Missouri, moving to Richmond in Ray County. He spent his remaining years arguing cases throughout northern Missouri." ~ Marking Missouri History, 1998, by James W. Goodrich & Lynn Wolf Gentzler, p. 29
The Place:
"Doniphan: On Current River and the Missouri Pacific Railroad in Doniphan Township. When Carter County was organized in 1859 with Van Buren (q.v.) as its county seat, Doniphan, which had been settled about 1847 was selected as the seat of justice for Ripley County. Abraham Martin, who had entered land here, suggested the name, explains Mr. Langford, for Colonel Doniphan, under whom he had fought during the Mexican War. Miss Williams says the donor of the name was George Lee whose residence stood at the present site of the Odd Fellows Lodge Hall, and who gave twenty-one acres for the village and cemetery. Alexander William Doniphan, born in Macon County, Kentucky, in 1808, the youngest of ten children, a noted lawyer and orator, was elected as colonel of the Missouri troops during the Mexican War. This troop, numbering about 800 men and led in person by Colonel Doniphan, was called to active service in May, 1846. At a peace conference in Washington 1861, President Lincoln recognized the former Colonel as the one who had made a "wild march against the Comanches and Mexicans." Doniphan died in Richmond, Virginia in 1887. The Indians had a village here, but I have been unable to find the Indian name. As early as 1802, according to the Land Mark Club of Doniphan, the trading post there was known as Galigini, but the source of that name has not been found. During the Civil War the village was pillaged and burned." ~ History of the State of Missouri, 1904, Williams, Vol. 2 p. 260, 292; Postal Guide 1886- 1941
"Doniphan, the county seat, on the east bank of the Current River 30 miles southwest of Poplar Bluff, Butler Co., its nearest railroad station (1874), is a good business point and commands the trade of the entire county. It has a substantial court-house, a school-house, 5 stores, 3 shops and 1 mill. Population, (1874) about 200." ~ Gazetteer of Missouri, Campbell, 1874, p. 480.
"It is on Current River and Mo. Pac. R. R. in Doniphan Township. When Carter County was organized in 1849 with Van Buren (q.v.) as its county seat, Doniphan, which had been settled about 1847 was selected as the seat of justice for Ripley Co. Abraham Martin, who had entered land here, suggested the name, explains Mr. Langford, for Col. Doniphan, under whom he had fought in the Mexican War. Miss Williams says the donor of the name was George Lee whose residence stood at the present site of the Odd Fellows Lodge Hall, and who gave 21 acres for the village and cemetery. Alexander William Doniphan, born in Macon County, Kentucky in 1808, the youngest of ten children, a noted lawyer and orator, was elected as Colonel of the Missouri troops during the Mexican War. This troop, numbering about 800 men and led in person by Col. Doniphan, was called to active service in May, 1846. At a peace conference in Washington in 1861, President Lincoln recognized the former Colonel as the one who had made "a wild march against the Comanches and Mexicans." Doniphan died in Richmond, Virginia in 1867.
"The Indians had a village here, but I (Miss Pottinger) have been unable to find the Indian name. As early as 1802, according to the Land Mark Club of Doniphan, the trading-post there was known as Galigini, but the source of that name has not been found. During the Civil War the village was plundered and burned.
"It is located at Sections 22, 23, 26 & 27, Range 2 W, on Highways 142, 170, Y & 21." ~ Encyclopedia of Missouri, 1901, Conrad, p. 260