thumb|Historical Downtown mural

thumb|Mural of Hamilton depot

thumb|J.C. Penney Library & Museum

Hamilton is a city in northern Caldwell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2020 census. It is known as the hometown of James Cash Penney, who built a large apparel-related business, J. C. Penney, and the hometown of Jenny Doan, who has built a large quilting-related business, Missouri Star Quilt Co.

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.

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the median age was 39.2 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 680 households, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.4% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 1,809 people, 719 households, and 460 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 802 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.3% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 719 households, of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.0% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.08.

The median age in the city was 38.1 years. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 18.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Education

Public education in Hamilton is administered by Hamilton R-II School District,<!--UNI 13590--> which operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Penney High School.

The city has a lending library, the Hamilton Public Library.

Religion and philanthropy

The largest church in town is United Methodist, located just north of downtown, with outreach programs including a large thrift store. Various churches help with utility emergencies, and the city hall (200 S. Davis) facilitates help given by Community Action Partnership.

thumb|upright=0.55|World's Largest Spool of Thread

Businesses

Missouri Star Quilt Company was founded by the Doan siblings in support of their mother Jenny Doan's dream, and in tribute to her talent as a quilter on YouTube. It has grown into a $20,000,000 per year business that owns 26 buildings in Hamilton and is part owner of three restaurants. The business brings as many as 8,000 quilters to Hamilton in a month. Missouri Star has become the largest employer in Caldwell County, with 450 employees. and were named by the federal government's Small Business Administration as the national Small Business Persons of the Year.

thumb|upright=0.7|J.C. Penney's boyhood home

Attractions

The active quilt business has inspired the construction of The World's Largest Spool of Thread. At 22 feet tall and 8 feet wide, the spool was unveiled in September 2019, containing 1 million yards of Aurifil thread. Located at 300 East Bird in Hamilton the spool rests on the corner of the Missouri Quilt Museum.

Notable people

  • Jenny Doan, quilter
  • Dorothea Daley Engel, (1916-2004): her Battle of Bataan experiences as a U.S. Army nurse inspired Claudette Colbert's film role in So Proudly We Hail!
  • Dandi Daley Mackall, a 2012 Edgar Awards winner for mystery fiction, one of her 500 books was adapted for the Hallmark Channel film, My Boyfriends' Dogs.
  • James Cash Penney, (1875-1971), founder of J.C. Penney; his farm home has been moved to town and is a museum.
  • Zack Wheat, (1888-1972) National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

See also

  • List of cities in Missouri

References

  • Historic maps of Hamilton in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri