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Keytesville is a city in and the county seat of Chariton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 440 as of the 2020 census. Keytesville is the hometown of U.S. Army General Maxwell D. Taylor, who commanded the "Screaming Eagles" 101st Airborne division during the Normandy invasion of World War II. Confederate General Sterling Price, who attacked Keytesville during an unsuccessful cavalry raid across his home state, had previously operated a hotel there.

History

The town is named for Englishman James Keyte, the town founder. Keyte, a Methodist preacher, purchased a large parcel of land in 1830 and, two years later, donated fifty acres of it to Chariton County for the purpose of establishing a centralized seat of county government. Prior to that time, the county business had been conducted from "Old Chariton," a small village near the confluence of the Chariton and Missouri Rivers. However, incessant disease-spreading mosquitoes and repeated river flooding necessitated a new location.

The first courthouse was constructed in Keytesville between 1833 and 1834. As a two-story, four-room brick building, it survived until September 20, 1864, when it was burned down by the Confederate raiders during the American Civil War. James Keyte constructed the first home in Keytesville, and the first business as well. Both were log structures, with the second doubling as a post office. Keyte is also responsible for the town's first industry of any sort, when he constructed a mill near his home on Mussel Fork Creek. Isaac Redding added Keytesville's first hotel in August 1842. Keytesville was incorporated on February 3, 1868, by the state of Missouri, and incorporated as a Missouri 4th class city in March 1883.

Confederate raid

As mentioned above, on September 20, 1864, Confederate General Samuel Price arrived on the outskirts of Keytesville with a force of 250 men, among them George Todd and other members of Quantrill's Raiders—under the command of Major John Thrailkill. This action was part of Price's larger 1864 campaign that extended across the state from eastern Missouri to the Kansas City area. When Thrailkill's force arrived, Keytesville was defended by a small Union detachment of thirty-five men from the Missouri militia, commanded by Lieutenant Anthony Pleyer, and many local residents were sympathetic to the Confederate cause. Early on the morning of September 20, under a flag of truce, Thrailkill demanded the surrender of the Union troops, promising fair treatment. Unable to persuade his men to fight, Pleyer surrendered. Price paroled the Union garrison, and six men promptly joined his force. Confederate forces then briefly occupied the town, commandeering supplies from various merchants, burning down the courthouse, and executing Chariton County sheriff Robert Carmon and William Young, a Union scout and alleged spy.

Late Nineteenth century

A second courthouse was built not long after the end of the Civil War. In February 1866, a contract was awarded for construction of a two-story brick building with cupola. Built at a cost of $40,000, it served the county until 1973. By the mid-1890s, Keytesville had an estimated population of about 1,100 citizens. Two newspapers, the Chariton Courier and Keytesville Signal , served the community. Businesses included the Keytesville Roller Mill, a large water-powered grist mill on Muscle Fork Creek, two banks, a building and loan association, two hotels, a distillery, general mercantiles and restaurants. Because of the town's location north of the Wabash Railroad line, Keytesville merchants encouraged the construction, in 1889, of a streetcar line. Hugo Bartz and J. J. Moore, secured land and financing for the project, which when completed consisted of two miles of track and a large barn for horses and rolling stock, constructed for a cost of $10,000. Two horse-drawn passenger coaches and a large flatcar for freight delivered new arrivals at the Wabash depot to the town.

Keytesville today

While small, the town does have a business district, a public library, and chamber of commerce. Included are a swimming pool, insurance sales, bank, convenience store, law offices, chiropractor, restaurant, auto repair, agricultural services and medical clinic. The town has various service clubs and organizations, including the Lions Club. There are three sites in Keytesville listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the First Presbyterian Church, the Chariton County Jail and Sheriff's Residence, and the Redding-Hill House. Price Park features a statue of Sterling Price sculpted by Allen George Newman. A new Chariton County Courthouse was constructed in Keytesville in the summer of 1974 and occupied the following July. This was made necessary due to a fire