With the coming of the railroad, the Hamilton Town Company was formed to develop a tract of land along the rails.

[7][8] The first house in Hamilton, fittingly, was built by Davis in the summer of 1855, as well as the first business, a general store, in 1857.

The majority of the towns residents held strong pro-Union sympathies, with the few pro-Confederates among the populace forced to take an oath of allegiance.

[6] Being on the rail line made Hamilton a tempting target for Confederate "bushwhackers", so beginning in the fall of 1861, a company of the 50th Illinois Infantry arrived to help the local Home Guard unit defend the town.

Once the Civil War ended, Hamilton experienced a period of rapid growth, and was incorporated in 1868.

[9] At that time several new sections of land had been annexed into the original town plat and the population grew to several hundred.

By the mid-1880s, Hamilton had two newspapers, the Hamiltonian and the News-Graphic, as well as two banks, two hotels, flour mills, grain elevators, and other businesses supported by a population of around 1,800.

The Hamilton Coal Company was organized in the spring of 1882 and began mining operations the following year about two miles outside of the town.

[17] The largest church in town is United Methodist, located just north of downtown, with outreach programs including a large thrift store.

[18] Various churches help with utility emergencies, and the city hall (200 S. Davis) facilitates help given by Community Action Partnership.

[23][24] The active quilt business has inspired the construction of The World's Largest Spool of Thread.

Located at 300 East Bird in Hamilton the spool rests on the corner of the Missouri Quilt Museum.