Mississippi County

The information on this page is part of the Ramsay Place Names File, a collection of Missouri place name origins compiled from 1928-1945.

The language used to describe groups of people in this collection reflects the time and place the document was created.  Since the language is part of this historical document, it remains as originally printed, although it does not reflect the current values or beliefs held by the SHSMO.

 
Place name:Alfalfa Center
Description:A small settlement consisting of a store, mill, machine and repair shop, sawmill, and 1400 acres of land (500 of which is planted in alfalfa), in the northeast part of Ohio Township, which was established late in 1935 by the Missouri Grain and Feed Company under the direction of L.E. Fisher of Chicago and B.W. Hilgard of Belleville, Illinois, for the purpose of carrying on a new industry-- making dehydrated alfalfa meal. This is one of the six plants in the United States and the process was introduced by W.J. Small of Neodosha, Kansas five years ago. The name evolved from the fact that this is the "center" of the alfalfa meal industry. (Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Anniston
Description:A small town in the northern part of St. James Township. The post office maintained from 1891 until 1893 was known as Hainley's Switch, named for the mill owner, Jacob Hainley, who had a log loading station on the Cottonbelt Railroad. When a post office was reestablished in 1895, the name was changed to Anniston, the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama, which was named for Mrs. Annie Tyler, wife of one of the founders. (P.G., M.H.R. 11:330-333, Birch, Boone, Wallace)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Armer School
Description:A rural school in the central part of Long Prairie Township. Named for the family of George W. Armer, who came to Mississippi County in 1855. The land for the school, which was established in 1910, was given by one of the heirs. (Boone, Beck, Brigman, Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ayers Lake
Description:A small lake or pond in the eastern part of St. James Bayou Township, which was named for the Ayers family who settled there. (County Map, Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Baldwin's Village
Description:See Baldwinsville.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Baldwinsville
Description:An early settlement made between 1837-1844 which was abandoned soon after 1859. The name appears as Baldwin's Village in 1859. It was probably named for an old settler. (Gaston, Desliver, Hutawa, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bear Lake
Description:A small lake in the southern part of St. James Bayou Township, which was named by the early hunters for the bears which frequented this region in the early days. (Barnes, Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Beckwith
Description:A famous ferry landing on the Mississippi River, in the central part of Mississippi Township, operated by Newman Beckwith, who came to this place in 1812 from Virginia. It was once called Beckwith's or Beckwith's landing. (Douglass I 179, Campbell)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Belmont
Description:A small village in the northern part of Wolf Island Township, laid out in 1853 by the Belmont Company of New York, and named for August Belmont, president of the company. A post office was established in 1870. The flood of 1912 destroyed almost all of the town; the flood of 1922 destroyed the only church building, which had also been used as a school; the post office was discontinued in 1922, the mail being routed from Columbus, Kentucky; more property was destroyed by the flood of 1927, and now little remains of Belmont except two schools, white and negro, which survived the flood of 1937. (M.H.R. 11:330-331), Parker 324, Charleston Democrat 1937.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Belmont Cottonwood Tree
Description:An old landmark near Belmont (q.v.); this tree served as an anchor to hold the chain which was stretched across the river (Mississippi River) to prevent the passage of boats when the Union Army under General Grant was attempting to break the Confederacy in the Mississippi Valley. The chain is in the Belmont-Columbus Park at Columbus, Kentucky. Another famous landmark is also called the Belmont Cottonwood Tree. It is located about one-half mile west of Belmont and was famous as a place or refuge during the Battle of Belmont in the Civil War. The entire top of the tree was shot away by Confederate cannons during the engagement. (Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Belmont Cross
Description:See Samos.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bement School
Description:A rural school and community in the north part of Long Prairie Township. The first settlement made here in 1896 was called Buckeye, named from the five-leafed variety of the horse chestnut family commonly called Ohio buckeye, which was found growing here. After the post office was discontinued in 1917, the name Bement, which had been in use for some time because of the Bement Lumber Company operations in the neighborhood, came into general use and the name Buckeye was discarded. (M.H.R. 11:330-333; Mayfield, Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bertrand
Description:A town in the northern part of Long Prairie Township, which was laid out in 1859 by Colonel H.J. Deal, S.D. Golder, and Wm. Billington, and named for Mr. Bertrand, a capitalist who was interested in the railroad crossing this place. A post office was established in 1867. (Douglass I 379, M.H.R. 11; 330-331)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bethany Church
Description:A rural Baptist Church organized before 1876, and now abandoned. (cf. above) (Goodspeed 561, Encyclopedia Britanica)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Big Lake
Description:The largest lake in the county in 1930. It is located in Tywappity Township and in Ohio Township, and is named from its size. This lake was first called Fish Lake and was probably named by the early French settlers, as it is referred to as Marais des Peches (Fish Swamp), by Houck. The name was changed to Big Lake in 1789. On this lake lived Reazon Bowie, inventor of the bowie knife, in 1800. (Houck I 163, Wilson, Wetmore, Cram, Joselyn)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Big Lake School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of Tywappity Township, named for Big Lake on which it is located. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Big Oak
Description:See Hunter's Oak.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bird Point
Description:A small ferry landing on the Mississippi River in the northern part of Ohio Township. It was settled in 1800 by John Johnson under the Spanish Government by order of Henry Peyroux, Commandant. Abram Bird bought the land from Johnson in 1805 and trhe place was named for him. In an old ledger kept by the warehouse and general store at Bird's Point the name is written in various ways between 1830-1835. It appears as Bird's Landing, Byrd's Landing, once Illinois Point, and only once Bird's Point. The name was written Bird's Point in the Postal Guide from 1886 when the post office was established until 1893, and is still so written and pronounced locally. (Douglass I 179, Parker 323, Charles Murray in Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bird's Landing
Description:See Bird's Point.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bird's Mill
Description:See Bird's Mill School.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bird's Mill School
Description:Two rural schools, white and negro, have this name; both are located in the northeast part of Ohio Township and are named for the old settlement which was made here in 1800 and named Bird's Mill because the mill was operated by members of the Abram Bird family, who settled Bird's Point. (q.v.)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bird's Point
Description:See Bird Point.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Birdville
Description:See Greenfield.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Black Bayou
Description:A small tributary to the St. James Bayou in the western part of St. James Bayou Township. It is dry except during flood seasons. The name was given as early as 1812, probably for the dark appearance of the water, which was caused by the sluggish stream and the thickness of the forest in the early days. (Goodspeed, Parker 323, Joslyn)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Blue Hole
Description:A term applied to several ponds or holes which appear near the Mississippi River after a flood. The name is suggested by the color of the water, which is blue because of the depth of the ponds. One such pond appeared after the break of 1927 just north of Dorena, and the latest and largest appeared after the flood of 1937 just south of Bird's Point. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bonnet Lake
Description:A small lake in the eastern part of Wolf Island Township, which appears on the map of 1844. Probably named by some early settler for the fancied resemblance to a bonnet. (Hutawa, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Boyce
Description:See Deventer.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bridges School
Description:An early rural school in the western part of Tywappity Township. Named for George Bridges, who came to this community in 1851. He died in 1928. (Combs, Beck, Waggoner, Deal Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Bryant School
Description:See Dorena School.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Buade River
Description:See Mississippi River.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Buckeye
Description:See Bemet.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Buffalo Island
Description:A small island in the Mississippi River, the south part of which is in Mississippi County and the north part of which is in Scott County. It was named for the animal, the buffalo, which frequented this region in the early days. (Harrison)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Byrd's Landing
Description:See Bird Point
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Cairo and Fulton Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Cairo, Arkansas and Texas Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Carlos Prairie
Description:See Mathews Prairie
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Cat Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Catalpa
Description:A flagstop, also called Catalpa Switch, on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the central part of Tywappity Township; named from the fact that posts and railroad ties made from catalpa trees were shipped from this place. It was known as Deal's Station in 1879 when the Iron Mountain Railroad ordered passenger trains to stop there to accommodate the people of Concord community. This name was given becaue Colonel H.J. Deal had set out the two-hundred acres of catalpa trees there. Later the station was also known as Howlett's Switch, for the Howlett family there; the official name, however, remains Catalpa or Catalpa Switch. (Boone, E.P. Deal, Deal's Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Catalpa Switch
Description:See Catalpa
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Charles Prairie
Description:See Mathews Prairie
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Charleston
Description:The county seat, located in the northern part of Tywappity Township. The first settler in this region was Humphrey Warren who came in 1830. The town was laid out in 1837 by John Rodney on land owned by Randol, Moore, and Barnard. Three theories exist regarding the naming of the place. Douglass and Eaton credit the statement that it was named by Rodney for Charleston, South Carolina, which had been named for Charles II of England, but they give no reason for this choice of name. The town was established on Prairie Carlos (Charles Prairie), and it is held by many people in the county that it was from this source that Charleston received its name. The descendants of the early settlers, including Joe Moore and James Haw, maintain that the tale they have always heard and accepted is that it was named for Charles Moore by Joseph Moore, who granted land for the building of the town, and who had come to this vicinity in 1826. He is said to have written to Charles Moore, then living in Kentucky, inviting him to come and help lay out the town which would be named Charleston in his honor. Charles Moore came, and the town was so named. The latter theory is more generally held in the county, but the Carlos Prairie (Charles Prairie), theory is the more logical one; that is, it follows the usual order of place names. Cf. East Prairie, Little Prairie, West Prairie. (Douglass I 287, M.H.R. 11:330-331, Moore, Haw, Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Concord Church
Description:A rural Baptist Church in the central part of Tywappity Township, organized before 1876 and given this ideal name by the founders. (Boone, Baptists in S.E. Missouri, 77)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Concord Methodist Church
Description:A rural church in the central part of Tywappity Township, organized before 1887 and given this common church name by the founders. Concord Baptist Church (cf. above) was organized here before 1867 and both churches used the same meeting house. (Boone, Goodspeed 536)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Concord School
Description:A rural school in the central part of Tywappity Township, named from Concord Church (q.v.). (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Cottonbelt Railroad
Description:A railroad which enters new Madrid County from Dunklin County on the west and branches at Lilbourn, formerly Pawpaw Junction, one tract going to New Madrid and the other to Bird's Point in Mississippi County. This branch of the Cottonbelt system was first incorporated as the Little River Valley and Arkansas Railroad in 1876 with the purpose of building a railroad from New Madrid through Malden and Kennett (in Dunklin County); that is, through the Little River Valley, to the Arkansas state line. The road was finished from New Madrid to Malden in 1878 by Otto Kochtitsky and George B. Clark. In 1881 it was extended to the state line of Arkansas and consolidated with the Texas and St. Louis Railroad Company of Missouri and Arkansas. In 1882 the branch was built from Lilbourn to Bird's Point. The line went into the hands of the receiver, Mr. Fordyce, in 1886 and was reorganized as the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railroad in order to extend the road to Texarkana, Texas. In 1890 the railroad was again sold and reorganized under the title St. Louis Southwestern Railroad Company, and in 1893 it became known as the Cottonbelt Route, because it has its terminal in Texas, in the cottonbelt of the United States. (Willis, M.H.R. 21:322, Douglass I 507, Goodspeed 385, Cox, Barnes)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Coulter
