1970: This little lady, Mrs. Maude Hudson, of near Bethany Church, celebrated her 94th birthday as of August 20th. For the last 75 years her faithful membership has been with the Bethany Christian Church where she is held in high esteem. In January of 1865 she was married to Louis Hudson and in June of the same year she became a member at Bethany. To this union were born five children: Mrs. Kate West of St. Joseph, Alfred Hudson of near Perrin and Jim, Walter and Mrs. Adaline Atkinson of the home. Mr. Hudson passed away in 1935. Down through the years there have been six generations of the Hudson family associated with Bethany Church. Mrs. Hudson’s grandparents came from Greencastle, Kentucky by flat boat on the available water route until they reached St. Louis, Mo. They came from there by team and wagon to settle near the present town of Gower before there was ever a railroad there and only one house between Gower and St. Joseph. If they received mail, St. Joseph was their post office. In the recent centennial parade at Gower, Mrs. Hudson attired in a 70 year old dress belonging to the family of a neighbor, Mr. and Mrs. George Schaeffer, and a sunbonnet some 115 years old belonging to Mrs. Glenn Cook, road with Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Bowman in their “surrey with the fringe on top”. She was accompanied by her grandson, J.L. West wearing a coat 100 years old. This picture in her centennial attire with the exception of a different bonnet was taken by Edwin Carpenter the Sunday before the parade. He deemed it fitting that she should stand before the sign of the church which she loves so dearly and the one which just last year celebrated its own centennial. Mrs. Hudson’s hobby is collecting bottles. Some fourteen years ago an article in the Leader told of her many bottles which at that time numbered 300 and which have now far surpassed 500. She remembers every origin and every giver of each bottle and has many other interesting articles and antiques in her possessions. M.D.M. 1990: Warren Porter, Lathrop is shown with his 1919 D Moline Universal that took Oldest and Most Original in the Missouri Ruralist “Best of the Best” Antique Tractor Show at the 1990 Missouri State Fair. The trophy was awarded August 22 in the Pioneer Hi-Bred Arena. 2010: A piece of history... People often ask, “What happened to the old courthouse?” when talking about Clinton County history and the landscape of downtown Plattsburg. The answer is, the beautiful old building was destroyed by fire in 1974. Below are a series of pictures that depict the scene during that fateful time in our County's history. The early morning fire that June brought six different fire departments out to try and subdue the blaze that started in the Sheriff's office. According to Plattsburg Leader archives the fire destroyed the sheriff's office, circuit courtroom, the treasurer's office and the office of Economic Opportunity, while many other offices were damaged. In the aftermath of the fire, business continued for the courthouse. Offices were moved to various buildings throughout the county seat, and court was held at Plattsburg High School. The building was a total loss and eventually the decision was made to rebuild. It wasn't the first time in history that the Clinton County Courthouse was damaged by fire. According to Plattsburg Leader archives, the white brick building was once damaged by fire during the Civil War when Quantrill's rebel guerillas attacked the town of Plattsburg and again in 1895 during a fire which destroyed much of downtown Plattsburg. Following the 1895 fire, the remaining walls were incorporated into the courthouse structure that burned in 1974. ![]() (Right) The damage estimate for the fire was roughly $300,000. Most records, except those of the Sheriff’s Department, were saved from the fire. |
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