Raymond Gunn (January 11, 1904 – January 12, 1931) was a black man killed by a mob in Maryville, Missouri , United States , after being accused of killing a white woman.
120-506: Nodaway County is a county located in the northwest part of Missouri . As of the 2020 census , the population was 21,241. Its county seat is Maryville . The county was organized February 14, 1845, and is named for the Nodaway River . It is the largest county by area added to Missouri in the 1836 Platte Purchase and the fifth-largest county by area in Missouri. Nodaway County comprises
240-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
360-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
480-525: A county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as
600-487: A Facebook post, where Mr. Rouch threatened, “By October, I’ll be wanting to get up to the top of the bell tower with a high-powered rifle, with a good scope and probably a Gatling gun as well." University Police and the Nodaway County Sheriff's Department determined the comment was made in jest, but discovered a sophisticated marijuana growing operation in the process of searching Mr. Rouch’s house, after Rouch made
720-540: A Federal Court in the Western District of Missouri. Victoria Jo was re-united with her father Zeb. Montgomery was executed on January 13, 2021. On January 11, 2006, a natural gas leak caused a house in Maryville to explode around 9pm that evening. Two of the three residents, 93 year old Lois Hall and her 69 year old son Carroll Hall, were killed in the explosion. The third resident, son and brother 49 year old Donald Hall,
840-539: A boxcar at the Barnard Depot. Hubbell returned to his family on the morning of November 20, 1910. The next day, Hubbell and his family were all found dead. Hubbell had been killed with a shotgun and his body dragged into the house. Mrs. Hubbell was beaten to death with the shotgun butt. After killing the children, the murderer set fire to the Hubbell home, which almost incinerated the children's corpses. Little more than half of
960-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
1080-460: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
1200-670: A household in the county was $ 31,781, and the median income for a family was $ 42,203. Males had a median income of $ 28,388 versus $ 21,267 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 15,384. About 8.30% of families and 16.50% of the population were below the poverty line , including 11.20% of those under age 18 and 13.30% of those age 65 or over. Nodaway County is served by two airports. Northwest Missouri Regional Airport and Rankin Airport , both just outside of Maryville. Both airports are for general aviation with no commercial service. The four licensed broadcast stations originating in
1320-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
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#17328847953991440-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
1560-424: A living as a hunter. On December 16, 1930, a 20-year-old teacher, Velma Colter, daughter of a local farmer, was murdered in the one-room Garrett schoolhouse, ( 40°19′56.22″N 94°54′40.05″W / 40.3322833°N 94.9111250°W / 40.3322833; -94.9111250 ) a mile southwest of Maryville. When she failed to return home, her parents went to the school. They found her partly undressed body in
1680-454: A local bar as Smith exited the establishment. Mooney and Overlin attacked and beat him, knocking him to the sidewalk. Smith fell, struck his head on the pavement, and was knocked unconscious, causing him to stop breathing. Maryville Public Safety Officers were on scene within seconds of the altercation and immediately began CPR, but were unable to revive him. Smith was pronounced dead at 2:21 a.m. Mooney and Overlin were picked up moments after
1800-506: A lynching began immediately after Gunn was taken into custody, and crowds began to assemble in Maryville. Gunn was transferred for safety to the Buchanan County, Missouri jail, 45 miles south in St. Joseph, Missouri . Crowds formed there as well, and the sheriff ordered a truck mounted with a machine gun to be backed to the door. The gunner appeared to aim the weapon at the crowd, though he said he
1920-414: A lynching. Raymond Gunn was the oldest of the eight children of Michael and Maymie Gunn, a farming family in Maryville. In the 1920 census, the family is described as mulatto. In the 1930 census, Raymond Gunn is described as laborer and widower. In September 1925, Gunn was convicted of the attempted rape of a student at what is now Northwest Missouri State University , after accosting the young woman on
2040-882: A matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
2160-452: A motor vehicle accident on Missouri Highway 246 , half a mile east of Hopkins , when the driver over-corrected after losing control of his pick-up, causing it to flip over several times, then catch fire in a field. The victims were 21-year-old Joshua Bix and 22-year-old Benjamin McIntyre, both of Hopkins, Missouri, and 18-year-old Chrystal Olerich of Lake View, Iowa . All three were thrown from
2280-424: A pool of blood inside the school; a bloody footprint left by her killer was on the floor. Because of his earlier conviction, Raymond Gunn was immediately suspected. A farmer reported he had seen a black man near the school. The sheriff arrested several black men matching the description, before he found Gunn on December 18. Gunn had blood stains on his shirt (he claimed it was rabbit blood), and his footprint matched