Description:A flagstop on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the western part of Ohio Township, named for a Mr. Coulter whose logging interest caused the station to be established there. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Crosno
Description:A small village in the southern part of Mississippi Township. The first settlement was made here in 1802 by James Lucas and was known by Lucas Bend, named for Lucas and the natural bend in the river. When the post office was established in 1891, it was named for F.M. Crosno, a merchant and early settler, who became the postmaster. (M.H.R. 11:330-331, P.G., Polk, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Cypress Church
Description:A rural Baptist Church in the northern part of Long Prairie Township. Organized in 1827 by Elder Hempstead, reorganized in 1877 by J.G. Shearer, and moved to Diehlstadt in Scott County in 1881. It was named from its location in a cypress swamp. (Goodspeed 560)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Cypress Lake
Description:A small lake in the western part of St. James and Long Prairie Townships, which received its name from the cypress trees growing abundantly there. (Campbell, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Dead Cypress Lake
Description:A small lake or pond in the western part of Wolf Island Township, which was named for the cypress trees which grow there. The trees around this lake were deadened by an early settler, and were allowed to stand for some time before they were cut, so the name grew up. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Deal Cottonwood Tree
Description:A famous landmark near the E.P. Deal residential place on State Street in Charleston. It served as a watchtower during the Civil War when Colonel H.J. Deal gave warning of the approach of the Confederate forces. (Charleston Democrat 1937, Ida Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Deal's Switch
Description:See Catalpa Switch.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Deventer
Description:A small settlement in the eastern part of Mississippi Township, where a post office was established in 1910. Mr. Frank May, a prominent landowner, asked that the post office be established and Mr. Dave Reeves, also a landowner, went on his bond when he made application for the position of postmaster. Eight names were submitted by Mr. May to the government. These were: Earl, for a friend of Mr. May and Mr. Reeves; Reeves, for Mr. Reeves; Harris, for the father of C.P. Harris; Mayville, for Mr. May; Boyce, for a friend; Tinner, for a landowner; and Prat, for another landowner. The last name, Deventer, for Deventer Miller, now in the insurance business in St. Louis, but then a clerk in a store in Oran, and friend of Mr. May, was the name which was accepted by the postal authorities. (Mrs. Dave Reeves, Mrs. Frank May)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Dirk School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of Mississippi Township, where a settlement was made in 1896 or 1897 and named for the Dirk family who were among the first settlers. A post office was maintained there from 1910-1915, after which the mail was routed from Wyatt. (Henshaw, Johnson, Postal Guide)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Dixon Island
Description:A small island in the Mississippi River on which E.H. Dixon owned the land shortly before 1892. (Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Dogtooth Bend
Description:The long bend in the Mississippi River in the eastern part of Ohio Township, which was named by early river men because of the shape of the bend which might be compared to a sharp dog tooth. (Deal, Rowling)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Dogwood School
Description:A rural school in the southwest part of Long Prairie Township, named for the trees of this species which grew there. It was established in 1910. (Combs, Boone, Deal Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Dorena
Description:A small village in the southeast part of St. James Bayou Township on the Mississippi River known locally as the point where the levee broke in 1927. A post office was maintained there from 1899 until 1910 when the mail was routed from Hickman, Kentucky, which is just across the river. The post office was reestablished in 1921. It was named by John Tompson, the first postmaster, who coined the word by adding the letter "a" to "doreen" or "doren," a colloquial expression meaning money. (Q.W. Joslyn, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Eagle Knoll Cypress Ridge
Description:A ridge or slight incline in the west part of St. James Township, which the early settlers named because on this knoll, or ridge, eagles built their nests in the tall cypress trees. (E.P. Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Eagle Pond
Description:A small lake or pond in the western part of St. James Bayou Township, which was named about 1873 from the fact that eagle nests were found on Eagle Knoll Cypress, a ridge near the lake, by the early settlers. (Campbell 1873, Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:East Bayou
Description:A forgotten branch of the St. James Bayou which ran east and west and was named from its location east of Black Bayou in the eastern part of St. James Township. It was known about 1891 but has since been drained and the site almost forgotten. (Joslyn)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:East Prairie
Description:A large prairie in the eastern part of the county. The early traders and settlers named all land which was higher than the surrounding swamps and prairies. There was in New Madrid County (of which this was then a part): East Prairie, West Prairie, Grand Prairie, Long Prairie, and Little Prairie. (Campbell 371-374, Goodspeed 197)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Fish Lake
Description:See Big Lake
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Fish Lake School
Description:A rural school in the northeast part of Ohio Township, located near Old Fish Lake (q.v.), which has been drained. It was named from the lake. (Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Floodway
Description:See Spillway
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Four Mile Pond
Description:A small lake or pond in the western part of St. James Bayou Township, named by the early settlers who estimated the size of this pond as four miles in length in contrast to the longer stream which they called Ten Mile Pond (q.v.). The name first appears in 1861. These ponds are dry now except during flood seasons. (Campbell 1873, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Fox School
Description:A rural school in the western part of Tywappity Township, named for John F. Fox who owns land there and has lived in that community about fifty years. (Beck, Waggoner, Combs)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Fuget
Description:A flagstop on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the eastern part of Wolf Island Township, established in 1915 and named for Jim Fuget, who had a sawmill here, and for his brother Jack Fuget, who was sheriff of the county. A post office was maintained in 1886 and the name was then spelled Fugett. The membrs of the family, however, did not so spell the name. (P.G., Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Fugett
Description:See Fuget.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Gilchrist Lumber Tract
Description:See Three States Lumber Tract.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Grand River of the Holy Spirit
Description:See Mississippi River.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Grassy Lake
Description:A small lake or pond in the western part of Wolf Island Township, which was named from the tall grass which grows on the banks and in the lake bed during the summer when the lake is dry. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Greenfield
Description:A ferry landing on the Mississippi River and a station on the Cairo, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad in the northern part of Ohio Township. The place was called Birdville in 1867, named for some member of the prominent Bird family who settled this region. The name was changed to avoid confusion with Bird's Point. The name Greenfield, used until 1879, after which it was apparently forgotten, is said to have been given because of the natural surroundings which appealed to the railroad officials who were attempting to find a name for the station. (Campbell, Nicely, Wilson, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Griggsby School
Description:A rural school in the eastern part of Tywappity Township, which was named for the Griggsby family who own land there. (Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Hallett
Description:A flagstop on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the western part of Tywappity Township, named by the railroad officials for Frank and Miles Howlett who owned land and the sawmill at this place. Officials misunderstood the name as Hallett. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Harmony Baptist Church
Description:A rural church in the eastern part of Tywappity Township, which was organized in 1830 and reorganized in 1855 by Terry and Coke. It was given this ideal name by the founders. (Goodspeed 560, Deal's Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Harris
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Harrison
Description:A flagstop on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the eastern part of Ohio Township, which was established about 1861 and discontinued about 1875. It was named for Felix Harrison, one of the first membrs of the circuit court of the county, who owned land there. (Fiala 1861, Campbell, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Haw's Chapel
Description:A rural Methodist Church in the northeast part of Tywappity Township, organized in 1830 and named for Uriel Haw, who was the first pastor and helped to build the church. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Henson
Description:A station on the Iron Mountain Railroad eight miles southeast of Charleston in the eastern part of Tywappity Township, established as a log loading station about 1877 and named for an early settler, Jim Henson. A post office was established in 1893. (Campbell 373, Rand McNally 1877, Joslyn, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Henson Lake
Description:A small lake in flood seasons six miles south of Charleston in the east part of Tywappity Township, which was named for Jim Henson, an early settler. (History of Dunklin 18, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hibbard
Description:See East Prairie.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Holloway School
Description:A rural negro school in the northern part of Wolf Island Township, named for William Holloway, who was a prominent member of the community and gave the land for the school. (Beck, Waggoner)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hopewell
Description:A small settlement in the northeast part of Ohio Township, which appears on the maps of 1860-1869. A rural Methodist Church of that name was organized in 1842 by Henry McElmurry, and a rural Baptist Church was organized in 1874 by D.M. Green. Hopewell is an ideal name, used for many churches. None of the old settlers recall the place, and it is probable that it washed into the river. The churches were abandoned or moved to other locations. (Goodspeed 561, Sutherland, Parker, Goodwin, Fiala, Tong 77, Foster, Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hopewell Baptist Church
Description:Cf. above
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hopewell Methodist Church
Description:Cf. above
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hough's
Description:A station, also called Hough's Station, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, six miles northeast of Charleston. It was named for Judge Hough of the circuit court of the county (1848-1861), who took part in the famous Wolf Island (q.v.), controversy and who owned land there. (Campbell, Houck I 15)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hough's Station
Description:Cf. above
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Howlett's Switch
Description:See Catalpa.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hunter
Description:See Wyatt.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hunter's Oak
Description:A large oak tree in the southern part of the county, also known as Big Oak. The name Hunter's comes from A.B. Hunter. Land which extends from New Madrid County to this place, and the name Big indicates the size of the tree, which measures twenty-seven feet one inch in circumference. There is now a movement on foot to create a state park around the tree in order to preseve it. (M.H.R. 27; 208-209, Croell, Southeast Missourian 1937-1938)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Hurricane School
Description:A rural school in the northeast part of St. James Township, which was named from a severe storm or hurricane which the early settlers remembered in this region. (Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Illinois Point
Description:See Bird Point.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Indian Grove School
Description:The first school in the county, located on Mathews Prairie in the northern part of Tywappity Township where the Danfroth family now lives in the town of Charleston. It was started in 1829, and first taught by Hartford Hayes. It was named from a grove of trees where the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes had a camping place long before the coming of the white man. The early settlers called this place Indian Town. (Ency. History of Misouri, IV, Charleston Democrat 1937, Deal's Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Indian Town
Description:See Indian Grove School.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Iron Banks
Description:Iron Banks or Iron Banks Ferry is a term which is repeated many times in the early chronicles of this county and of Scott County. It was located just north of Wolf Island in the northern part of what is now Wolf Island Township. The term was known to the early traders and explorers, who probably invented it to refer to the red cliffs at the top of the high ridge which they saw from the river. Cummings and Evans mention Iron Banks in their accounts of tours in 1818. The first ferry license was granted to Granberry Griffith. (Parker 323, Thwaites 4:279, 303, Scott Democrat, Scott County Court Records, Deal Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Iron Banks Ferry
Description:Cf. above
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:James Bayou
Description:See Three States
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:James Bayou School
Description:A rural school in the extreme southwest part of St. James Bayou Township near the site of the old village of James Bayou (cf. above), and named for the famous stream. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Kay's Chapel
