Early Sedalia and George R. Smith

Published 11:49 pm Monday, October 19, 2026

Sedalia was first platted in 1857 and was named after George R. Smith’s daughter Sarah, whose nickname was Sed.

In 1858, according to the 1904 Sedalia Sentinel pamphlet, Smith established a partnership with Dr. W.L. Felix in exchange for a one-quarter interest in the original town plat.

On Sept. 15, 1858, the Sentinel pamphlet notes that the first sale of lots was made.

The first lot sold was lot 5 of block 2. This lot was located on Pacific Street roughly in the middle of the block between North Osage and North Moniteau.

The lot, according to the Sentinel pamphlet, was sold to Edward Powell, whom the pamphlet identifies as a Norwegian.

On 2 March 1859, Smith and Felix gave the Missouri Pacific railroad every fourth lot in twenty-six blocks, basically all the part of town north of the railroad tracks, on the condition that the railroad build and maintain a permanent depot on what was then the town site.

The same day, Felix became discouraged, the Sentinel pamphlet notes, and sold his interest to D. W. Bouldin. Actually, it is more likely that Smith and Felix quarreled.

The first passenger train arrived on the Missouri Pacific railroad on 17 January 1861.

“A rush of people and businesses” moved into Sedalia, the Sentinel pamphlet notes.

However, the Civil War started in April 1861, somewhat slowing the growth of the city.

Work on the railroad tracks continued, and by 1865, the tracks had reached Kansas City.

The Sentinel pamphlet incorrectly notes that Sedalia was in the “very storm center of military operations in Missouri.” Truthfully, the same could be said of almost every town in Missouri, especially those along the Missouri-Kansas border.

The Sentinel pamphlet also incorrectly notes that both Union and Confederate troops were quartered here and directed their troops from Sedalia. Actually, only the Union forces had troops here.

The Sentinel pamphlet also notes that “battles and skirmishes” were fought within the city limits. However, only one small battle was fought here when Confederate General Jeff Thompson, rode into Sedalia from the north.

The Union troops had been called from Sedalia, so the local home guards rallied to defend Sedalia.

After the war, the city began to grow again.

Local historian Bill Claycomb described Smith as a “vociferous…Radical Republican,” a segment of the Republican party that wanted to punish the South and Southerners.

The Sentinel pamphlet notes that minor hostile reactions related to the war broke out occasionally after the war, but these did not affect Sedalia’s growth.

By 1870, Sedalia’s population, according to the U.S. Census, was 4560. By 1900, it would reach 15,231.

Before Sedalia was established, Smith built a house on the far north part of what would become the city.

The house was a one-and-a-half-story house with a central hallway and chimneys at each end. A porch with a roof supported by six evenly spaced columns graced the front of the house. An ell on the back of the house added additional rooms.

In the 1870s, Smith built a “stately mansion” costing at least ten thousand dollars, $4,200,000 today, according to measuringworth.com, on a block-sized lot on East Broadway Boulevard between South Massachusetts Avenue and South Lafayette Avenue.

The Sentinel pamphlet described Smith as a man whose strong personality asserted itself on all occasions.

Claycomb notes that Smith was “an outspoken and tactless man who quarreled with business partners and political enemies and allies,” so that he often resigned or was fired from his jobs.

Smith’s wife died in 1861. She left her husband and two daughters, Martha Elizabeth and Sarah Elvira, who adored their mother and father.

After Smith died, Sarah and Martha continued to live in the family home, though Martha was frequently in the east as doctors attempted to diagnose an illness.

When Smith died, the daughters gave a great deal of land to institutions in Sedalia.

Smith-Cotton Junior High School, formerly Smith-Cotton High School, is located on the site of the family home.

The daughters also gave the land on which the Freedmen’s Assistance and Benevolent Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church built George R. Smith College, which served Black students.

Despite his faults, Smith’s vision for the railroad and for Sedalia served the public good.

Rhonda Chalfant is active in the Sedalia/Pettis County chapter of the NAACP and the Pettis County Historical Society.