TOWNS AND VILLAGES. CITY OF RICHMOND. The land on which the original town of Richmond is located was donated to the county of Ray, May 5, 1827, by John Woolard, Isaac Thornton, William B. Martin and William Thornton, the proprietors thereof. The donation was made in consideration of the selection, by a commission legally appointed by the county court, of the site as a place on which to locate the permanent seat of justice of Ray county. On the 20th day of July, A. D. 1827, the county court in session at Bluffton, ordered an election, that the proposition to remove the county seat to the place selected by the commissioners, and by its owners donated to the county of Ray, might be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection, as the law required. On the 20th and 21st of August following, the election was duly held, and resulted in one hundred and eight votes being cast for the proposition and fifty-five against it; and in due course of time, as already fully stated, the county seat was removed, and public buildings erected, etc. Hence, Richmond owes its existence to the fact of the land on which the original town is located having been selected first by commisioners, and then by a majority of the qualified voters of the county as a site for the permanent seat of justice of the county of Ray. Richmond was, when laid out, the county seat of territory since divided into eight counties, having the following seats of justice, to-wit: Carrollton, Chillicothe, Trenton, Princeton, Bethany, Gallatin, Kingston and Richmond. Richmond was surveyed and laid out into blocks, lots, streets and alleys by Thomas N. Aubry, Esq., under the direction of William S. Miller, commissioner of the seat of justice, between the 24th of September and the 15th of October, A. D. 1827. The town site was divided into one hundred lots, and these, with the exception of those reserved for the use of the county, were sold at public vendue, the sale commencing Thursday, October 25th, 1827, and continuing from day to day. The sale was made by beginning with lot No. 100, and selling each alternate lot till lot No. 1 was reached. When the county court convened in special session, Monday, October 22, 1827, it changed the boundaries of lots 8, 9, 40, 41, 72, 73 and 100, by taking off of each the space of twenty-five feet. The space thus taken off was reserved from sale. The first jail in Richmond was located on lot No. 62, and the "prison bounds" thereof was as follows: Sixty rods square, with the jail in the centre; said space accurately laid off, and the distances marked by planting in the earth, to the depth of at least eighteen inches, at each of the four cardinal points of the compass, well charred, white-oak posts, nine inches square, rising four feet above the earth's surface. The jail itself, and also the first court house have been described. Richmond was first incorporated November 19, 1835; and the following gentlemen constituted the first board of trustees: Berry Hughes, C. R. Morehead, H. G. Parks, William Hudgins and Thomas McKinney. The first county road leading to and from the town of Richmond was established by the county court in November, 1827. It extended to Jack's Ferry, on the Missouri river. One Anderson Martin was the first town constable of the town of Richmond. The town was again incorporated by act of the general assembly, approved November 9, 1857. Richmond was laid out in the midst of a broad field of the "bright ever beautiful maize;" that is to say, where Richmond now stands, John Woolard, in 1827, cultivated a field of corn. John Woolard was an unlettered man, somewhat eccentric, but a kind neighbor, a warm-hearted friend, and an enterprising, public spirited gentleman. He has been dead many years, but has sons yet living in the county, who are upright and useful citizens. Richmond, so named by the county court, Monday, September 24, 1827, is situated in sections thirty and thirty-one, township fifty-two, range twenty-seven, and on the northeast quarter of section thirty-six, township fifty-two, range twenty-eight, on the St. Joseph branch of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific railway, forty-four miles east of Kansas City, two hundred and thirty seven miles northwest of St. Louis, and sixty-seven miles southeast of St. Joseph. Richmond is simply a fine old town, whose people are remarkable for urbanity, kindness, and genuine, old-fashioned hospitality; and in which a stranger, no matter whence he comes, so he conducts himself as a gentleman, is soon made to feel himself at home, and in the midst of friends. It is surrounded by a country exhaustless in natural resources; picturesque and beautiful in surface configuration; rich, productive, and pleasant to see. It is the attractive business and social centre of an intelligent, enterprising, Christian community, and—to borrow the language of Paul, the apostle-it is "a city of no mean importance." The main or central portion of Richmond stands upon the crown of a graceful swell, and the suburban portions are located upon the slopes of a succession of beautiful wooded hills that nearly surround the central town. The slopes abound in the most attractive building sites that command fine city and open valley views in almost every direction. It has scores of fine cottages, villas, and dignified old mansion homes, represent ing the hospitable southern style of architecture so common in the south. The spacious veranda, or porch, is an almost universal accompaniment to these pretty, inviting home places, and the ample, shaded lawns and broad walks are in more pleasant contrast with the closer and more severely artistic surroundings of the average northern home. There is everywhere in this little, half-rural city an air of amplitude, ease, freedom and home comfort that is thoroughly enjoyable to the visitor. The business town expresses solidity and permanency, rather than any effort at architectural display, being built in the plain fashion of the old time. Among the public buildings are a handsome court-house, two very pretty