Description:A rural Methodist Church in the eastern part of the county; constituted before 1888 and named for one of the early settlers who helped organize the church. (Moore, Goodspeed 536, Douglass I 452)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ketron's Chapel
Description:A rural Methodist Church in the eastern part of the county. It was established in 1830 and named from its location on Mathews Prairie (q.v.). On October 4, 1834 at the Quarterly Conference meeting at this church a resolution was adopted "to change the name of the Methodist Meeting House at Mathews Prairie to Ketron's Chappel." Chappel is doubtless a misspelled form of Chapel. This was in honor of Wm. Ketron, Presiding Elder in this district from 1833 until his death in 1865. (Clark 20)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ketron's Chappel
Description:See Ketron's Chapel.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Lake Bratcher
Description:A large lake in the southeast part of Wolf Island Township, lying between the villages of Belmont and Crosno. It was named for Mr. Bratcher, an early settler, about 1891. (Charleston Democrat 1937, E.P. Beal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Lake St. John
Description:See Wilson's Bayou.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Langhan's Mill
Description:The first sawmill in the county established in 1882 in the eastern part of Ohio Township, by P.Q. Langham and named for him. His second mill was constructed in 1886. (Cochran)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Locust Grove School
Description:A rural school in the eastern part of St. James Bayou Township, named for the locust trees which grow there. In 1858 the Methodist Church held services in this schoolhouse. (Goodspeed 536, Combs)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Long Prairie
Description:A large prairie in the northern part of the county; named by the early settlers as was East Prairie. (q.v.) (Campbell 371-374, Goodspeed 197)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Long Prairie Township
Description:In the western part of the county. It was formed from Tywappity and St. James Townships in 1858 and given the early name for this region. (Cf. above) (Douglass I 311)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Lower Crosno School
Description:A rural school in the eastern part of Mississippi Township, organized in 1920 and named from its location south of the village of Crosno (q.v.). (Boone, Rynearson)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Lower Dogwood School
Description:A rural school in the northwestern part of St. James Township, named for its location south of Dogwood School (q.v.). (Boone, Combs)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Luby
Description:A signal stop on the Iron Mountain Railroad in the eastern part of Ohio Township. The station was established about 1930 and named from a landowner there. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Lucas Bend
Description:See Crosno
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Manes
Description:See Wyatt
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Marais des Peches
Description:See Fish Lake
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mathews Prairie
Description:A large prairie in the northern part of what is now Tywappity Township, which was settled in 1801 by Edward Mathews from Lexington, Kentucky and named for him. It is sometimes spelled Mathews Prairie. This prairie had been inhabited long before 1801, however, as there was evidence of a large Indian camp or village when the first white man came. It was called Carlos Prairie (Spanish for Charles Prairie), as early as 1770. (Douglass I 179, Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mathews Prairie Church
Description:See Ketron's Chapel
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mayville
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Medley
Description:A small settlement in the eastern part of Wolf Island Township, which was established as a landing place on the Mississippi River. A post office known as Medley's was maintained from 1868-1893. The apostrophe was then omitted from the name and the post office continued until 1910. In 1918 it was restored and maintained until 1930. The original settlement was washed into the river and the only trace left is the rural school located a few miles south of the first site. It was named for L.B. Medley, who ran a ferry and a general store there about 1884. (P.G., Boone, Ringo)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Medley School
Description:Cf. above
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Millar Church
Description:A rural Methodist Church in the northern part of St. James Township, established in 1865 by Susan and Franklin S. Millar and named from Millar School (q.v.), in which the meetings were held. (Deal Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Millar School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of St. James Township, named for Adam Millar, who came to this county from Frederick, Virginia. (Combs, Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mississippi County
Description:A county on the Mississippi River created by the state legislature February 14, 1845, the territory being cut off from the southern part of Scott County. Charleston was selected as the county seat and the boundaries of the townships of Tywappity, St. James and St. James Bayou, which had belonged to Scott County, were changed and two new townships, Mississippi and Wolf Island were created. Ohio Township was created from Mississippi Township in 1847. The county was named from the Mississippi River (q.v.) (Douglass I 311, M.H.R. 11:330-331)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mississippi River
Description:The Mississippi River, which forms the entire eastern boundary of Mississippi County, was discovered in 1539 by DeSoto who called the river Rio Grande De Espiritu Santo (The Grand River of the Holy Spirit). The French Jesuits who explored the river called it Riviere de St. Louis; Marquette gave the name Riviere de la Conception in fulfillment of a vow made to the Virgin if he succeeded in finding the river; LaSalle baptised it Riviere de Colbert (Colbert was a French statesman of 1682 who helped finance LaSalle's expedition), and Joliet attempted to name it in honor of his patron, Buade. The name finally chosen, however, was the name of Indian origin, the Algonquin words missi (great) and seepee (river). (M.H.R. II: 191, Buel 240-241)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mississippi Township
Description:In the eastern part of the county; one of the townships organized out of Tywappity Township in 1845 at the time the county was formed. It was named for the river (cf. above), and was given its present boundaries in 1847 when Ohio Township was formed. (Douglass I 311)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Missouri Pacific Railroad
