August 5, 2009

Headstone of William Myers and Wife


This photo is from the Deborah (Gibbs) Gunter collection. William Myers from North Carolina and Tennessee was the first settler at what is now Benton, Missouri. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. William donated 40 acres for the new county seat and the Town of Benton. Benton was surveyed in the fall of 1822 and lots were sold at public auction on October 22, 1822. He was the first postmaster, the first coroner and the first bondsman. He also established a whiskey distillery. His will left his personal estate and "Mansion House" to his second wife, Catharine. In 1860, his real property was valued at $15,800 and personal property valued at $12,420. The "Myers Mansion" was reportedly located south of Benton in a field bordering the old road between Benton and Lambertville. Myers is buried in the Benton Cemetery.

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