churches, and a plain, but massive and stately, high-school building. Two more churches are projected. Of late, a good many very pretty homes in the modern styles have been added, and, altogether, Richmond may be named among the most attractive towns of its class in the west. The business town is in keeping with the wealth and thrift of the country that fosters it. If it ever had a speculative period, is has long since passed. The business men are characterized with steady, sensible, practical and well defined methods of commercial life, and evidently prefer solvency and high credit to the exciting, spasmodic, and speculative ways of too many western towns. They have the confidence of the community, and preserve it as if it were their best "stock in trade." They never seem hurried or fretful, but move straight on from year to year with the greatest deliberation and confidence. A list of the business houses, manufactories and industries of Richmond in April, 1881, will, it is believed, be found of interest in after years, if not at present; such a list is therefore subjoined, as follows: C. D. Sayre, dealer in groceries, queensware, and produce. A. J. Bopps, hardware, stoves, tinware, etc. Ford Bros., fancy groceries. W. M. Marshall, manufacturer of and dealer in boots and shoes. Smith & Patton, druggists and pharmaceutists. Keel & Bro., dealers in groceries, queensware, and country produce. Grow & Abbott, carpenters and builders. Powell & Sons, blacksmithing, and wagon and carriage manufac turers. W. R. Jackson, furniture and hardware. Exchange and banking house of J. S. Hughes & Co., J. S. Hughes, president; Burnett Hughes, cashier. Fowler & Ewing, dry goods, boots, shoes, notions, etc. S. R. Crispin & Co., dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, etc. M. F. McDonald, staple and fancy dry goods, piece goods and hosiery. Mrs. M. E. Burhop, milliner. Mrs. S. Strader, confectionery and groceries. Hudgins House, William B. Hudgins, proprietor. W. H. Darneal, dry goods, notions, and clothing. G. E. Niedermeyer, barber. J. C. Brown & Co., dry goods, notions, and clothing. Miss L. Ford, millinery and notions. Richmond Conservator, Jacob T. Child, editor and proprietor. Baber & Shoop, groceries and queensware. Shoop & Son, undertakers. Kemper Marble Works, Ed. W. Kemper, proprietor. Sam. McDonald, confectioner. Alex. A. McCuistion, livery and sale stable.. Garner & Jacobs, druggists and pharmacists. Hubbell & Son, general merchandise. B. J. Menefee, hardware and agricultural implements. Holt & Son, general merchandise. Richmond Democrat, Thomas D. Bogie, editor and proprietor. Ray County Savings Bank, Thomas D. Woodson, president; H. C. Garner, cashier. Delmonico Restaurant, D. W. Farris, proprietor. L. Megede, watch-maker and jeweler.· W. W. Mosby & Son, druggists, booksellers, stationers, etc. Farris & Co., groceries and queensware. R. L. Jacobs, saddles and harness. F. W. Joy, meat market. W. D. Rice & Sons, hardware and groceries. E. Spear, groceries, queensware and tinware. M. C. Jacobs, druggist and apothecary. J. P. Quesenberry & Co., hardware and groceries. R. D. Asbury, blacksmithing and horse-shoeing. W. P. Strader, carriage and wagon manufacturer. McDonald Lumber Company. Brown & Wiggington, carpenters and builders. Hamacher Steam Flouring Mills, J. H. Hamacher & Bro., proprietors. O. T. Dickinson, livery and feed stable. Jackson & Patton, lumber yard, and wagons and agricultural imple ments. Richmond Wagon Factory, Powell & Son, proprietors. Wasson & Baum, dealers in live stock. Richmond Coffin Company. Title Abstract Office of Lavelock & Trigg. William Fisher, photographer. Wasson House, George I. Wasson, proprietor. Burgess Brothers, blacksmiths and wagon-makers. The Olympic Hall, completed in December, 1880, is substantially built, convenient, and commodious. It is well ventilated, tastily and comfortably furnished, and has a seating capacity of four hundred and fifty. The seats are well arranged and command a full view of the stage from any part of the hall. Olympic Hall does credit alike to its proprietors, Doctor W. W. Mosby & Son, and to the city of Richmond. The Richmond Opera House, owned by a joint stock company, under the corporate name of Richmond Hall and Library Association, was built in 1880, and cost seven thousand dollars. It is fifty feet in width by one hundred feet in length, and will seat about eight hundred persons. The hall is thoroughly ventilated, well furnished, and provided with attractive scenery. Perhaps no town in the west has a more capacious or better hall for public entertainment, than is the Richmond Opera House. The old cemetery, due north of town and just within its corporate limits, was laid out in 1845. It is the burial place of many distinguished persons. The remains of Bill Anderson, the notorious desperado, were deposited in the old cemetery. The people, of course, without exception, deprecated the man and his dastardly and revolting acts, perpetrated in the spirit of diabolical revenge, indiscriminately directed, and dishonoring alike himself, his followers, and the cause he claimed to defend; they knew, however, that in death, he was harmless, and that, as a fellow mortal, he was entitled to decent burial. This fact is not mentioned on Anderson's account, but simply to show that in the hearts of the Christian people of Richmond, the spirit of resentment perishes, when the ability of the culprit to do further harm has ceased, and, sharing the common lot of mankind, he lies powerless in the embrace of death. The new Richmond cemetery, near the west end of South Main street, on the north side thereof, was laid out in 1871. It contains three acres and is situated on a high hill commanding an extensive and beautiful prospect of the surrounding country. The dead are everywhere, and the last kind offices in their behalf are to accord them burial in conformity to established custom, and to place above them some testimonial of the esteem in which they were held while among the living, or that may at least "implore the passing trib |