Description:The original Missouri Pacific Railroad was chartered in 1876 as a part of the Pacific Railroad Company which had failed to build roads as directed in the charter of 1849. It was under the direction of C.K. Garrison until 1879 when it became the property of Jay Gould, who consolidated a number of railroads. This part of the system, however, had its beginning in the Cairo and Fulton Railroad which was organized in 1857 in Charleston, Mississippi County, through the efforts of Colonel H.J. Deal. The name indicated the two proposed terminals - Fulton, Arkansas and Cairo, Illinois. The first train on this road was run from Bird's Point to Charleston April 19, 1859. The chief engineer was J.S. Williams and the engine was called the "Sol G. Kitchen" in honor of a pioneer of Mississippi County. The road was finished to Sikeston, in Scott County, July 4, 1859, and the first locomotive on this run was the "Abe Hunter," named for another prominent pioneer of Mississippi County. During the Civil War the road was partially destroyed. It was reorganized in 1872 under the name Cairo, Arkansas, and Texas Railroad, so named because the company now proposed to extend the road through the state of Arkansas and on to Texarkana, Texas. The nickname "Cat" road, derived from the initials of the official road, came into use locally about this time. It was completed to Poplar Bluff, through Stoddard County in 1873. Shortly after the reorganization it was bought by the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad under the management of Thomas Allen. The St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad had been granted a charter in 1851 to build a road from some point on the Pacific Railroad to Pilot Knob; and in 1852 the Iron Mountain Branch of the Pacific Railroad was incorporated. The purpose of the railroad was the transportation of ore from Iron Mountain to St. Louis, from which point it could be shipped elsewhere, and this fact gave the road its name. The first survey was made in 1852 by J.H. Morley and the first section of rails laid in 1853. The road was opened to Iron Mountain in 1858. The Arkansas branch was completed from Pilot Knob to Moark in 1873, and the name changed to St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad to indicate this extension of the road. In 1880 these roads were consolidated under the Missouri Pacific Railroad. (Deal Scrapbook, Charleston Democrat 1937, Kerr, Thornton 14-51, Douglass 499)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mounds School
Description:A rural school in the southeast part of St. James Township, named for the Indian mounds which are numerous in this vicinity. (Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Mount Moriah Church
Description:A rural Baptist Church located on Mathews Prairie in the western part of Tywappity Township, which was established in 1830 by Reverend J.M. Herrington and moved to Charleston in 1859. The name was suggested by the famous mountain in Jerusalem on which Solomon's temple was built (II Chron. 3:1) and the name means "provided by Jehovah." The name was changed to Charleston Church in 1911 when the present building was erected. (Goodspeed 560, Charleston Democrat)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Muskrat Lake
Description:A small lake or pond in the southern part of St. James Bayou Township, which was named for the muskrats which frequented this swampy land. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Norfolk
Description:An old settlement and ferry landing on the Mississippi River in the eastern part of Ohio Township. The first settlement was made here in 1800 by John, Andrew, and James Ramsey of Cape Girardeau. The town was laid off [out] by James Ramsey, William Lester and others in 1836, the first town in Mississippi County. It was probably named by the early settlers for Norfolk, Virginia, since many of them came from eastern cities. The settlement gradually washed into the river; the last house, known as "Norfolk House" where General Grant is said to have stayed at the time of the Belmont in 1861, washed into the river in 1930. Nothing remains of the old settlement except a few scattered houses and a rural school which is known as Norfolk School. (Murray, Douglass I 179, Tetwiler 1895)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Norfolk School
Description:See Norfolk.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Oak Grove
Description:A small settlement in the northern part of St. James Township, which was made prior to 1867. Probably named from the large oak trees which flourish in that part of the county. (Goodwin, Nicely, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:O'Brien's Landing
Description:See O'Bryan's Landing.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:O'Bryan's Landing
Description:A boat landing on the Mississippi River in the northern part of Mississippi Township, which was established about 1892 and named for Harry C. O'Bryan, circuit court judge of the county from 1886-1892, who owned land there. The name is sometimes written O'Brien's. (Tetwiler 1896, Rynearson)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ohio City
Description:A small village in the eastern part of Ohio Township. A pretentious town was planned and laid out by Hiram Pearsons in 1846 and so named by him because of its location across the Mississippi River from the mouth of the Ohio River; but the town was not built and the site washed into the river. (Douglass 379, Goodspeed 470, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ohio Township
Description:In the northeastern part of the county, cut off from Mississippi Township in 1847 and named from its location opposite the mouth of the Ohio River. Ohio is from an Iroquois Indian word, Oheeyo, which the French adapted to La Belle Riviere. La Salle discovered the Ohio River in 1669 or 1671, but Father Marquette seem to have been the first white explorer to name the river La Belle Riviere. (Douglass I 311, Sparks 240-241, Magazine of American History 8:307)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Pacific Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific Railroad
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Payne
Description:See Wyatt
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pearl
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pevey Switch
Description:See Wyatt
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pinhook Ridge
Description:A ridge in the central part of Wolf Island Township, named from the shape of the sand ridge surrounded by swamps, from the shape said to resemble a pinhook or canthook, which is an instrument used by loggers. George Bridges, one of the first settlers of the county, came here in 1851. (Boone, Deal Scrapbook)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pinhook School
Description:A rural school in the central part of Wolf Island Township, named from Pinhook Ridge (cf. above). (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Prairie Carlos
Description:See Mathews Prairie
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pratt
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Pulltight
Description:A school and community in the southwest part of St. James Township, mockingly so named by the early settlers who found the muddy roads so difficult to travel they said they had to "pull tight" to get over them. (Boone, Combs)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Reeves
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Rio Grande de Espiritu
Description:See Mississippi River.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Riviere de Colbert
Description:See Mississippi River.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Riviere de St. Louis
Description:See Mississippi River.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Roark Hole
Description:A large crevasse near the Mississippi River in the eastern part of Wolf Island Township, which was formed after the flood of 1927. It was named for the landowner on whose farm the crevasse appeared. (Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Rodney
Description:A ferry landing on the Mississippi River in the northeast part of Ohio Township, established in 1908 and named for John Rodney surveyor of Mississippi County, who laid out Charleston and who owned land here. (Douglass, Goodspeed 278, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Rush's Ridge
Description:A small settlement in the northern part of Mississippi Township, settled in 1813 by William Rush and named for him. A school was established there in early days and is still maintained. The Methodist Church also held services on Rush's Ridge in the early days. (Douglass I 179, Goodspeed 536, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Rush's Ridge Church
Description:See Rush's Ridge.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Rush's Ridge School
Description:See Rush's Ridge.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Russel School
Description:A rural school in the southwest part of Tywappity Township, which was named for Congressman J.J. Russell, who was a prominent man of the county. He was born in 1854, was valedictorian of his class at Missouri University in 1880, was county prosecutor 1880-1882, in the state legislature 1886-1890, Speaker of the House in 1889, and was elected to Congress in 1906 and again in 1910. (Henshaw, Mr.s Waggoner, Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Samos
Description:A small settlement in the western part of Mississippi Township, called Belmont Cross in 1891. This name was suggested by the fact that here the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad crossed the Cottonbelt Railroad on the way to Belmont, the important ferry on the Mississippi River. The name Samos was given between 1902 and 1910. A post office has been maintained since 1910. It is said to have been given this name by a classical-minded settler for the famous island of Greece in the Agean Sea. (Kenyon, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Sands
Description:A small settlement in the western part of Long Prairie Township, named for the natural surroundings, the sandy soil. A post office was maintained here in 1904. (Williams 1904, Boone, P.G.)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Sassafras Ridge School
Description:A rural school in the northeast part of Wolf Island Township, named for Sassafras Ridge, a slight elevation where sassafras trees grow and give the ridge and the school their names. (Combs, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Set-Back Levee
Description:A levee extending through the county from Bird's Point toward the western part of the county at a point southwest of East Prairie, built as a protective measure after the flood of 1927 at the suggestion of a U.S. Engineer Jadwin. It bounds the Spillway (q.v.), on the west, and is called Set-Back Levee because it was constructed or "set" a few miles back from the main levee in order to give the Mississippi River more territory in which to spread during flood seasons and so lower the river stage at Cairo, Illinois. Professor Ruby, of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Missouri, says that this is the first known example of a set-back levee. (County Map, Southeast Missourian 1937, Charleston Democrat 1937, Missouri's Swamp and Overflowed Land (Bulletin), Professor Harry Ruby)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Smithton
Description:See Wyatt
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Spillway
Description:The terms Spillway and Floodway are applied to the region from Bird's Point to the south end of the county between the regular levee of the Mississippi River and the Set-Back Levee (q.v.), which was constructed after the flood of 1927 as a place in which to release (spill) the flood waters of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in order to protect the city of Cairo, Illinois. This Spillway was so used during the flood of 1937. (Missouri Swamp and Overflowed Land, Southeast Missourian 1937, Charleston Democrat)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. Francis de Sales Church
Description:A rural Catholic Church located at Texas Bend in the northeastern part of Ohio Township. In 1839 a log chapel was built here by the Lazarist John Brands and placed under the protection of St. Francis de Sales because "the early settlers in Texas Bend, who organized the church, came from Sherrheim in Alsace-Lorrain, which is not far from Geneva, the field of labor of St. Franci de Sales, and it is probable that the church at Sherrheim is under his patronage. " "The parish was disrupted when the majority of the parishoners moved to Benton in 1846. Texas Bend was served as a mission for many years by the pator of New Cape Girardeau. It was finally abandoned during the pastorage of Reverend Hy. Petri of New Hamburg." (Reverend H.Y. Eggeman)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. James
Description:See Three States
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. James Bayou
Description:The largest stream in the county, sometimes called James River, which flows through the county into the Mississippi River near the New Madrid County line on the south. The bayou was named for the Apostle by Joseph and Francois LeSieur in 1815. (Houck I 162, Douglass I 82, 229, County Map)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. James Bayou Township
Description:In the southern part of the county; one of the townships which had been organized in Scott County in 1836 and which became a part of Mississippi County in 1845. It was named for the principal stream of the county. (cf. above) (Douglass I 311)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. James River
Description:See St. James Bayou
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. James Township
Description:In the western part of the county; one of the townships which had been organized in Scott County in 1836 and became a part of Mississippi County in 1845. It was named for St. James Bayou. (q.v.) (Douglass I 311)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad
Description:See Missouri Pacific
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Tarr's Store
Description:A post office and trading point on Wolf Island in 1896, so named because Thomas S. Tarr was postmaster and storekeeper. This post office really belongs to Kentucky as a part of Wolf Island, but is locally considered as a part of Mississippi County. (Tetwiler, Rynearson)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Teapot Lake
Description:A small lake in the southern part of St. James Bayou Township, which was named for a fancied resemblance to a teapot. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Ten Mile Pond
Description:A small lake or pond in the western part of St. James Bayou Township, named by early settlers who estimated the length of the pond to be ten miles. The name was given about 1861 and is still used although the lake is much smaller becaue of drainage. (Campbell 1873, Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Texas Bend
Description:A community in the northeast part of Ohio Township settled by Germans as early as 1846. The St. Francis de Sales Church (q.v.), was established before that year. The origin of the name is not definitely known, but it is supposed that the name was suggested by the large bend in the Mississippi River at this point, which was compared to the large state of Texas. A rural school in Texas Bend is the only remnant of this once flourishing community. (Douglass I 289, Campbell, Goodspeed 529, Deal, Rowling)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Texas Bend School
