Editing Macon, Missouri (section)

==History==
[[File:Bird's eye view of Macon City, Macon County, Missouri 1869. LOC 73693483.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bird's-eye view]] of Macon in 1869]]
Macon was [[plat]]ted in 1856.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_macon.html  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624070636/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_macon.html | archive-date = June 24, 2016 | url-status = live | title=Macon County Place Names, 1928–1945 | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri| access-date= October 30, 2016}}</ref> Like the county, Macon was named for [[Nathaniel Macon]].{{sfn|Eaton|1916|p=190}} A post office called "Macon City" was established in 1856, and the name was changed to Macon in 1892.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=MO&county=Macon | title=Post Offices| publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref>

In May 1898, there was a string of break-ins in the area of Macon.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00whit|title=General History of Macon County Missouri|last=White|first=Edgar|publisher=Henry Taylor & Company|year=1910|pages=[https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00whit/page/217 217]–220}}</ref> The break-ins included the theft of food and items, as well as assaults on women.<ref name=":0" /> In late June, there was a break-in at the home of John Koechel, a blind broom maker.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3671260/42724273maconrepublican/|title=Henry Williams, Supposed Invader of Macon Homes, Comes to His Death at the Hands of Unknown Parties, So Says the Coroner's Jury|date=1 July 1898|work=The Macon Republican|access-date=15 Jan 2020}}</ref> During this break-in, there were references to previous assaults, an attempted assault, and a theft of two sacks of flour.<ref name=":1" /> Police officers followed a trail of tiny white specks to the home of Henry Williams, a 30-year-old [[African Americans|African American]] man, who was later arrested with no resistance.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The night of Williams' arrest, crowds formed at the courthouse, while a local pastor, Rev. G. A. Robbins, pled for the crowd to allow the law to take its proper course.<ref name=":1" /> The crowd moved on to the jail, and demanded Sheriff A. J. Glenn give up Williams. Glenn and his deputies refused the crowd's demands.<ref name=":1" /> A man called Mr. McVicker made a speech to attempt to pacify the crowd, but was knocked out by a thrown brick.<ref name=":1" /> The crowd knocked down the fence, stole the key, and unlocked Williams' cell, confronting the cowering man.<ref name=":0" /> The mob of 200-300 men decided they would hang him from a bridge instead of electrical lights, so they would not offend the women and children in the morning.<ref name=":0" /> In the early morning hours of June 30, 1898, Henry Williams was lynched on the Wabash bridge; he maintained his innocence when asked if he wanted to say anything.<ref name=":1" />

In November 1919 four African-Americans were arrested for allegedly robbing a white farmer.{{sfn|''South Bend News-Times'', November 18,|1919|p=6}} They were held at the Macon prison but on Saturday, November 15, 1919, a white mob drove into town and demanded that the sheriff hand them over.{{sfn|''South Bend News-Times'', November 18,|1919|p=6}} At first he refused but when the mob threatened to use dynamite to destroy the prison the four black men were handed over and they were then driven to [[1919 lynching in Moberly, Missouri|Moberly, Missouri and lynched]].{{sfn|''South Bend News-Times'', November 18,|1919|p=6}}

Macon was located along the first railroad built across the State of Missouri, completed by the [[Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad]] on February 13, 1859.<ref name=":0" />  Passenger rail served the town for over a century.  The last daytime train passed through the town on April 9, 1968, when the [[Kansas City Zephyr]] between Chicago and Kansas City was discontinued.  The overnight variation, the [[American Royal Zephyr]] was subsequently discontinued in 1971.  The depot, located between Rollins and Rubey streets, was later demolished.

The [[Blees Military Academy]], [[Macon County Courthouse and Annex]], and [[Wardell House (Macon, Missouri)|Wardell House]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>