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Missouri County
Caldwell County, Missouri
Far West and the Mormon expulsion from Missouri - from the Far West Historic Site (the town of Far West in Caldwell County was platted in 1836 as the headquarters of the Latter-day Saints in Missouri and briefly served as one of the largest cities in the state - the site preserves the cornerstones of the planned temple that was never built before Missouri Governor Boggs issued his Extermination Order driving Mormons from the state) to the Haun's Mill Massacre (in 1838, a mob attacked a Mormon settlement at Haun's Mill in Caldwell County, killing 17 people including children - one of the most notorious acts of religious violence in American history that culminated in the forced expulsion of the Mormon community from Missouri).
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Office: Caldwell County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via caldwellco.missouri.org.
Sheriff: Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office – 54 N. Franklin Street, PO Box 158, Kingston, MO 64650 | (816) 586-2681 | Fax: (816) 586-2103 | Detention Center (816) 586-JAIL | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM (some sources note 8:30-4:30); Sheriff Mitchell Allen. Detention Center houses up to 200 inmates, including detainees from surrounding agencies and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-13 and MO-116 serve Kingston, the county seat, roughly 60 miles northeast of Kansas City, within the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Notes: Caldwell County, organized December 29, 1836, is named by Alexander Doniphan for John Caldwell, a Kentucky political figure and veteran of George Rogers Clark’s 1786 campaign. Roughly 8,800-9,000 residents; Hamilton is the county’s largest city.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Caldwell County Courthouse – 49 East Main Street, Kingston, MO 64650; NRHP-listed, built 1896-1898, two-story red brick with a bell-domed cupola.
Notes: Caldwell County holds a significant place in American religious history. It was established in 1836 specifically as a designated settlement area for Latter-day Saints (Mormons) after they were expelled from Jackson County and asked to leave Clay County. Far West, several miles northwest of present-day Kingston, served as the county seat and Latter-day Saint church headquarters, reaching roughly 10,000 residents at its peak – more than the county’s entire population today – and was where the church’s full name and the law of tithing were established. Conflict escalated into the 1838 “Mormon War,” culminating in Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs’s infamous “Extermination Order” directing that Mormons be driven from the state; roughly 12,000 Latter-day Saints relocated to Illinois by mid-1839, and Far West became a ghost town, with the county seat moving to Kingston in 1843. Today only the Far West Temple site cornerstones remain, owned and preserved by the LDS Church, alongside a small chapel owned by the Community of Christ. This history is presented here as a factual matter of record. Separately, and on a lighter historical note, Hamilton, Missouri is genuinely the birthplace of James Cash Penney, founder of the JCPenney department store chain (born 1875), and is also home to the Missouri Star Quilt Company, founded by Hamilton native Jenny Doan.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Caldwell County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via caldwellco.missouri.org.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the Kansas City VA Medical Center; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Caldwell County Library – 60 W Broadway, PO Box 74, Kingston, MO 64650 | (816) 586-2220 | Email: [email protected]; recognized as a public library by the State of Missouri in 2012 following a county tax levy; offers free WiFi, public computers, and online research resources.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Far West Temple Site, the Caldwell County Welcome Center’s “Mormon Room” exhibit (featuring an original Far West-era log cabin), and the Caldwell County Historical Society are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine 1830s Latter-day Saint history – including the Extermination Order and Far West’s rise and fall – is one of the most historically significant and sobering local facts covered in this project, presented factually and respectfully.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Caldwell County Assessor – confirm current contact via caldwellco.missouri.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Animal control is coordinated through the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, (816) 586-2681 (listed among its services); confirm current arrangements via caldwellco.missouri.org.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Caldwell County – confirm current contact via caldwellco.missouri.org.
NOTES: Caldwell County is the thirteenth county in the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine 1830s Latter-day Saint history and the 1838 Extermination Order are presented factually and respectfully per this project’s evenhanded historical standard; the JCPenney/Missouri Star Quilt Co. connections in Hamilton offer a lighter counterpoint. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Caldwell County
Caldwell County is northwest Missouri’s Mormon expulsion heritage county – the county was literally created for Mormon settlement in 1836 and became the site of the Haun’s Mill Massacre and the Extermination Order that drove the Latter-day Saints from Missouri, giving this quiet agricultural county an extraordinary and tragic place in American religious history.
Kingston (the county seat, population ~230) is one of Missouri’s smallest county seats, with Hamilton serving as the county’s largest community and commercial center.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Caldwell County Assessor at 49 E. Main Street, Kingston, MO 64650, phone 816-586-2571. MO assessed at percentage of true value.
Courts & Legal
Caldwell County Circuit Court at 49 E. Main Street, Kingston, MO 64650, phone 816-586-2571, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
49 E. Main St., Kingston, MO 64650
(816) 586-2571
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Caldwell County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Caldwell County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Caldwell County Circuit Court, Probate Division 49 East Main Street (mail: P.O. Box 68), Kingston, MO 64650 (816) 586-2771 Caldwell County is in northwestern Missouri, seated in Kingston.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
49 E. Main St., Kingston, MO 64650
(816) 586-5522
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
49 E. Main St., Kingston, MO 64650
(816) 586-2571
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Caldwell County Health Department – confirm current phone via caldwellco.missouri.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kingston
Population: 9,000
Area: 429 sq mi
Established: 1836
Tier: 3
Public Records
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