Scott County, Missouri

Scott County is a county in southeastern Missouri. It lies along the Mississippi River, just north of the Missouri Bootheel. It was organized in 1821 and named for John Scott, the first man elected to the House of Representatives from Missouri.

Scott County's population was 39,191 at the 2010 census. Benton is the county seat, and Sikeston is the largest city.

History

Prior to white settlement, the Scott County area was inhabited by members of several different Native American tribes. These included the Osage, who dominated much of Missouri, as well as the Delaware and Shawnee, who moved west of the Mississippi during the early years of the American republic.

Colonization by first the French and then the Spanish began during the 18th century. In 1789, the Spanish government built El Camino Real (King's Highway), a road linking settlements along the west bank of the Mississippi, which ran north to south through what became Scott County a few miles west of the river (roughly along the future U.S. Route 61). The first permanent settlement was at Tywappity, a fur trading post on the river, in 1788, making it one of the oldest such communities west of the Mississippi; it was eventually renamed Commerce.

When the Missouri Territory was organized into counties in 1812, the region was included within New Madrid County, but its population was soon large enough for a separate jurisdiction to be created. Scott County was officially organized on December 28, 1821 and named for U.S. Congressman John Scott. Commerce served as the county seat for a time, but this status was eventually transferred to Benton, closer to the geographic center of the county.

Like much of Missouri, Scott County suffered severely from guerrilla warfare during the Civil War, though no major battles were fought within the county. M. Jeff Thompson, a Missouri general who served the Confederacy, had a presence within the county during the early days of the war. After the Civil War, Scott County grew rapidly thanks to the clearing of the swampy lowlands and their conversion to agriculture, and to the extension of railroads throughout the area. Sikeston soon became the most prominent community, thanks to the importance of cotton-growing in the south.

The elimination of some of the railroads in the 20th century, along with the mechanization of agriculture, led to an economic decline in some regions, though the proximity of Sikeston and of Cape Girardeau continues to be a boon to the county overall.

The Scott County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.