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A community first appeared in 1830, with the building of a small log house by one Humphrey Warren; his property was soon bought by Thankful Randol, who later operated a hotel in town. Stores and other businesses followed, and in 1837 Charleston was laid out as twelve blocks on sixteen acres of land.
A community first appeared in 1830, with the building of a small log house by one Humphrey Warren; his property was soon bought by Thankful Randol, who later operated a hotel in town. Stores and other businesses followed, and in 1837 Charleston was laid out as twelve blocks on sixteen acres of land.
There are several competing theories as to how the town received its name. One is that it was in honor of [[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]; another that it was named for Charles Moore, a relation of Joseph Moore, one of the founders, who later moved there from [[Kentucky]]; and yet another that it received its name from Charles Prairie, which in turn had been named for King Charles III of [[Spain]] during the colonial era. It has been suggested that this is perhaps the most likely explanation, given the common practice of naming communities for geographic features at the time.
There are several competing theories as to how the town received its name. One is that it was in honor of [[Charleston]], [[South Carolina]]; another that it was named for Charles Moore, a relation of Joseph Moore, one of the founders, who later moved there from [[Kentucky]]; and yet another that it received its name from Charles Prairie, which in turn had been named for King Charles III of [[Spain]] during the colonial era. It has been suggested that this is perhaps the most likely explanation, given the common practice of naming communities for geographic features at the time.<ref>https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_mississippi.html</ref>
Upon the organization of Mississippi County in 1845, Charleston was chosen as the county seat. A courthouse was built in 1852 (court functions taking place until then in a [[Methodist]] church), and by 1860 the town had a school, at least fifteen businesses, a bank, and five practicing physicians. The previous year, the Cairo & Fulton Railroad opened, connecting it to Cairo, [[Illinois]] at the confluence of the Mississippi and [[Ohio River|Ohio]] Rivers, and the lucrative trade there.
Charleston was unsettled during the first months of the [[Civil War]]. A small skirmish between [[Union]] and [[Confederate]] forces was fought nearby on August 19, 1861, and shortly thereafter the Charleston bank was robbed by Confederates who made off with $56,000, later supposedly burying it in [[Sikeston, Missouri|Sikeston]]. After a substantial Union army arrived in the area in March 1862, a garrison was established in Charleston for the rest of the war.
After the war, Charleston grew rapidly as settlement of the region increased. More businesses moved in, a second rail line being added, and for a time it was the headquarters of the Southeast Missouri Telephone Company. A 1912 account described the town as "one of the most pleasantly situated in Southeast Missouri....distinguished on account of its interest in churches and school system."<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=G-AlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA392#v=onepage&q=charleston&f=false</ref> Though its prosperity has declined in recent decades, Charleston is still notable for the beauty of its downtown and its many fine homes.
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Missouri Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Missouri Cities and Towns]]