This
town has also been called Sumerset Post-Office, and
"Little Ireland". It was laid out by George
Glenn, Samuel Bryant and S.S. Williams in 1836.
They built the first store, mill and blacksmith shops
in town. After the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad
was built, and the towns of Shelbina and
Hunnewell sprang into existence, Clinton fell into
decline.
JONESBURG was a town separated from Clinton by merely
an alley. It was laid out by Gabriel Jones in 1836. It
also had several business, but also went into decline
at the same time as Clinton.
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This town was known as Somerset P.O. It was laid
out by George Glenn, Samuel Bryant and S. S.
Williams in 1836. These men built the first
store and first mill that were opened and operated in
the town. Jacob Kirkland was the pioneer
blacksmith. Greenlee Hays and Major William
Howell were once merchants in the town. After
the Hannibal & St. Joseph R.R. was built through
that section of the country and the towns of Shelbina
and Hunnewell sprang into existence, the business
of Clinton was withdrawn from that place and given to
the newer towns mentioned above. There was at
one time a flourishing Catholic Church located at
Clinton, but this, like the town, is now a thing of
the past. The first church in Washington
Township was located at Clinton and was built by the
M. E. Church South.
--Directory of Towns, Villages, and Hamlets, Past and
Present, of Monroe Co.,
Mo., p. 186
Clinton, (formerly Somerset) 12 miles north, northeast
of Paris; 6 miles west from Clapper, and 5 miles from
Lakenan, Shelby Co., was settled in 1840 and contained
2 potteries.
Population, about 230.
--Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri, 1874 p. 380
Clinton was also known as North Fork, and the Catholic
Church's name was St. Peter's, only the cemetery
remains.
(submitted by Robin
Gatson)
(Undated
article from the Monroe Appeal; from the files
of Neil Block, transcribed by Lisa Perry)
Clinton,
now known as North Fork, was laid out by George Glenn,
Samuel Bryant and S.S. Williams, in 1836. They built a
store and Jacob Kirkland operated a blacksmith shop.
A
rival town, known as Jonesburg, was laid out by Col.
Gabriel Jones in 1836. It was separated from Clinton
by an alley. Greenlee Hays, Jas. (Combs), Benedict
Gough, Blakey and (Lesley), were its early merchants.
A Methodist Church was organized at Clinton, with
William Fowler, wife and two sons, John Strayer and
wife, William Hickart and wife, and Henry Ashcraft and
wife as charter members.
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