About that previously mentioned dog. In a now-famous 1870 trial at Warrensburg’s historic Old Courthouse, a jury decided the case of a farmer who sued his neighbor for shooting and killing his beloved hunting dog, Old Drum. In an impassioned closing argument, the farmer’s lawyer--future U.S. Senator George Graham Vest--delivered his “Eulogy to a Dog” and established the dog as “man’s best friend.” Jurors awarded Old Drum’s owner $50 in damages and Warrensburg became known to dog lovers everywhere.

 

A bronze statue of Old Drum stands outside the current Johnson County courthouse, which is less than three blocks from the proposed streetcar line. Six blocks west is the Old Courthouse, now restored as a museum.