Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

What's in a name?

Welcome to Windsor, the second largest town in Henry County. Originally this settlement was named Belmont when first platted on Sept. 15, 1855. Unfortunately another Belmont already existed. The community eventually adopted the town's present name, honoring the 900-year-old castle and residence of the English monarchy.

One might observe, very few roads in town run north and south, or east and west. Prior to platting, an old wagon road from Boonville ran through this area. When Richard Taylor and Weeden Major laid out the four business blocks of town, the road became Main Street. This same road is believed to have been the Osage Trace, an 18th-century Indian trail.

Windsor commerce and industry grew rapidly when the railroads came. The Tebo & Neosho Railroad Co. pursued construction from Sedalia to Fort Scott, Kan., through Windsor in 1865. However by 1870, little more than road grading had been accomplished. That same year, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Co. (MKT or Katy) absorbed the operation and built the railroad into Windsor, opening it on June 30, 1870.

[Upper Photo: Above is the image of the original, hand-drawn Windsor plat map of 1855. The four city blocks are platted at the uncommon angle of 45 degrees.]
Used by permission, Henry County Courthouse.

[Lower Photo: Unknown at the time of platting, Windsor was located in the center of one of Missouri's major coal fields. Shaft mining, pictured here, was later replaced by surface mining.]
Photo courtesy of Windsor Historical Society.

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