Annals of Platte County, Missouri - Paxton
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1837 . 23 TOWNS. horses, mules, oxen, and wagons. Business upon the plains built up Platte County in wealth. TOWN SITES I have already referred to Martinsville. No reliable titles to land could be procured until March, 1843, when the Plattsburg Land Oice was opened. Yet towns grew up at Weston, Park- yille. Iatan, New Market, Ridgely, and other places. The Mis- souri strikes the blu at but three places in Platte, and each has a town or two - Iatan, Weston, and Parkville, with Rialto and Vinston. The law to grant towns a preemption, and to authorize sale of lots, was not passed until 1843. No good improvements were made until after the land sales. But there was a Federal law granting to counties a. preeinptioii of 160 acres for county seats. Under this law. Platte City was the first town in the county where good titles could be obtained. WESTON. In 1837 Joseph Moore took up the claim upon which Weston is situated. Several streets were laid off and some locations sold. But Moore possessed no business qualications, and the town did not prosper. In 1838 Gen. Bela M. Hughes, the only child of Gen- eral Andrew S. Hughes, already mentioned, purchased a half interest in the claim. The new firm laid off What is known as the city proper, and commenced selling lots. At that time, there were only two families in the town. General Hughes yet lives in Denver, burdened with age and honors, but he was then only 21 years old. He took control in the winter of 1838-9, and sold many lots. The purchasers took the risk of getting the fee-simple title. Some lots were given away, to secure good and enterpris- ing settlers. The first store was established by Thornburg & Lucas. It stood on Warners corner. I was in Weston, July 14 to 20, 1839. It was a busy, bustling town of three hundred peo- ple. Ben Wood was a saddler. Ben Holladay kept a saloon. I had my first case in Missouri. A man was taken up for stealing a saddle. and was tried for the felony by a justice. A jury was summoned and instructed. If found guilty. he was to go to the penitentiary. I let the jury try him. intending, in case he were found guilty, to move to set the verdict aside. But the jury cleared him. and I got my fee. I remember meeting John B. Wells. Smith Calvert. Ben Holladay, General Hughes. William and D. P. Willingford. Dr. Samuel McAdow. and Milton Byrum. I attended the sale at Nelson P. Owens' place. where the brick house of the late Lewis Pence stands. But among the new-comers some roughs and desperadoes. who jumped lots and deed all authority. The town was on public land. but we had a State lawforcible entry and detainertihat was used to put tres- passers off of claims. Right or wrong. the settlers interpreted the law to suit their purposes. and jumpers had to beware. Gen eral Hughes was equal to the emergency. and the lot-jumpers