2400-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
2520-420: A ridge pole. Gunn and the building were then doused with gasoline. The mob leader, identified only as the "man in a red coat", threw a lighted piece of paper into the building. Gunn screamed but once and appeared lifeless in 11 minutes. A reporter for the St. Joseph Gazette gave the following gruesome description: The building's roof collapsed within 16 minutes. Burnt fragments of the schoolhouse were taken by
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#17328847953992640-413: A rural lane outside of Maryville. The student claimed that Gunn stuck his thumbs into her mouth to keep her from screaming. Gunn never confessed to the crime, and he claimed to have been beaten while in custody. He was released on January 28, 1928. Following his release, Gunn married a local woman and moved with her to Omaha . However, his wife died of pneumonia, and he returned to Maryville, where he made
2760-595: A statement that there "was a bomb in a brief case at his house." Rouch was charged with one count of felony production of a controlled substance, and one count of felony possession of a controlled substance. The university placed Rouch on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Other professors will assume Rouch’s teaching duties in the interim. Rouch appeared in Nodaway County Circuit Court for his initial arraignment October 8, 2013. He will return to court November 12, 2013. However,
2880-417: A town he co-founded. He was found shot in his home and died of his injuries that evening, blaming his political enemies with his dying breath. Nevertheless, his sons were charged with the crime. Despite their insistence of innocence, the jury found them guilty and the judge sentenced them to death. Their tombstone in the family cemetery is a vertical column with two hands clasped in friendship. The inscription on
3000-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
3120-564: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
3240-410: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Raymond Gunn The case received massive national publicity because it occurred outside
3360-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
3480-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
3600-410: Is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km) (0.1%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Missouri by area. Iowa forms the northern border of Nodaway County. Nodaway County consists of undulating hills with three notable rivers. The eponymous Nodaway River partitions the western half of the county and forms part of its southwestern border with Holt County. The One Hundred and Two River divides
3720-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
Nodaway County, Missouri - Misplaced Pages Continue
3840-585: Is located southwest of Maryville and north of Graham . As of the census of 2000, there were 21,912 people, 8,138 households, and 4,817 families residing in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile (9.7 people/km). There were 8,909 housing units at an average density of 10 units per square mile (3.9/km). The racial makeup of the county was 96.58% White , 1.35% Black or African American , 0.23% Native American , 0.87% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 0.21% from other races , and 0.74% from two or more races. Approximately 0.71% of
3960-713: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
4080-405: Is one of the first recorded F5 tornadoes . Early life in the county was chronicled by writer Homer Croy , a Nodaway County native, in many books, articles, films and Broadway shows in the 1920s and 1930s. The origin of the name "Nodaway" has been attributed to a Pottawatomie name for "placid," a Dakota Sioux name for "crossed without canoe," and various tribes names for "snake." Nodaway County
4200-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
4320-557: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
4440-501: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
4560-634: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
4680-454: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
4800-597: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
4920-568: The Missouri River . The Emerys used a board to hold the steering column in place and another piece to hold down the accelerator, and ran the car off a boat ramp near Nodaway . The car was found in 1997, with Elkins' bones in the trunk. Dental records identified the remains. Tony Emery was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole, and is currently incarcerated at United States Penitentiary (USP) in Terre Haute, Indiana . He appealed
Nodaway County, Missouri - Misplaced Pages Continue
5040-577: The Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan Hegeman (R- Cosby ). All of Nodaway County is included in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R- Tarkio ) in the U.S. House of Representatives . 40°22′N 94°53′W / 40.36°N 94.88°W / 40.36; -94.88 County (United States) In the United States ,
5160-552: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
5280-559: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
5400-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
