Hamilton

History

Hamilton owes its existence largely to the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Prior to 1854 the area around Hamilton was unsettled prairie land belonging to the U.S. Government. With the coming of the railroad, the Hamilton Town Company was formed to develop a tract of land along the rails. At first, the name Prairie City was intended for the new community. The first house in Hamilton, fittingly, was built by Davis in the summer of 1855, as well as the first business, a general store, in 1857. The store would serve as Hamilton's first post office and Davis as the first postmaster in 1858. At that time several new sections of land had been annexed into the original town plat and the population grew to several hundred. After a brief slowdown caused by the Panic of 1873, growth resumed. By the mid-1880s, Hamilton had two newspapers, the Hamiltonian and the News-Graphic, as well as two banks, two hotels, flour mills, grain elevators, and other businesses supported by a population of around 1,800. Coal mining became of some importance to the town's economy in the early 1880s. The Hamilton Coal Company was organized in the spring of 1882 and began mining operations the following year about two miles outside of the town. A railroad spur line was constructed to connect the coal field to the Hannibal & St. Joseph main line.

Geography

Hamilton is located at (39.743791, -93.998765). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• HAMILTON ELEM.
  Elementary · HAMILTON · 289 students · 10.3:1 ratio
• PENNEY HIGH
  High · HAMILTON · 203 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• HAMILTON MIDDLE
  Middle · HAMILTON · 149 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• KINGSTON ELEM.
  Elementary · KINGSTON · 33 students · 5.5:1 ratio
• NEW YORK ELEM.
  Elementary · HAMILTON · 23 students · 4.6:1 ratio