Mercer County

Mercer was a Union county by ancestry as much as by position. Most residents had roots in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana rather than the slaveholding South, and the 1860 census listed only 12 Mercer County families as slaveholders, holding 24 people in slavery. Fewer than 20 of the county's men fought for the Confederacy, while more than 1,000 volunteered for the Union. Men from Mercer, Grundy, Sullivan and other northwest Missouri counties made up the 44th Missouri Infantry, which played a pivotal part in the Union victory at Franklin, Tennessee, on November 30, 1864.

What the plaque says

Mercer County Here in Missouri's north central glacial plains, Mercer County was organized, 1845. Named for Rev. War Gen. Hugh Mercer, the county is in territory ceded by Iowa, Sac, and Fox tribes in 1824. Indians hunted in the area into the 1840's. The first settler in Mercer County, James Parsons, came to what is now Princeton, 1837. Early settlers were from Ky., Tenn., Ohio, and Ill. Princeton, the county seat, was laid out, 1846, on high ground overlooking the Weldon River Valley and named for 1777 Battle of Princeton where General Mercer lost his life. With coming of Chicago, Rock Is. & Pac. R. R., 1871, the town grew as shipping and trading point. From 1871 to 1911, Princeton suffered a number of damaging fires, one side of the square burned five times. Calamity Jane, colorful character of the western frontier, was born Martha Jane Canary near Princeton about 1852. By her claim she was pony-express rider and scout with Gen. George Custer. She died in 1903 and is buried by Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, S. Dak. Calamity Jane Roadside Park near Princeton is named for her. (See other side) Erected by State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission, 1960 Mercer County (Continued from other side) Mercer County, rich grain and livestock farming area well watered by tributaries of Grand River, lies along the middle of the Missouri-Iowa boundary line. A lively border dispute, centering in Lineville, arose between Mercer and Decatur County, Ia., in 1894. Each county claimed same land strip as 1851 boundary markers placed by U. S. Supreme Court order were obliterated. In 1897, settlement came when U. S. Supreme Court Commission re-marked disputed area. Mercer County won most of its claims. Strong Union county in War Between the States, Mercer saw little activity. Among towns are Ravanna, laid out 1857, once a contestant for county seat; Modena, laid out 1856; and Mercer, laid out in 1871, settled 1859, and first called Marion. In Princeton is Hyde family home now Axtell Hospital. There lived Ira B. Hyde, member 43rd Congress, and there was born his son, Arthur M. Hyde, Mayor Princeton, 1908-10; Gov. of Mo., 1921-25; U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, 1929-33. Lawrence M. Hyde, another son, was elected Missouri Supreme Court judge for his first term in 1942. Erected by State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission, 1960

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Sullivan County — 29 mi