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The first definite settlements by American pioneers in what became Phelps County occurred in 1818, with establishments at Relfe Spring and York's Station. Most of the early settlers came from the Ohio Valley and the Upper South. Farming and small-scale crafts were the occupation of a majority of the population, though from the 1820s onward iron furnaces were set up along the Meramec River and its tributaries just to the east, taking advantage of the [[iron|iron ore]] deposits nearby. By the 1840s, Rolla, the future county seat, was evolving into the area's most prominent town.
The first definite settlements by American pioneers in what became Phelps County occurred in 1818, with establishments at Relfe Spring and York's Station. Most of the early settlers came from the Ohio Valley and the Upper South. Farming and small-scale crafts were the occupation of a majority of the population, though from the 1820s onward iron furnaces were set up along the Meramec River and its tributaries just to the east, taking advantage of the [[iron|iron ore]] deposits nearby. By the 1840s, Rolla, the future county seat, was evolving into the area's most prominent town.
During the 1850s, regional entrepreneurs made plans to extend a new railroad southwest from St. Louis, which would pass through the area; in response, local leaders sought to organize it as a new county to benefit more directly from the process. In 1857, the Missouri legislature created Phelps County by detaching territory from neighboring Crawford, Maries, and Pulaski Counties; it was named for John Smith Phelps, a native of [[Connecticut]] who had moved to Missouri and become a prominent lawyer in the Springfield area, and was at that time a member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] (and would be state governor from 1877 to 1881). After a period of rivalry between several communities, each wanting the status of county seat, Rolla was finally chosen in 1860.<ref>https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/phelps-county</ref>
During the 1850s, regional entrepreneurs made plans to extend a new railroad southwest from St. Louis, which would pass through the area; in response, local leaders sought to organize it as a new county to benefit more directly from the process. In 1857, the Missouri legislature created Phelps County by detaching territory from neighboring Crawford, Maries, and Pulaski Counties; it was named for John Smith Phelps, a native of [[Connecticut]] who had moved to Missouri and become a prominent lawyer in the Springfield area, and was at that time a member of the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] (and would be state governor from 1877 to 1881). After a period of rivalry between several communities, each wanting the status of county seat, Rolla was finally chosen in 1860.<ref>https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/phelps-county</ref>
The long-planned railroad was extended all the way to Rolla by 1860, the same year in which the first courthouse was completed. However, the further development of the region was stalled by the outbreak of the [[Civil War]]. Most local residents had roots in the Southern states and sympathized with the [[Confederate|Confederacy]]; having an important rail terminus with access to and from [[St. Louis]], though, holding it was always an important objective for [[Union]] forces in Missouri. (Ironically, given the sympathies of most Phelps County residents, John Phelps himself was an ardent Unionist who fought at the battles of [[Battle of Wilson's Creek|Wilson's Creek]] and [[Battle of Pea Ridge|Pea Ridge]], attaining the rank of colonel.) In June 1861, Union forces occupied Rolla and held it to the end of the war, with a major garrison and supply depot being established there.
After the war, Phelps County struggled like most areas in Missouri, but managed to rebound fairly quickly. The rail terminus at Rolla made the town an important hub for that part of the state, and other important communities, including St. James and Newburg, were founded not soon thereafter. Moreover, thanks to the many metallic and mineral ores nearby, the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy was founded at Rolla in 1870, providing the county with one of the few institutions of higher learning in southern Missouri at that time.
Phelps County continued to grow during the late 19th and 20th centuries. From the 1920s onward, its status as a crossroads was boosted further by the construction of U.S. Route 66, the first federal highway linking [[Chicago]] with [[Los Angeles]], which ran through such communities as Rolla and St. James. The Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy was fully incorporated into the state's university system in the 1960s as the University of Missouri-Rolla, expanding its size and its impact on the local economy; today it is the Missouri University of Science and Technology. It was also the site of the first operational [[nuclear reactor]] in Missouri, in 1961.<ref>https://www.mst.edu/about/</ref> The area received a different kind of boost beginning in the late 1960s, when extensive vineyards began to be planted and to produce a variety of high-quality wines. Included in the Ozark Highlands American Viticultural Area upon its formation in 1987, this activity is especially concentrated around St. James, which boasts a number of prominent wineries.
The original 1860 courthouse continued to function until 1994, when its offices were transferred to a newly-built courthouse. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
==Geography==
==Geography==