5520-569: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
5640-671: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
5760-466: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
5880-473: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
6000-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
6120-454: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
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#17328847953996240-973: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
6360-456: The Garrett schoolhouse. Gunn's ears and nose were bleeding from being beaten on the way. The schoolhouse was emptied and all furniture placed on the lawn. The mob was estimated to have grown to between 2,000 and 4,000. Gunn was taken inside the schoolhouse, where he is reported to have confessed his guilt again, claiming he had an accomplice named "Shike" Smith. Gunn was moved to the roof and tied to
6480-400: The Maryville, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area . The county has a rich agricultural history. It is the home of trainers Ben Jones and Jimmy Jones, whose horses won six Kentucky Derby races and two Triple Crowns. The county is home to Northwest Missouri State University . The university's grounds were a re-creation of the landscape of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair . In 1993, Northwest
6600-542: The National Guard could only be deployed at the written request of the sheriff, which was never made. Sheriff Harvey England later claimed he did not call up the guardsmen because he did not want them injured. By this point a large crowd occupied the Maryville square, between the jail block to the northeast and the Nodaway County, Missouri courthouse. The sheriff was transporting Gunn by car, and he drove directly into
6720-528: The Nodaway County Sheriff's Office still have an open/active case on this. On June 10, 2002, 71-year-old Lloyd Robert Jeffress , of Kearney , wielding two semi-automatic rifles, opened fire in the hallways of the Conception Abbey , murdering two monks and wounding two others, before committing suicide in the chapel. The victims were identified as the Rev. Philip Schuster, 85, and Brother Damian Larson, 64. Schuster
6840-686: The Southern "lynch belt," because of its brazen and planned nature, and because the county sheriff did not activate the Missouri National Guard troops that had been specifically deployed to prevent the lynching . The case was frequently invoked in the unsuccessful attempt to pass the Wagner-Costigan Act during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt , which would have made it a federal crime for law enforcement officials to refuse to try to prevent
6960-644: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
7080-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
7200-475: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
7320-683: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
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#17328847953997440-484: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
7560-593: The altercation by other Maryville Public Safety Officers and taken into custody, and booked into the Nodaway County Jail. They were both charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault On September 3, 2013, Mooney pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Atchison County Circuit Court for his role in the death. On September 4, 2013, in the Circuit Court of Buchanan County , Overlin
7680-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
7800-491: The brutal incident, Maryville residents heard rumors that African Americans from Kansas City were coming to attack the city in retaliation. Townsmen reportedly set up machine gun nests on Main Street. The Gunn family's home was also burned. The 1930 census showed 90 African Americans living in Maryville, with 35 enrolled in the town's school. By 1931, the number of African Americans had dropped to six, and eventually almost all left
7920-464: The cat with a hammer and threw it under the combine, to lure his wife under the machine. Once she was under the combine attempting to retrieve the cat, he used twine to pull a lever on the combine, to cause it to roll over his wife when she tried to retrieve it. After he ran over her, he stated that he had moved the combine back from his wife's body, hid the twine and called 9-1-1, stating that there had been an accident at his farm south of Maryville. Taylor
8040-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
8160-490: The conviction, which was affirmed in 1999. Tug Emery is incarcerated on charges related to the murder at Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone, Minnesota and has a projected release date of June 21, 2016. In the fall of 1994, a local farmer, William Taylor, murdered his wife Debra, by using the family's cat to lure her underneath a combine and causing the combine to roll over her. Taylor told authorities that he had killed
8280-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
8400-520: The county broadcast from Maryville: The Republican Party is predominate at the local level in Nodaway County. Republicans hold all but two of the elected positions in the county. All of Nodaway County is a part of Missouri’s 1st District in the Missouri House of Representatives and is represented by Allen Andrews (R- Grant City ). All of Nodaway County is a part of Missouri’s 12th District in