Description:See Texas Bend.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Thirty-Four Corners School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of Wolf Island Township on the road from Deventer to Wolf Island. It is named for its location at the corner of section thrity-four. The building was destroyed by the floods of 1937, but a new building has since been erected. (E.P. Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Thompson School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of Long Prairie Township, named for E.W. Thompson. (Waggoner)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Three States
Description:A small village in the southwest part of St. James Bayou Township, at the mouth of the St. James Bayou. The place was first called James Bayou when a post office was maintained there from 1870-1893. Locally it has always been known as St. James. Both these names were from the St. James Bayou (q.v.). The post office name was changed to Three States in 1895 when the Three States Lumber Company established a shipping point which was maintained until 1910. Since then the site has washed into the Mississippi River. (Campbell 373, Joslyn, Boone, P.G.)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Three States Lumber Tract
Description:A large tract of forest consisting of 22,000 acres of hardwood trees in the southern part of the county, which is now owned by the Gilchrist heirs and was named, like Three States (cf. above), for the Three States Lumber Company. It is sometimes called Gilchrist Lumber Tract because of the owner W.A. Gilchrist and relatives. (Charleston Democrat 1937)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Three States Towhead
Description:An island in the Mississippi River opposite St. James Bayou Township; named from Three States Lumber Company which owns the land in this section. There are many towheads in the Mississippi River but most of them are not named. (Boon, Beck)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Tinner
Description:See Deventer
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Upper Crosno School
Description:A rural school in the eastern part of Mississippi Township, organized in 1905 and named for its location north of the village of Crosno (q.v.). (Boone, Rynearson, Charleston Democrat)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
 
Place name:Walnut Grove School
Description:A rural school in the southwest part of East Township, which was named for this natural setting, a grove of walnut trees. (Phillips)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Whiting
Description:A small sawmill town in the northern part of St. James Township, established in 1891 and maintained until 1905. The town was established by the Ward Lumber Company in 1889 and named for Justin R. Whiting, one of the directors of the company, who was a congressman from the seventh district in Michigan. His home was in St. Claire, Michigan. (Joslyn)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wilson's Bayou
Description:This is the name locally given to old Lake St. John, which is in the northern part of St. James Bayou Township. Lake St. John was named in 1815 for the Apostle by Joseph and Francois LeSieur, who named many of the streams of this region for the saints who are the object of special Catholic devotion. It was named Wilson's Bayou about 1861 for the family of George Wilson, who setted here when this was a part of New Madrid County. George Wilson was the first sheriff of New Madrid County. (Fiala, Goodspeed 290, Phillips)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Windyville School
Description:A rural school in the central part of St. James Township, named for Walter Lee, who lives in this neighborhood and who gave the land for the school. Mr. Lee is jestingly called "Windy" by those who know him, and this nickname was given to the school. (Combs, Brigman)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wolf Island [1 of 2]
Description:An island in the Mississippi River just south of Belmont, regarded as belonging to the original New Madrid County (and consequently to Scott County in 1822 and Mississipi County in 1845), for which Kentucky and Missouri disputed for a number of years. The sheriff of New Madrid County once lived there. It was finally granted to Kentucky because of the similarity of plant and animal life, because Kentucky had exercised jurisdiction over the island since 1792, and because the level of the land was the same as that of Kentucky. It was named by the early settlers of New Madrid County for the wolf, an animal commonly seen there. (Douglass I 243, Houck I 15, County Court Record, Allen)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wolf Island [2 of 2]
Description:A small village on the Mississippi River near the foot of Wolf Island (q.v.), which was made in 1870. Little is there now except the post office and the school. (cf. above) (P.G., Boone)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wolf Island School
Description:See Wolf Island.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wolf Island Township
Description:In the eastern part of the county; one of the townships created at the time of the organization of the county in 1845 from Tywappity and St. James Bayou Townships. It was named from the famous island (cf. above). John and Drakeford Gray and Thomas Phillips were pioneers of this township. (Douglass I 311, Goodspeed 354, 304)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Woodsdale
Description:A flagstop on the St. Louis Iron Mountain Railroad in the western part of Ohio Township, established about 1930 and named from the natural surroundings, the forested or wooded spot in the low region called a dale. (E.P. Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wool Ridge
Description:See Woolridge.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wool Ridge School
Description:See Woolridge School.
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Woolridge
Description:A slightly elevated ridge in the northern part of St. James Township, where a settlement was made prior to 1859. The name is usually spelled Wool Ridge, and was given for an early settler. (Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Woolridge School
Description:A rural school in the northern part of St. James Township, named from Woolridge (cf. above), on which it is located. The name is written Wool Ridge School until 1912. (E.P. Deal)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.
Place name:Wyatt
Description:A small village in the southwestern part of Ohio Township. The first settlement was made on the Sam Keen farm and was known as Pevey Switch when the railroad was first built in 1881. This name is from the nickname for the railroad - the Peavine (q.v.). A few years later a post office was established and named Manes for Ben Manes. In 1891 the name was changed to Smithton, for I.N. Smith, Sr., but postal authorities objected because the name was preempted by a post office in Pettis County, so it was changed to Hunter for W.H. Hunter, a large landowner who lived at Benton in Scott County at the time. From 1893-1895 the post office was Payne, named for Jaspar Payne, a landowner. In 1896 it was changed to Wyatt, for William Wyatt, who owned land there, served as postmaster for a number of years, and who laid out the town. (Boone, Joslyn, Cochran, Polk 1898, Rand McNally 1891, P.G.)
Source:Hamlett, Mayme L. "Place Names Of Six Southeast Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1938.

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