History of Hamilton

Albert Gallatin Davis surveyed Section 13 and found that the southwest quarter was unentered. He had the land entered in the name of Edward M. Samuel, Liberty, president of the town company. Not long afterward, the company decided to locate the town here. In the spring of 1855, forty acres was sectioned off into lots and blocks. The land was held by Mr. Davis as trustee of the town company, having been deeded to him by Mr. Samuel. Eighty acres more outside of the original plat was also held by Mr. Davis as trustee.

Davis picked "Hamilton" as a city name in honor of Alexander Hamilton, whom he admired as a statesman, and in honor of Joseph Hamilton a successful lawyer and soldier, killed under Gen. Harrison at the battle of the Thames, Canada, in 1813. Sale day for the first lots in October of 1855 took on a festive atmosphere. John Berry, a member of the town company purchased the first lot. The average price paid for a lot was $33. Few at the gathering could accurately foresee the quick growth of the town once the railroad drove the last spike in the track in 1859.