8520-463: The county in half and the eastern portion of Maryville covers its western plain. The Platte River traverses the easternmost portion of the county. Mozingo Lake is a large reservoir located 5 miles east of Maryville. Nodaway County is home to two wind farms . Tenaska Clear Creek Energy Center is a 242-megawatt wind farm containing 111 wind turbines located northwest of Maryville and directly west of Pickering. The 236.5-megawatt White Cloud Wind Farm
8640-457: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
8760-468: The court hearing. On June 27, 2013, Steve Parsons, owner of Parsons Tires in Maryville and Stanberry , committed suicide in a Nodaway County Courthouse courtroom, using a cyanide capsule that he had purchased online several days before. Parsons secretly slid the capsule into his mouth, after hearing he would be sent to prison for seven years for being guilty of the statutory sodomy of a 14-year-old girl, who
8880-435: The crowd as souvenirs. No charges were ever filed in the lynching. Attempts to identify the "man in the red coat" have been answered by the claim he was an outsider. However, newspapers said all the others were local. Gunn's lynching was universally condemned by newspapers across the United States. The Atlanta Constitution published an editorial cartoon with the caption of "The Torch of Civilization in Missouri." After
9000-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
9120-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
9240-622: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
9360-541: The headstone reads: "We Died Inocent." [sic] On December 9, 1884, Omaha Charley, whose real name was Joseph Paro, aka Charles F. Stephens, was the victim of a lynch mob. Six days earlier, he had shot Hubert Kremer in Hilgert's Saloon, in Maryville. Omaha Charley had been arrested, but others decided to take matters into their own hands. About 50 masked men broke into the jail and demanded Omaha Charley. The county sheriff, James Anderson, and his brother, Deputy Jack Anderson, fought
9480-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
9600-532: The kitchen of the Mandarin Restaurant in Maryville, where they both worked, over a money dispute. Saavedra fled the scene in a stolen car and was found several days later by authorities near Mankato, Minnesota , on foot after the vehicle he stole ran out of gas. Saavedra was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in a Nodaway County court and sentenced to 12 years in a Missouri prison. On October 29, 2011, three people were killed and four people were injured in
9720-537: The largest collection in the nation. Located in Tornado Alley , many tornadoes have struck the county, including an F4 tornado on March 29, 1979, which obliterated the town of Braddyville, Iowa across the county line. Tornadoes have damaged two of the county's largest buildings, the Administration Building on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University and Conception Abbey . The 1881 Hopkins tornado
9840-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
9960-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
10080-674: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
10200-426: The mob, firing shots and being fired upon in return. Ultimately, the mob overpowered the sheriff and his deputy, and dragged Omaha Charley from his cell. They carried Stephens to the bridge at Fourth and Water Streets, where they tied the rope to the bridge railing and threw him over the side. Sheriff Anderson found his prisoner there an hour later. This was not Omaha Charley's first crime, however. Five years earlier, he
10320-402: The mob. When he opened the door, the sheriff was pulled aside and Gunn was dragged out of the car. Witnesses later said the mob leader told the sheriff, "Either you move out of the way or die with this man, either way he's going to die today." Gunn was marched south down Main Street through the Maryville streets, avoiding the National Guard. After an hour and a half, Gunn and the crowd reached at
10440-514: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
10560-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
10680-469: The one at the crime scene. Moreover, Gunn had a severe bite mark on his thumb, recalling the student's description of the 1925 rape attempt. Gunn finally confessed, saying he had entered the school with a hedge club after seeing the teacher outside with a coal bucket. She resisted his assault, biting his thumb, so he hit her with the club. She struck him with the coal bucket, and he hit her again and again, killing her. He then stabbed her. Anger and talk of
10800-598: The pickup, and none were wearing seatbelts. The driver of the pickup, 22-year-old Scott R. Woods, of Hopkins, and three other victims, were tossed from the truck and seriously injured, but survived. Woods was sentenced on January 9, 2013, to 10 years in a Missouri prison for two felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and three charges of felony assault. On September 13, 2012, Kevin Dell Mooney, 31, and Tony Overlin, 23, both of Bethany , ambushed Northwest Missouri State University student Tomarken Smith, 21, of Jennings , outside
10920-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
