A Growing State...A Shrinking County

A Growing State...A Shrinking County. . , When established in 1789, New Madrid was one of a handful of settlements in the Spanish territory west of the Mississippi River. First as a district and later as a county, the New Madrid jurisdiction extended as far south to the northern border of Louisiana and west to near present day Kansas. Under Spanish rule New Madrid had a post commandant not a court system; defendants had to be taken to New Orleans for trial. As illustrated by the time-line, each new territorial organization affected the size of the New Madrid district. With Missouri statehood in 1821 there came new counties as the state population increased until New Madrid County reached its present size in on February 19, 1851. , April 14, 1798 , Col. George Morgan establishes the settlement of New Madrid at a former trading post location. , Oct. 1, 1800 , Spain secretly cedes Louisiana to France , April 30, 1803 , Treaty of cession signed in Paris. France agrees to sell Louisiana to the United States for 15 million dollars (3 cents per acre). President Thomas Jefferson waits until July 4 to announce the territorial acquisition to the public. , Dec. 20, 1803 , Formal transfer of Louisiana Territory to the United States. , Mar, 18, 1804 , Ceremony at New Madrid transfers command from Spain to France to United States. , Oct. 1, 1804 , Territory of Orleans and District of Louisiana organized. , March 1805 , Courts of common Pleas and Quarter-Session of the Peace established at New Madrid. , June 4, 1812 , Louisiana Territory renamed Missouri Territory due to admission of Louisiana as a state on April 30, 1812. , Oct.1, 1812 , Missouri Territory divided into five counties, one of which extends south to the state of Louisiana. , Dec. 31, 1813 , County reduced by organization of Arkansas County , March 1814 , New Madrid County Court's first meeting , Jan. 15, 1815 , County reduced by organization of Lawrence County , Dec. 1815 , Circuit Court established , July 4, 1819 , Arkansas Territory established taking in all of Arkansas County and most of Lawrence County. , Mar. 6, 1820 , Congress approves the Missouri Enabling Act which establishes the boundaries of the new state which includes the Missouri Bootheel. , Aug. 10, 1821 , Missouri becomes the 24th state. New boundaries of counties established. , Dec. 28, 1827 , County reduced by organization of Scott County. , Jan. 2, 1835 , County reduced by organization of Stoddard County, which includes what would later become Dunklin County. , Feb. 14, 1845 , County reduced by organization of Mississippi County , Feb. 18, 1851 , County reduced to present boundaries by organization of Pemiscot County.