Alton, Missouri

Alton is a city in and the county seat of Oregon County, Missouri. It had a population of 871 at the 2010 census.

History

Although permanent settlement in the Alton area is thought to have begun as early as the 1810s, the community did not take shape until 1859, when, being located near the geographic center of Oregon County, it was deemed by commissioners the most suitable site for the county seat (Thomasville, the original county seat, was farther northwest and considered unable to properly serve the entire county). William Hodges, a local landowner, deeded about 50 acres that year for a town to be laid out; it was promptly surveyed, and by 1862 had a post office. It is thought that the first postmaster, William C. Boyd, gave the new community its name in honor of his native town of Alton, Illinois.

Despite its status as the county seat, Alton grew very slowly, and was not actually incorporated as a city until 1929. Its growth accelerated after that point, though, helped by the completion of a new courthouse in 1942. Especially in recent years, the community, like the rest of Oregon County, has been buoyed by tourism and recreation along the nearby Eleven Point River.

A small Amish community has existed in the Alton area since 2017.

Geography

Alton is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 160 and Missouri State Highway 19 in central Oregon County, about 25 miles east of West Plains and 14 miles northeast of Thayer. Its exact coordinates are 36°41’38”N 91°23’57”W.

The city sits in a gently rolling plateau of sorts, with more rugged terrain along the Eleven Point River a few miles to the northeast. It has a total area of 1.58 square miles, and an average elevation of 781 feet.