| Laclede County | |
| Organized February
24, 1849, from Camden, Pulaski and Wright counties and named for Pierre
Laclede Liquest, founder of St. Louis.
County Seat: Lebanon Address: La Clede County |
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| Photograph | |
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| History | |
| When Laclede County was
organized in 1849, first courts met in private homes, but the following
year the court decided to build a courthouse and appointed John J.
Thrailkill superintendent of buildings. In May 1850 the court let the
contract for building a 1-1/2-story, frame courthouse to A. S. Cherry.
Construction was completed in 1851. The courtroom occupied the first
floor; the clerk's office was on the second. Laclede County used this
courthouse for almost 20 years.
In the 1870s a controversy over an attempt to move the county seat led to a disruptive period that left Laclede County without a courthouse for over 20 years. The controversy began when the railroad came to Lebanon in 1868, stopping about a mile from the courthouse in the county seat at Lebanon. A new business district developed, and the county moved its records to new town and sold the old courthouse for $50. Opponents of the move claimed that the new location was not legally a part of the county seat. It was not until the 1890s that a courthouse was built in New Lebanon. William F. Schrage was architect of this courthouse, built by S. J. Hyde and Co., Kansas City, for about $20,000. Cornerstone ceremonies took place June 23, 1894. The two-story building with basement had four entrances and wide transverse halls. The first floor had 16 rooms; the courtroom was on the second floor with jury, witness and consulting rooms. This building burned February 28, 1920. Schrage did other Missouri courthouses similar to this: Howard County, 1887, Morgan County, 1889, and Ripley County, 1898. In a June 1920 election, voters defeated a $100,000 bond issue to finance a new courthouse. Many considered $100,000 too much to pay. Considerable enthusiasm was generated for the $80,000 bond issue that came later, however, and voters responded with a resounding yes in May 1924. Three architects were considered: H. H. Hohenschild, W. E. Hulse, and the one the court chose, Earl Hawkins of Springfield. Hawkins' plan was for a 100-by-63-foot, three-story, brick structure with Carthage stone trim. The tall courtroom spanned the second and third stories, with a third-story balcony. The contract was let to M. E. Gillioz of Monett for $72,428. Cornerstone day was October 2, 1924. The Court accepted the completed building in June 1925. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| Courthouse hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Central Time Zone), closed weekends and holidays. (Missouri celebrates Truman's Birthday on May 8th each year, only changed if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, no other different holidays.) | |
| Records at Courthouse | |
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Recorder of Deeds: Index to deeds, 1849-1890; Deed records, 1849-1894; Index to patent records, 1857-1962; Patent records, 1857-1945;Index to marriage records, 1906-1916; Marriage records, 1855-1916. Clerk
of the County Court: Register of births and stillbirths,
1883-1893 and
(1922, one only). |
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| More Links | |
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Birth & Death Records Database Search
for Laclede County on Archives'
Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability |
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