11040-441: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,138 households, out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.80% were non-families. 30.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
11160-578: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
11280-541: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
11400-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
11520-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
11640-408: The torso of Hubbell was found after a passing neighbor had extinguished the blaze. Hez Rasco was arrested and charged with the murder of Hubbell, his wife, and their children Welton, 4, and Jessie, 6. Rasco was tried and convicted only for Oda Hubbell's murder. Rasco maintained his innocence to his death. The murders were covered in the book Hezekiah Rasco: Child of Woe — Man of Sorrow . Raymond Gunn
11760-511: The warrant was ultimately declared illegal when it was found that Clarence Green, the campus Chief of Police, had withheld critical information and that there was no probable cause. Although that decision was appealed, a three judge appeals court unanimously ruled in Rouch's favor, and the charges were dismissed. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 878 square miles (2,270 km), of which 877 square miles (2,270 km)
11880-401: Was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.40% under the age of 18, 25.10% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 18.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males. The median income for
12000-409: Was a greeter at the monastery's front door; Larson worked as a weatherman/groundskeeper. The Rev. Kenneth Reichert, 68, an assistant to the abbot, was shot in the stomach and was in serious condition. The Rev. Norbert Schappler, 73, who was shot twice, was listed in stable condition. Schappler oversees the dining room and works as director at the printing house. On December 16, 2004, Bobbie Jo Stinnett
12120-407: Was a student at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville at the time. She is an aunt of former Northwest Missouri State University football coach Adam Dorrel . In 1973, Kemper was sentenced to four consecutive 45-year sentences for murder and an additional six years for an attempted jail escape. On the night of August 4, 1973, Teresa "Tessie" Hilt, a student at Northwest Missouri State,
12240-494: Was arrested for the murder and attempted rape of a young white schoolteacher. He confessed his guilt. On January 12, 1931, a mob in Maryville took Gunn from the jail and marched him to the scene of the crime. They tied him to the school roof and set fire to the building, burning Gunn to death. On the night of October 10, 1972, Benedict “Benny” Kemper, 15 years old, cut the telephone line to the Marion Merrigan family’s house that
12360-564: Was charged with murder and given a life sentence by a Nodaway County judge. Dragoo is currently incarcerated in the Jefferson City Correctional Center. On April 11, 2001, Branson Perry was last seen in his home in the 300 block of West Oak Street in Skidmore, at around 3:00 p.m. He went outside to put some jumper cables in a shed. He never returned, and has never been heard from again. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and
12480-473: Was convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of John Mahan. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison. In January 1884, he was pardoned by Governor Thomas Crittenden and released, having served only four and a half years of his sentence. One of the most notorious murders in Nodaway County was committed by Hezekiah "Hez" Rasco, a farmer's son, who was hanged on March 26, 1912, for the murder of Oda Hubbell. Rasco and Hubbell took part in an all-night poker game in
12600-496: Was convicted of murder and received a 25-year sentence. In the spring of 1995, Dennis Lee Jones, of Maryville, assaulted and murdered Karen Hawkins, a student at Northwest Missouri State, and a friend of his since high school at Maryville . Jones sexually assaulted her, killed her by strangulation and stomping/kicking her, then dumped her body in the 102 River east of Maryville, near the Maryville City Dog Pound, where it
12720-519: Was designated by the Missouri State Legislature as the official Missouri Arboretum. ESPN has carried the university's participation in five national championship football games, three of which they won. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas studied to become a priest at Conception Seminary College , before giving it up for law. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration convent in neighboring Clyde has 550 relics of saints,
12840-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
12960-567: Was his babysitter. Parsons had a seizure in court and was transported by EMS to Heartland Regional Hospital ER in Saint Joseph. While en route, Parsons went into cardiac arrest, and was pronounced dead by the local coroner upon arrival. On September 6, 2013, Matthew Rouch, 57, of Maryville, an instructor of Mass Media at Northwest Missouri State University, was arrested after staff from the Mass Media Department notified University Police of
13080-524: Was just oiling it, which caused the crowd to disperse. Gunn was transferred a second time, 100 miles south of Maryville to Kansas City, Missouri . On December 26, at 3:30 a.m., Gunn returned to Maryville for arraignment, and was then immediately taken back to Kansas City. Velma Colter's mother was quoted as saying she could not bear a trial and would not testify. Her oldest son, Floyd Colter, had been killed in France during World War I . Gunn's court date
