Jerry Lock, Broker/Owner
11 East Benton - Carrollton, Missouri 64633
Phone: 660-542-2114 - c21jlock@sbcglobal.net

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Carrollton Missouri and Local Info

CARROLL COUNTY HISTORY - www.carrolltonareachamber.com

As early as 1816 Indians of the Sac & Fox tribes were in possession of this territory, but there is no evidence they were ever permanently located here. A land survey of this area was begun by government surveyors in 1816 and completed the following year. No white settlements were in the county at this time. The first permanent settlement was made in November 1819.

Carroll County was organized in 1833, and at that time its boundaries extended north to the Iowa state line. Out of the territory came Grundy, Mercer and Livingston Counties. When Livingston County was organized in 1837, Carroll County was reduced to its present size.

Originally the county was to be called Wakanda for the stream of that name which flowed through the county. However, when it came to the final passage, the news of the death of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Maryland, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, was received in Jefferson City. The proposition was made to call the new county Carroll when the bill passed and was signed by the Governor - January 3, 1833.

The Missouri River was an important artery of the development of Carrollton, as were the railroads which were important for its growth.

Like most of the old Missouri towns the principal business houses are arranged around the "square" in which sits the Court House. The present Court House, built in 1904 for a cost of $45,900, is a source of pride to the local citizenry.

The corner stone was placed in position, June 1902, in a ceremony by the Masonic Order - Wakanda Lodge No. 52. The building was built of Carroll County Sandstone, quarried at Whiterock Quarries in the county and transported to the site in railroad cars. A railroad spur was added so that cars were delivered from the railroad in south Carrollton to the Court House site by the Carrollton Electric Street car, being either pushed or pulled up South Main street car tracks. Carrollton was the smallest town at the time to have an Electric Street Car system from 1893 to 1924.

GENERAL JAMES SHIELDS

The Brigadier General James Shields Monument is located on the East side of the Court House on the Carrollton square. The statue is 14 feet high, cost $10,000, and was unveiled November 1914.

General Shields is known for being the only Union General to have defeated Stonewall Jackson during battle, for serving as U.S. Senator from three separate states (Missouri, Minnesota, and Illinois), and for dueling with Abraham Lincoln over a squabble which arose while they, as well as Stephen Douglas, were courting Mary Todd in Springfield, Illinois.

Union General James Shields made his home in Carrollton during his later years. He is buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery just north of Carrollton on Highway 65. The monument is the only one erected by the federal government in a private cemetery. It was unveiled in November 1910.

The Courthouse still serves as the center of activity in Carroll County and is a source of pride to the local citizenry.

After the Civil War General Shields bought a farm in Carroll County near Carrollton where he and his family resided. After his death Mrs. Shields and family (three children) moved from rural Carrollton to town living at 507 North Main. Today the house is a private residence.