Haun's Mill was a mill established on the banks of Shoal Creek in Fairview Township, Caldwell County, Missouri in 1835–1836 by Jacob Hawn. Hawn was the son of German emigrants to Canada, that resettled in New York where Jacob was Born. While Jacob moved to Missouri and founded the mill around the same time as the Mormon migration to Missouri, he was not a Mormon. However, by October 1838 there were approximately 75 Mormon families living along the banks of Shoal Creek, about 30 of them in the immediate vicinity of Haun's Mill and the James Houston blacksmith shop. The unauthorized militia involved in the massacre was led overall by Colonel Thomas Jennings, of Livingston County with William O. Jennings (Sheriff of Livingston County), Nehemiah Comstock, and William Gee as captains of the three companies. At the time of the attack the militia consisted of 240 men from Daviess, Livingston, Ray, Carroll, and Chariton counties, and included prominent men such as Major Daniel Ashby of the Missouri state legislature and Thomas R. Bryan, Clerk of Livingston County. Shortly before the massacre, anti-Mormon raiders confiscated gun and weapons from Mormon settlers and immigrants. Some of those living in the surrounding area gathered to Haun's Mill for safety. On October 30 at approximately 4 p.m., the militia rode into the community. David Evans, a leader in the community, ran towards the militia, waving his hat and calling for peace. Alerted to the militia's approach, most of the Latter-day Saint women and children fled into the woods to the south, while most of the men headed to the blacksmith shop. Unfortunately, the building was a particularly vulnerable structure as the widely spaced logs made it easy for the attackers to fire inside. The shop became a deathtrap, since the militia gave no quarter, discharging about 100 rifles into the building. Grand River Township Justice of the Peace Thomas McBride, wounded while escaping the blacksmith shop, surrendered his gun to Jacob S Rogers Jr. who shot him, then hacked his body with a corn knife (scythe blade). According to their own account they fired seven rounds making upwards of 1,600 shot during the attack of Haun's Mill. The attack lasted 30 to 60 minutes. The sun set at 5:16 p.m. After the initial attack, several of those who had been wounded or had surrendered were shot dead. Members of the militia entered the shop and found 10-year-old Sardius Smith, 7-year-old Alma Smith (sons of Amanda Barnes Smith), and 9-year-old Charles Merrick hiding under the blacksmith's bellows. Alma and Charles were shot (Charles later died), and a militia man known as "Glaze, of Carroll county", killed Sardius when he "put his musket against Sardius's skull and blew off the top of his head." Later, a William Reynolds would justify the killing by saying, "Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon." William Champlin who was "playing possum" heard the conversations, was discovered, held captive a few days, then released. Several other bodies were mutilated, while many women were assaulted. Houses were robbed, wagons, tents, and clothing were stolen, and horses and livestock were driven off, leaving the surviving women and children destitute. As a result of the massacre 17 Mormons died: Hiram Abbott (25), Elias Benner (43), John Byers, Alexander Campbell, Simon Cox, Josiah Fuller (35), Austin Hammer (34), John Lee, Benjamin Lewis (35), Thomas McBride (62), Charles Merrick (9), Levi Merrick (30), William Napier (43), George S. Richards (15), Sardius Smith (10), Warren Smith (44), and John York (62). Fifteen more had been injured: Jacob Foutz (38), Jacob Hawn (34), Charles Jimison (35), Nathan K. Knight (36), Isaac Leany (24), Tarlton Lewis (33), Gilmon Merrill (30), George Myers (29), Jacob Myers Jr.(23), Jacob Potts (25), Hiram Rathbun, Alma Smith (7), Mary Stedwell, John Walker (44), and William Yokum (33). There were a few uninjured men, including William Champlin (44), Ellis Eames (48), Rial Eames (25), David Lewis (24), and David Evans (34). In the morning after the 7:42 a.m. sunrise, fourteen of the dead were slid from a plank into a large unfinished dry well[13] and covered with straw and a thin layer of dirt. The other three - Benjamin Lewis (33), originally buried on the David Lewis farm, was later exhumed and moved to a local cemetery; Charles Merrick (9) died later and was buried elsewhere; and Hiram Abbott (25) was later removed to his father's place where he died. Four of the 240 militiamen were wounded, but none fatally. John Hart, a Livingston resident, was wounded in the arm. John Renfrow had his thumb shot off. Allen England, a citizen of Daviess, was severely wounded in the thigh. Jacob S. Rogers Jr., a Daviess resident, was shot in the hip by Nathan Kinsman Knight. Captain Nehemiah Comstock's contingent of Livingston militia occupied the mill for nearly three weeks harassing and plundering the Mormons. Life during the winter of 1838-1839 became essentially that of day-to-day survival. Most of the families banded together until they could make arrangements to move along with the rest of the Saints to Illinois. Non-Mormon Harrison Severe, who had refused to join the mob, left with the Mormons.By the end of February 1839, all of the Mormons had left. Jacob Hawn moved to Oregon and became a pioneer settler of Yamhill County. As this and other confrontations unfolded between Mormons and the people in the state of Missouri, Mormons appealed for redress from the federal government, accusing the state of Missouri with complicity in violence against Mormons for the state's failure to investigate or prosecute those involved. In 1941, Mr. P.E. Gastineau of Cowgill, Missouri, owner of the land, gave permission for Mr. Glenn Setzer, ex-county official, to place a commemorative marker, and hold a program on July 13th. Until 2012, the grounds of the massacre were maintained as a historic site by the Community of Christ. In May 2012, it was announced that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had acquired the property and the Far West burying ground from the Community of Christ. The town of Braymer, Missouri contains a monument that memorializes those who perished in the massacre. From the Hawn's Mill Historic Site to the cemetery is approximately one mile. ---Wikipedia