Charleston, Missouri

Charleston is the county seat of and largest city in Mississippi County, Missouri. It had a population of 5,947 at the 2010 census.

History

The site of Charleston was originally a "prairie"--an open field slightly higher in elevation than the surrounding swampland of southeast Missouri. As settlers moved west across the Mississippi River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, they were drawn to such prairies as locations to farm. This particular spot, known variously as Matthews Prairie or Charles Prairie, started to attract settlers soon after 1800.

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.

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 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. 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." Though its prosperity has declined in recent decades, Charleston is still notable for the beauty of its downtown and its many fine homes.

Geography

Charleston is located in north-central Mississippi County, about 12 miles east of Sikeston and 14 miles west of Cairo and the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Its exact coordinates are 36°55’17”N, 89°20’47”W.

The city has a total area of 4.86 square miles, and an average elevation of 322 feet. It sits on a sandy "ridge" about five to ten feet higher than the land to the south and east, making it an attractive place for settlers in the 19th century.

The main thoroughfare in Charleston is U.S. Route 62, which runs from west to east as Marshall Street and provides access to Interstate 57, which passes through the southeastern part of the community. Generally speaking, the neighborhoods to the north of Marshall are wealthier and mostly white, while the section to the south is poorer and majority African-American.