13200-563: Was murdered in her home in Skidmore, and had her unborn baby cut from her womb. Lisa Montgomery was located (along with the baby named Victoria Jo) due to computer forensic evidence, in Melvern, Kansas , where she was arrested by the FBI , a Maryville Public Safety Detective, and a detective from the Cameron Police Dept. Montgomery was convicted of Stinnett's murder and sentenced to death in 2007 by
13320-442: Was on the frontier in its earliest days and has a long history of violence. The first execution in Nodaway County occurred in the county seat of Maryville on July 22, 1881. Two brothers, Albert P. and Charles E. Talbott, were hanged after being convicted of murdering their own father, Dr. Perry H. Talbott. Dr. Talbott, a local physician, newspaper editor, and state legislator, died on September 18, 1880, at his home northwest of Arkoe,
13440-561: Was recovered days later downstream by the Missouri State Water Patrol (now part of the Missouri State Highway Patrol ). Before Jones could go to trial, he hanged himself in the Nodaway County Jail. On October 16, 2000, Greg N. Dragoo beat and dragged his girlfriend, Wendy Gillenwater, down several country roads outside of Skidmore, causing her to die. Gillenwater's body was found outside her Skidmore home. Dragoo
13560-547: Was sentenced to serve six years in prison by Judge Patrick Robb, after Overlin was found guilty of the Class C felony of involuntary manslaughter. On September 30, 2013, Mooney was sentenced to six years in prison. "Both Law Enforcement and Tomarken's family were involved from the very beginning and agreed the final outcome of this case was just and appropriate," said Robert Rice, Prosecuting Attorney of Nodaway County, Missouri. Tomarken's family and several law enforcement officials attended
13680-652: Was seriously injured and found by rescue crews crawling out of the debris. He was flown to the University of Kansas hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. On January 27, 2007, a catastrophic fire severely damaged the Carson apartment complex on the corner of 1st St and Buchanan St in downtown Maryville. The fire, which was started when food was left cooking unattended on a stove, claimed the lives of Brandon C. Kaut aged 22, and Derick A. Schafer aged 28. Another man, 21 year old Ibrahim Qaoud,
13800-617: Was seriously injured as a result of the fire. He recovered at a Kansas City hospital. On November 16, 2007, Erik B. Romig and Nicholas A. Rosencrans, both of Maryville, got into an altercation with Donald Ray Gardner Jr, also of Maryville, over $ 40 at a house on the east side of town. Gardner was taken from the house, beaten, then dragged to a field 1-2 blocks away, where he was left to die. Roming and Rosencrans were found guilty and both sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter. On December 3, 2007, Jorge Saavedra Pere, of Saint Joseph , fatally shot his roommate, Jamie Zamudio-Hernandez, in
13920-459: Was set for January 12. The Nodaway County prosecuting attorney insisted Gunn would get a fair trial and appealed (along with Maryville business leaders) to Missouri's governor, Henry S. Caulfield , to deploy the National Guard to prevent an anticipated lynching attempt. Caulfield complied and 60 guardsmen were ordered at 7:30 a.m. to stand by at the National Guard a block north of the courthouse (today's Maryville Public Library). However, by law,
14040-423: Was set up to investigate the crime, but they could not find anyone willing to step forward to discuss the crime. The book and movie In Broad Daylight are based on this event. In 1990, BATF informant Christine Elkins disappeared. She was beaten to death by cousins Tony and Steven "Tug" Emery, joined by an unnamed associate. Elkins' body was wrapped in a carpet rug, thrown into the trunk of her car, and driven to
14160-428: Was shot in his truck in Skidmore's main street, in full view of a crowd. The different caliber bullets showed there had been several people involved. However, when questioned by the county sheriff, everyone insisted they had ducked under the pool table in the local bar and saw nothing. Sheriff Danny Estes remarked, "That must have been the biggest damn pool table in the world." A local and federal law enforcement task force
14280-414: Was situated west of Conception , sneaked into the basement and waited for the family to go to sleep. Once the family was asleep, Kemper went upstairs and went from bedroom to bedroom murdering four members: Marion, the father; Kathleen, the mother; William, his classmate and their son; and Helen Ann, their youngest daughter, using a .22 bolt-action rifle. The lone surviving family member, Sue Merrigan Dorrel,
14400-546: Was strangled and stabbed to death in her off-campus apartment in Maryville, and found the next day in her blood-soaked bed by friends. This crime has never been solved and is still considered an open/cold case by the Maryville Department of Public Safety. On July 10, 1981, several unknown people killed Ken McElroy , in the middle of Skidmore , in what is one of the county's best-kept secrets. An abusive man suspected of many crimes and convicted of attempted murder, McElroy
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