Difference between revisions of "Leadwood, Missouri"
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A minor but still significant source of production in the "Old Lead Belt," the Leadwood mine closed down in 1962.<ref>https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5140/pdf/Chapter1.pdf</ref> Unlike other former mining towns, which have found ways to diversify and recover lost ground, Leadwood has generally declined since that point, though there were signs of a revival in the 2000s. | A minor but still significant source of production in the "Old Lead Belt," the Leadwood mine closed down in 1962.<ref>https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5140/pdf/Chapter1.pdf</ref> Unlike other former mining towns, which have found ways to diversify and recover lost ground, Leadwood has generally declined since that point, though there were signs of a revival in the 2000s. | ||
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| + | ==Geography== | ||
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| + | Leadwood is located along Missouri State Highway 8 in west-central St. Francois County, about four miles west of [[Park Hills, Missouri|Park Hills]] and four miles southwest of [[Bonne Terre, Missouri|Bonne Terre]]. Its exact coordinates are 37°51’52”N 90°35’26”W. | ||
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| + | The city is located within the St. Francois Mountains, with the Big River passing just to the northeast and Owl Creek, for which Leadwood was originally named, flowing into it a short distance to the east. It has a total land area of 1.16 square miles, and an average elevation of 805 feet.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:23, September 2, 2020
Leadwood is a city in central St. Francois County, Missouri, named for the numerous lead deposits discovered in the area. It had a population of 1,282 at the 2010 census.
History
The exact date of settlement at Leadwood is uncertain, though a post office was in place by 1902 at the latest, at which time the community was called Owl Creek after a nearby stream. As might be surmised, its present name (which it had received by 1910) came from the forested nature of the general area, and the existence of significant lead deposits nearby.[1] Leadwood was a mining town throughout the first part of its existence, and like many such communities in the area, was not even incorporated for a long time, being owned by the St. Joseph Lead Company that operated the local mines; its permanent population fluctuated significantly depending on the level of mining activity.[2]
A minor but still significant source of production in the "Old Lead Belt," the Leadwood mine closed down in 1962.[3] Unlike other former mining towns, which have found ways to diversify and recover lost ground, Leadwood has generally declined since that point, though there were signs of a revival in the 2000s.
Geography
Leadwood is located along Missouri State Highway 8 in west-central St. Francois County, about four miles west of Park Hills and four miles southwest of Bonne Terre. Its exact coordinates are 37°51’52”N 90°35’26”W.
The city is located within the St. Francois Mountains, with the Big River passing just to the northeast and Owl Creek, for which Leadwood was originally named, flowing into it a short distance to the east. It has a total land area of 1.16 square miles, and an average elevation of 805 feet.[4]
References
- ↑ https://collections.shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/C2366/st-francois-county
- ↑ Robert Sidney Douglass, History of Southeast Missouri (1912), p. 384.
- ↑ https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5140/pdf/Chapter1.pdf
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt